community ecology

define community

an assemblage of species living close enough together for potential interaction

define interspecific interactions

interspecific interactions are interactions between several different species

what leads to interspecific competition and what can it be classified by?

biotic factors limiting population growth of both competing species can lead to interspecific competition and it can be classified according to effect on populations: competition(-/-) mutual(+/+), predation (+/-)

what is the importance of ecological niche?

ecological niche, or an organism’s ecological role defines the competitive exclusion principle, in which two species cannot coexist in a community if their ecological niches are identical

what is the effect of -/- intraspecific competition on carrying capacity?

it lowers carrying capacity for the competing populations since one population is not utilizing the resource

what are 4 predator adaptations?

acute sense, physical/chemical adaptations, agility, and speed

what are 3 prey adaptations?

cryptic coloration, warning coloration, and mimicry (baresian and mullerian)

what is baresian mimicry? what is mullerian mimicry?

baresian mimicry is when a harmless species mimics a harmful one. Mullerian mimicry is when two or more harmful species mimics each other (e.g. bees and wasps— both share a black and yellow striped pattern)

what is coevolution?

when a change in one speciies results in an adaptation of another species

define trophic structure

tropic structure is the feeding relationship among various species in a community

what does a community’s trophic structure determine?

it determines passage of energy and nutrients from photosynthetic organisms to herbivores then to predators

all organisms in trophic levels above producers are what?

heterotrophs/consumers (plants are energy)

how many consumers are there?

four: primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary

define detritovers and decomposers

detritovers are scavengers that eat the leftovers; decomposers are prokaryotes and fungi that digest molecule in organic material and covert them into inorganic forms

what does species richness refer to?

species richness refers to the number of different species in a community

what promotes animal diversity?

broader range of habitats and diverse tree community

what are keystone species?

keystone species are species who impact on its community is much larger than its total mass or abundance indicates— holds the rest of community in place (e.g. sea stars and urchins)

what is the process of nitrogen fixation? (what is one way nitrogen is recycled?)

converts gaseous N2 to ammonia and nitrates used by plants

what is the main process of carbon cycling? (what is one main way carbon is recycled)

carbon cycling of abiotic and biotic is accomplished by reciprocal metabolic processes: photosynthesis and cellular respiration

In a terrestrial ecosystem, what is the only source of phosphorous?

rocks

what are the 3 chemical cycling in ecosystems?

carbon cycle, phosphorous cycle, nitrogen cycle

what do abiotic reservoirs refer to?

chemicals that accumulate outside of living organisms

what are 2 main components of an ecosystem?

energy flow and chemical cycling (passage of energy and transfer of materials)

what does biomass refer to?

biomass refers to the amount of mass of living organic matter in an ecosystem

what is primary production?

primary production is the rate at which an ecosystem’s producers convert solar energy to chemical energy stored in biomass