AP Biology - Community Ecology Unit

Community Ecology

Study of interactions among all populations in a common enviroment

Niche

Role or job an organism has in its environment - includes where it lives, what it eats, how it gets food, and how it interacts with other species

Fundamental Niche

all the possible roles an organism could fill if there were no competition

Realized Niche

the actual role it ends up with after competition and interactions with other species.

Competitive Exclusion Principle

No two species can occupy the same niche at the same time

Resource partitioning

Different species split up resources in an ecosystem so they can coexist, instead of directly outcompeting each other - how niches are developed - fosters diversity

Symbiosis

2 different species interacting with eachother in a long term relationship - multiple types of this

Competition

(-,-)

species compete for limited resources - competitive exclusion

Predation/Parasitism

(+,-)

One benefits, the other is harmed

Mutualism

(+,+)

Both species benefit

example: Flower and honeybee

Commensalism

(+,0)

One benefit, the other unaffected

Example: Barnicle and whale

Adaption

Feature that increases an organisms fitness

Example: prey ability to defend from predators