Ecological succession: transition between biotic communities Primary: no previous biotic community Secondary: previously occupied by a community Aquatic:

ic: transition from pond or lake to terrestrial community

Biotic community is an association of a number of interrelated and independent populations belonging to different species, in a common environment which can survive in nature. Biotic community comprises a number of populations of different species interacting between them and the abiotic environment. These populations include animal community, plant community and 'microbial community', sharing a common environment and exhibit various types of direct or indirect relationship among themselves. Examples of biotic community are pond community, grassland community, forest community etc. Primary succession Mosses invade an area and provide a place for soil to accumulate. Larger plants germinate in the new soil layer, resulting in additional soil formation. Eventually shrubs and trees will invade the area.

We may be tempted to conclude that ecological succession is an orderly sequence in which each stage lead predictably to the next, more stable stage; The classical view Succession proceeds until the area is occupied by a generally predictable and stable type of climax community which is characterized by 1) Dominance of long-lived plant species 2) in balance with its environment. Over the last several decades many ecologists have changed their views about balance and equilibrium in nature; When these ecologists look at a community or ecosystem, such as a young forest, they see continuous change, instability, and unpredictability instead of equilibrium stability, and predictability.

Balance-of-nature

Under the old balance-of-nature view, a large terrestrial community undergoing succession was viewed as eventually being covered with a predictable green blanket of climax vegetation. However, a close look at almost any ecosystem or community reveals that it consists of an ever-changing mosaic of vegetation patches at different stages of succession.

Patches or irregularities are a result of a variety of mostly unpredictable and historical small and medium size disturbance Disturbance Removes organisms Reduces populations Creates opportunities for other species to colonize

Fire and Succession Fire climax ecosystems: dependent upon fire for maintenance of existing balance; e.g., grasslands, pine and redwood forests What significance does this have for humans and where they live?

Stability and Sustainability What is stability? All living systems (single cell to the biosphere) contain a complex network of negative and positive feedback loops that interact to provide some degree of stability or sustainability over a period of time (i.e., life span of the organism) Stability is maintained only by constant dynamic changes in response to changing environmental conditions. Stability of living systems Inertia or persistence - the ability of a living system to resist being disturbed or altered Constancy the ability of a living system such as a population to keep its numbers within the limits imposed by available resources Resilience -the ability of living systems to bounce back after an external disturbance that is not too drastic

Resilience Mechanisms after a Forest Fire

Nutrient release to soil Regrowth by remnant roots and seeds Invasions from neighboring ecosystems Rapid restoration of energy flow and nutrient cycling

Conclusion Systems could be maintained near equilibrium in the absence of intervention; Species are selected and co-adjusted in their niche and abundance so as to fit each other and to resist invaders; Species composition of tropical communities, for example, is a consequence of past and present inter-specific competition, resulting in each species occupying the habitat or resources on which it is the most effective competitor (Connell, 1978).

Ecosystem: Basic unit of the natural world

Tropical Rain Forest Home to the greater diversity of living things; Result of millions of years of adaptive evolution; Store for more carbon than is in the entire atmosphere; And many more

Ecosystemshide many things Natural self-sustaining systems; Basic context for life; Energy flow; Nutrient cycling; Perfect examples of sustainable systems

Ecosystem Types Coasts and oceans Farmlands Forests Fresh waters Grasslands and shrub lands Urban and suburban areas

Ecosystems: A Description

Biotic communities: grouping or assemblage of plants, animals, and microbes Species: different kinds of plants, animals, and microbes in the community Populations: number of individuals that make up the interbreeding, reproducing group Associations: how a biotic community fits into the landscape

The abiotic characteristics influence the biotic characteristics which in turn influence the animal characteristics of an ecosystem. Species a group of all plants, animals or microbes which are grouped together according to similarities in appearance or their capacity to reproduce fertile offspring. Abiotic factors characteristics of the physical environment, temperature, salinity, moisture, PH, soil type Association plant community with a definite composition, uniform habitat or and uniform plant growth Ecosystem- Includes the biotic community together with the abiotic community and their interactions within a defined area. Biome grouping of similar ecosystems Landscape- group of interacting ecosystems Ecotone: transitional region between different ecosystems Shares many of the species and characteristics of both ecosystems May also include unique conditions that support distinctive plant and animal species

Autotrophs = Producers = Self feeders Inorganic Oxygen Carbon dioxide Nitrogen Water pH

Organic All living things Products of living things

Consumers = Heterotrophs Primary consumers = herbivores = rabbits: eat plant material Secondary consumers = carnivores = predators = coyotes: prey are herbivores and other animals Parasites = predator = either plant or animal: prey are plants or animals Detritus feeders and decomposers = bacteria and fungi: prey are plants or animals + and + = Mutualism. Both species benefit by the interaction between the two species: + and 0 = Commensalism. One species benefits from the interaction and the other is unaffected: remora fish and shark + and = One species benefits from the interaction and the other is adversely affected. Examples are predation, parasitism, and disease and = Competition. Both species are adversely affected by the interaction Three revolutions Neolithic Industrial Environmental How Humans Modify Their Physical Environments to Meet Their Needs Produce abundant food Control water flow rate and direction Overcome predation and disease Construct our own ecosystems Overcome competition with other species