Ecological Succession 5.3

How are ecosystems built?

Ecological Succession is the destruction and rebuilding of ecosystems over time. – Primary Succession Destroyed severely with bare rock/ soil leftover No biotic nutrients available – Volcano – Asteroid/ comet – Nuclear bomb – Secondary Succession Destroyed less severely, with good soil left Some biotic nutrients available – Fire – Flood – Tornado – Hurricane – Deforestation

Succession always takes place with a “pioneer species” – Bacteria – Moss – Lichen Pioneer species secrete acids, which break down rock into soil. – Over time, this is used to grow simple grasses, which further accelerate primary succession – Eventually, good soil remains to harbor a small ecosystem.

Primary Succession

Mount St. Helens (Near Oregon-Washington State Border) Erupted May 18 th, 1980 at 8:30am

Reid Blackburn’s car as he was caught in lava while trying to take photographs. His body was never recovered…

Harry Truman – seriously! Ignorant of “science” behind volcanic eruption and warnings to flee… his body and his 16 cats were never recovered…

v

Mount St. Helens today… A climax community after 30 years!

How do ecosystem rebuild?

“Pioneer Species” Break down rock

“Climax Community” - The final stable community - May take hundreds of years!

Secondary Succession

Pioneer Species

v

Whole thing can take hundreds of years…

Succession: Before & After

Beaver Island, Michigan- 1920

Beaver Island, Michigan- 2008

“You could cover the whole world with asphalt, but sooner or later green grass would break through…” – Ilya Ehrenburg, 1950

Succession Flip Book Create a flip book animating ecological succession. Choose either primary OR secondary succession. – (example: New ecosystem created after a volcanic eruption/ forest fire, etc. Show the resulting growth of a new forest in proper sequence). Criteria: – 16 slides (4 pages of paper cut into 4 slides each). All slides must be used. – Must have title slide (creative title, name & date) On the back of title slide, describe what is happening in your animation. Also, identify what type of succession (primary or secondary). – Quality & green color on plants! (No color required on the rest).