Community Structure and Succession

Flashcards covering key concepts related to community structure and ecological succession.

Community

All the populations inhabiting a specific area at the same time.

Community Structure

The organization of species within a community, including diversity, physical structure, and trophic structure.

Species Diversity

Refers to the variety of different species within a community, including species richness and evenness.

Species Richness

The number of different species present in a given area.

Species Evenness

The distribution of individual organisms among the different species in a community.

Keystone Species

A species that has a dominant influence on the structure and function of a community or ecosystem.

Trophic Structure

The feeding relationships among the various species in a community, often illustrated by food webs.

Primary Producers

Autotrophs that generate organic food molecules from light energy (photoautotrophs) or chemical energy (chemoautotrophs).

Consumers

Organisms that obtain energy by consuming other organisms; includes herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and detritivores.

Trophic Cascade

An ecological phenomenon triggered by the addition or removal of top predators, which affects the structure of an ecosystem.

Succession

The gradual replacement of one community by another in a specific area over time.

Primary Succession

The establishment of a biological community on bare rock or previously uninhabited substrates.

Secondary Succession

The recovery of a biological community after a disturbance that alters the ecosystem but does not eliminate all life.

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis

The idea that moderate levels of disturbance can foster higher species diversity than low or high disturbance levels.

Fire Ecology

The study of the role of fire in shaping the structure and function of terrestrial plant communities.