COMMUNITY
ECOLOGY
The ecosystem is an ecological system formed from the
reciprocal relationship between living things and the surrounding
environment.
ECOLOGy
Learning Objectives
• Develop an appreciation of the interconnected nature of
ecological communities
• Organize species interactions based on their impacts on
the species involved
• Understand some of the factors that structure
ecological communities
INTRODUCTION Species Diversity
• All populations occupying the same
refers to the number of species
habitat form a community (populations occupying the same habitat and
of multiple species inhabiting a specific their relative abundance
area at the same time)
• Ecology is studied at the community
level to understand how species interact
with each other and compete for the
same resources
Species Interaction
pertains to the effect that a pair of
organisms living together in a community
have on each other
Overview of Community
Structure and Dynamics
Communities are complex entities that can be characterized
by their structure (the types and numbers of species present)
and dynamics (how communities change over time).
Understanding community structure and dynamics enables
community ecologists to manage ecosystems more
effectively.
Foundation Species
They are considered the “base” or “bedrock” of a
community, having the greatest influence on its overall
structure. They are usually the primary producers:
organisms that bring most of the energy into the
community.
Foundation species may physically modify the environment
to produce and maintain habitats that benefit the other
organisms that use them. An example is the photosynthetic
corals of the coral reef. Corals themselves are not
photosynthetic, but harbor symbionts within their body
tissues (dinoflagellates called zooxanthellae) that perform
photosynthesis; this is another example of a mutualism.
The exoskeletons of living and dead coral make up most of
the reef structure, which protects many other species from
waves and ocean currents
• BIODIVERSITY, SPECIES RICHNESS AND
SPECIES ABUNDANCE
BIODIVERSITY describes a community’s biological complexity: It is
measured in many ways, the simplest of which is by the number of
different species (species richness) in a particular area and their
relative abundance.
Factors in Determining Species Richness
1.Latitude (greatest species richness occurring in ecosystems near the
equator, which often have warmer temperatures, large amounts of rainfall,
and low seasonality
2.Predictability of climate (productivity)
3.Biogeography (attempts to explain the relatively high species richness
found in certain isolated island chains)
*Foundation species often have the highest relative abundance or biomass of
all species in a community.
Keystone Species
A keystone species is one whose presence is key to maintaining
biodiversity within an ecosystem and to upholding an ecological
community’s structure. The intertidal sea star, Pisaster ochraceus,
of the northwestern United States is a keystone species. Studies
have shown that when this organism is removed from
communities, populations of their natural prey (mussels) increase,
completely altering the species composition and reducing
biodiversity. Another keystone species is the banded tetra, a fish in
tropical streams, which supplies nearly all of the phosphorus, a
necessary inorganic nutrient, to the rest of the community. If these
fish were to become extinct, the community would be greatly
affected
Community Dynamics
Community dynamics are the changes in community structure and
composition over time. Sometimes these changes are induced by
environmental disturbances such as volcanoes, earthquakes,
storms, fires, and climate change. Communities with a stable
structure are said to be at equilibrium. Following a disturbance, the
community may or may not return to the equilibrium state.
Succession describes the sequential appearance and
disappearance of species in a community over time. In primary
succession, newly exposed or newly formed land is colonized by
living things; in secondary succession, part of an ecosystem is
disturbed and remnants of the previous community remain.
During primary succession in lava on Maui, Hawaii,
succulent plants are the pioneer species
