Name: landon bivens Date:

Ecological Succession
Objective
In this lesson, you will describe how ecological succession can change environments and lead
to the formation of new biomes.

Ecological Succession

Ecological Succession: In nature, after one community dies out in an ecological

habitat, a successor community takes over or inherits the habitat. In a habitat, this

succession of changes is called ecological succession .

• Ecological succession happens when ecosystems change gradually , replacing

the original community with a new one.

• Sometimes significant changes in the community structure and environment

take place.

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Pioneer Species: The first species that colonizes a habitat.

• The kinds of species that succeed other species in a particular habitat

depends on several environmental factors

o Ex: Geology and history of the area, climate, soil type, and so on.

Guided Notes: Ecological Succession 1

TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

Primary Succession: Takes place in an environment that is devoid of soil and

vegetation.

• Ex: bare rocks exposed after a glacier melts or new islands formed after a
volcanic eruption

• The first inhabitants on this surface are the pioneer species.

Secondary Succession: The series of changes in the community of a particular habitat that

has been previously colonized . When a particular habitat is

disturbed due to events such as fire, flooding, or a tree falling, the ecosystem of the
habitat is restored by secondary succession.

• Several factors determine which species will make up the new community.

o Ex: the soil may contain the seeds , stumps, or roots of previous plants.

These plants will regenerate faster . The soil also will be more fertile.

This will enable new plant growth.

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Guided Notes: Ecological Succession 2

IMPACT OF ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

Ecological succession plays a Ecological communities may be

very important role in permanently wiped out due to
maintaining the community extremely drastic environmental
structure of a habitat . or human disturbances.
This process enables a • This can include drastic climate
community to recover after a change (like desertification), the
natrual disaster such introduction of nonnative or
as a fire or a flood, which could invasive species, and new human
conceivably obliterate the settlements when a habitat is in
existing community. a recovery stage.

Biomes

Climax Community: During the

process of ecological succession,

a biological community Biome: A distinct

of plants and animals forms over ecological community.

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time. These organisms
Ex: The grasslands in the
are stable and have adapted to
Midwestern United States are a
the habitat . This biome
specific .
community is determined by

the climatic and soil

conditions of the habitat.

Guided Notes: Ecological Succession 3

 The species living in a particular biome are adapted to the conditions present in that
biome.

• Ex: Cacti living in a desert have fleshy stems for storing water .

Tolerance: The other hand that some organisms have to survive in habitats that
are different from their original habitat.

• Some mammals have developed adaptations that ensure survival in a variaty

of habitats.

• Ex: Hares may be found from the desert biome in Arizona to

the frozen tundra of Canada.

Though each biome is characterized by a particular climate, there can

be variationswithin a biome. Certain regions within a biome may show

variations in climatic conditions due to differences in elevation above

sea level or in the soil and rock conditions.

• Microclimate: The atmospheric zone, which is where the

surrounding
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climate differs from the area.

• Ex: in a rain forest, the climate conditions in the tree canopy will

be different from the conditions at ground level.

• Climate, soil conditions, water, and light all interplay closely to

create an ecosystem.

Guided Notes: Ecological Succession 4

 The varying conditions around the world have created unique biomes characterized by

specific and conditions. These biomes are not sharply distinct from each

other. In fact, biomes influence each other.

Biome Location in the U.S. Description

Temperate great decidious

from the Lakes down The temperate forests
Forest
to Florida, dominant in the consist of broad-leafed deciduous trees

eastern United States that limit the amount of sunlight that

reaches the ground.

Temperate extend from the They span more than 15 percent of

Grasslands mountains
Rocky to the the landmass of North America. They

state of Indiana are commonly known as prairies .

Sonoran Desert: It covers It is a dry climate. The 10 of

desert parts of Arizona and

California and the state of

Sonora in Mexico.
crop plants have dispersed, which has

led to changes in this desert.

Woodland and chaparral

It is the smallest biome found Also called the . It lies
Scrubland
in the state between the grasslands and the desert

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of California . and has certain characteristics of both.

Coniferous spans over the Also called taiga or boreal forests.

forests northern largest
extreme region The biome in the world.

of the United States Much is covered with lakes , which

eventually fill with mineral and organic

matter to form bogs .

Guided Notes: Ecological Succession 5

SUCCESSION IN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

Aquatic ecosystems: encompass the plants and animals that inhabit water
bodies such as oceans, rivers, lakes, and marshes.

• Ecological succession occurs in an aquatic ecosystem just as it does in a terrestrial

biome. It is affected by factors such as: climate change, overfishing, algal

blooms, release of pollutants , and reclamation of water bodies.

• These factors have an adverse impact on the existing life–forms.

o For instance, the destruction of a coral reef will affect the diverse

species of sponges, sea worms, shrimps, fish, and plants that depend on the

coral reefs for food and shelter .

Ecological succession in all biomes shows some typical characteristics:

• Every ecological community undergoes succession.

• Ecological succession occurs as a result of the interaction between the species and

their environment, and also between different species. These interactions determine

the sequence and the rate at which species each other.

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• succession begins with lower plants, such as lichens, mosses, and other

bryophytes, which are gradually replaced by higher, vascular plants.

• succession helps restore communities that are disturbed by natural

calamities.

• The consists of species that are most adapted to

the conditions of that particular ecosystem. This community is balanced and has a

wide of species.

Guided Notes: Ecological Succession 6