This document discusses levels of ecological organization and populations and communities. It describes the six levels as population, species, communities, ecosystems, biomes, and the biosphere. A population is defined as a group of the same species that live together and influence survival. Communities are the array of organisms that live together in an area. Competition shapes communities by limiting organisms from using their entire niche, which can lead to resource partitioning and character displacement.
This document discusses levels of ecological organization and populations and communities. It describes the six levels as population, species, communities, ecosystems, biomes, and the biosphere. A population is defined as a group of the same species that live together and influence survival. Communities are the array of organisms that live together in an area. Competition shapes communities by limiting organisms from using their entire niche, which can lead to resource partitioning and character displacement.
This document discusses levels of ecological organization and populations and communities. It describes the six levels as population, species, communities, ecosystems, biomes, and the biosphere. A population is defined as a group of the same species that live together and influence survival. Communities are the array of organisms that live together in an area. Competition shapes communities by limiting organisms from using their entire niche, which can lead to resource partitioning and character displacement.
This document discusses levels of ecological organization and populations and communities. It describes the six levels as population, species, communities, ecosystems, biomes, and the biosphere. A population is defined as a group of the same species that live together and influence survival. Communities are the array of organisms that live together in an area. Competition shapes communities by limiting organisms from using their entire niche, which can lead to resource partitioning and character displacement.
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POPULATION AND
COMMUNITIES Prepared by: Ms. Mace Derraco What is Ecology ◦ Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with each other and with their physical environment. ◦ There are six levels of ecological organization: population, species, communities, ecosystems, biomes, and the biosphere. Levels of ecological organization ◦ 1. population. Individuals of the same species that live together are members of a population. ◦ 2. species. All populations of a particular kind of organisms form a species. ◦ 3. communities. Populations of different species that live together in the same place ◦ 4. ecosystem. A community and nonliving factors with which it interacts. ◦ 5. biomes. Biomes are major terrestrial assemblages of plants, animals, and microorganisms that occur over a wide geographical areas that have distinct physical characteristics. ◦ 6. biosphere. All the world’s biomes, along with its marine and freshwater assemblages, together constitute an interactive system we call the biosphere. Populations ◦ A population is a group of individuals of the same species that live together and influence each other’s survival. ◦ The area a population occupies, the population range, can change in response to environment changes or as a result of migration to previously unavailable habitats. Population Distribution ◦ Availability of resources largely determines how individuals are distributed within populations. Population Growth ◦ Population size, density, and growth are other key characteristics of populations. Population Growth ◦ Exponential growth occurs in a population when no factors are limiting its growth. As resources are used up, a population’s growth slows and stabilizes at a size called the carrying capacity. At this point, the population experiences This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
logistic growth. The influence of population Density ◦ Factors such as weather and physical disruptions are density-independent effect and act on population growth regardless of population size. ◦ Density- dependent effects are factors, such as resources, that are affected by increases in population size. ◦ As resources are used up, individuals die off, reducing the size, reducing the size of the population. A population is less affected by losses during the rising portion of the sigmoid curve, a point called the maximal sustainable yield. Life History Adaptations ◦ Populations whose resources are abundant experience little competition and reproduce rapidly; these organisms exhibit r-selected adaptations. ◦ Populations that experience competition over limited resources tend to be more reproductively efficient and exhibit K- selected adaptations. Population Demography ◦ Population demography is the statistical study of populations, predicting population sizes in the future. ◦ Survivorship curves illustrate the impact of morality rates among different age groups in a population. How Competition Shapes Communities ◦ Communities ◦ The array of organisms that live together in an are is called a community. These individuals compete and cooperate with each other to make community stable. The Niche and Competition ◦ A niche is a way an organism uses all available resources in its environment. Competition limits an organism from using its entire niche The Niche and Competition ◦ Two species cannot use the same niche; one will either outcompete the other, driving it to extinction, called competitive exclusion, or they will divide the niche into smaller niches, called resource partitioning. ◦ As each species adapts to its portion of the niche, resource partitioning can affect morphological characteristics, called character displacement. Species Interactions ◦ Coevolution and Symbiosis ◦ Coevolution is the adaptation of two or more species to each other. ◦ Symbiotic relationship involve two or more organisms of different species that live together and form a somewhat permanent relationship. Symbiotic relationship, such as lichens and mycorrhizae, ca lead to coevolution. Major kinds of Symbioses ◦ Mutualism ◦ Parasitism Commensalism Predator- Prey Interactions ◦ In predator- prey relationships, the predator kills and consumes the prey. Sometimes, in the absence of a predator, a prey population can grow rapidly. ◦ The predator and prey relationship often exhibits cycles, the prey population hunted to a low number, which begins to negatively affect predator population size. Mimicry ◦ Mimicry occurs when one organisms takes advantage of the warning coloration of other organism. ◦ Batesian mimicry occurs when a harmless species has come to resemble a harmful species. ◦ Mullerian mimicry, a group of harmful species has a similar warning coloration pattern. Community Stability ◦ Ecological Succession ◦ Succession is the replacement of one community with another. Secondary succession occurs following the disturbance of an existing community, and primary succession occurs where no life existed before. ◦ Succession proceeds depending on how different species exhibit tolerance, facilitation, and inhibition.
