Community Ecology: The Florida Everglades

Flashcards based on ecological concepts and terms related to the Florida Everglades community ecology module.

Ecological Community

A complex assemblage of all the different species that live in a given area and can potentially interact with each other.

Community Ecology

The study of all the populations (plants, animals, and other species) living and interacting in an area.

Habitat

The physical environment in which individuals of a particular species can be found.

Niche

The unique role a species plays in its community, including its energy acquisition, habitat requirements, and interactions with other species.

Niche Specialist

A species with very specific habitat or resource requirements that restrict its living conditions.

Niche Generalist

A species that occupies a broad niche and can utilize a wide variety of resources.

Food Chain

A simple, linear path starting with a plant (or other photosynthetic organism) that identifies what each organism in the path eats.

Food Web

A linkage of all the food chains together that shows the many connections in a community.

Producers

Organisms that convert solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis.

Consumers

Organisms that obtain energy and nutrients by feeding on other organisms.

Indicator Species

A species that is particularly vulnerable to ecosystem perturbations, giving advance warning of problems when monitored.

Trophic Levels

Feeding levels in a food chain, organized based on what organisms eat.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down organic matter to constituent atoms or molecules in a form that plants can take back up.

Species Diversity

The variety of species in an area, including measures of species richness and evenness.

Species Richness

The total number of different species in a community.

Species Evenness

The relative abundance of each species in a community.

Resilience

The ability of an ecosystem to recover when it is damaged or perturbed.

Keystone Species

A species that impacts its community significantly more than its abundance would predict, altering ecosystem structure.

Symbiosis

A close biological or ecological relationship between two species.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship in which both parties benefit.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits and the other is unaffected.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits at the expense of the other.

Ecological Succession

The progressive replacement of plant (and then animal) species in a community over time due to changing conditions.

Primary Succession

Ecological succession that occurs in an area where no ecosystem existed before.

Secondary Succession

Ecological succession that occurs in an ecosystem that has been disturbed; happens more quickly than primary succession.

Resource Partitioning

A strategy in which different species use different parts or aspects of a resource rather than competing directly for exactly the same resource.

Edge Effect

The change in species diversity that occurs due to different conditions that attract or repel species at an ecotone.

Habitat Fragmentation

The division of a habitat into smaller, isolated patches, which can increase edge and decrease core areas.

Community Composition

The makeup of species in a community, influenced by physical structure and species interactions.