Chapter 54 Community Ecology A biological community is an assemblage of populations of various species living close enough for potential interaction

Concept 54.1: Community interactions are classified by whether they help, harm, or have no effect on the species involved Ecologists call relationships between species in a community interspecific interactions Examples are competition, predation, herbivory, symbiosis (parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism), and facilitation Interspecific interactions can affect the survival and reproduction of each species, and the effects can be summarized as positive (+), negative (–), or no effect (0) Interspecific competition (–/– interaction) occurs when species compete for a resource in short supply © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 2

Ecological Niches and Natural Selection The total of a species’ use of biotic and abiotic resources is called the species’ ecological niche An ecological niche can also be thought of as an organism’s ecological role Ecologically similar species can coexist in a community if there are one or more significant differences in their niches Strong competition can lead to competitive exclusion, local elimination of a competing species The competitive exclusion principle states that two species competing for the same limiting resources cannot coexist in the same place Resource partitioning is differentiation of ecological niches, enabling similar species to coexist in a community © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 3

Spacial partioning A. distichus perches on fence posts and other Figure 54.2 A. distichus perches on fence posts and other sunny surfaces. A. insolitus usually perches on shady branches. A. ricordii Spacial partioning Figure 54.2 Resource partitioning among Dominican Republic lizards. A. insolitus A. aliniger A. christophei A. distichus A. cybotes A. etheridgei 4

A species’ fundamental niche is the niche potentially occupied by that species A species’ realized niche is the niche actually occupied by that species As a result of competition, a species’ fundamental niche may differ from its realized niche For example, the presence of one barnacle species limits the realized niche of another species © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 5

EXPERIMENT High tide Chthamalus Chthamalus Balanus realized niche Figure 54.3 EXPERIMENT High tide Chthamalus Balanus Chthamalus realized niche Balanus realized niche Ocean Low tide RESULTS High tide Figure 54.3 Inquiry: Can a species’ niche be influenced by interspecific competition? Chthamalus fundamental niche Ocean Low tide 6

Both species are normally nocturnal (active during the night) The common spiny mouse and the golden spiny mouse show temporal partitioning of their niches Both species are normally nocturnal (active during the night) Where they coexist, the golden spiny mouse becomes diurnal (active during the day) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 7

Predators, Prey, and Defense Predation (+/– interaction) refers to interaction where one species, the predator, kills and eats the other, the prey Some feeding adaptations of predators are claws, teeth, fangs, stingers, and poison Prey display various defensive adaptations Behavioral defenses include hiding, fleeing, forming herds or schools, self-defense, and alarm calls Animals also have morphological and physiological defense adaptations Cryptic coloration, or camouflage, makes prey difficult to spot © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 8

Video: Seahorse Camouflage © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 9

Müllerian mimicry, two or more unpalatable species resemble each other Animals with effective chemical defense often exhibit bright warning coloration, called aposematic coloration Predators are particularly cautious in dealing with prey that display such coloration In some cases, a prey species may gain significant protection by mimicking the appearance of another species In Batesian mimicry, a palatable or harmless species mimics an unpalatable or harmful modelIn Müllerian mimicry, two or more unpalatable species resemble each other © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 10

Figure 54.5 Examples of defensive coloration in animals. (a) Cryptic coloration (b) Aposematic coloration Canyon tree frog Poison dart frog (c) Batesian mimicry: A harmless species mimics a harmful one. (d) Müllerian mimicry: Two unpalatable species mimic each other. Hawkmoth larva Cuckoo bee Yellow jacket Green parrot snake Figure 54.5 Examples of defensive coloration in animals. 11

Herbivory Herbivory (+/– interaction) refers to an interaction in which an herbivore eats parts of a plant or alga It has led to evolution of plant mechanical and chemical defenses and adaptations by herbivores Symbiosis Symbiosis is a relationship where two or more species live in direct and intimate contact with one another © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 12

Mutualistic symbiosis, or mutualism (+/+ interaction), In parasitism (+/– interaction), one organism, the parasite, derives nourishment from another organism, its host, which is harmed in the process Parasites that live within the body of their host are called endoparasites Parasites that live on the external surface of a host are ectoparasites Mutualistic symbiosis, or mutualism (+/+ interaction), is an interspecific interaction that benefits both species A mutualism can be Obligate, where one species cannot survive without the other Facultative, where both species can survive alone © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 13

(a) Acacia tree and ants (genus Pseudomyrmex) Figure 54.7 (a) Acacia tree and ants (genus Pseudomyrmex) Figure 54.7 Mutualism between acacia trees and ants. (b) Area cleared by ants at the base of an acacia tree 14

Commensalism In commensalism (+/0 interaction), one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped Commensal interactions are hard to document in nature because any close association likely affects both species © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 15

Facilitation (/ or 0/) describes an interaction where one species can have positive effects on another species without direct and intimate contact For example, lichen makes the soil more hospitable for other plant species © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 16

Species diversity of a community is the variety of organisms that make up the community It has two components: species richness and relative abundance Species richness is the total number of different species in the community Relative abundance is the proportion each species represents of the total individuals in the community Two communities can have the same species richness but a different relative abundance © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 17

A B C D Community 1 Community 2 A: 25% B: 25% C: 25% D: 25% A: 80% Figure 54.10 A B C D Community 1 Community 2 Figure 54.10 Which forest is more diverse? A: 25% B: 25% C: 25% D: 25% A: 80% B: 5% C: 5% D: 10% 18

Communities with higher diversity are More productive and more stable in their productivity Better able to withstand and recover from environmental stresses More resistant to invasive species, organisms that become established outside their native range © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 19

Trophic Structure Trophic structure is the feeding relationships between organisms in a community Food chains link trophic levels from producers to top carnivores A food web is a branching food chain with complex trophic interactions © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 20

A terrestrial food chain A marine food chain Figure 54.13 Carnivore Quaternary consumers Carnivore Carnivore Tertiary consumers Carnivore Carnivore Secondary consumers Carnivore Herbivore Figure 54.13 Examples of terrestrial and marine food chains. Primary consumers Zooplankton Plant Primary producers Phytoplankton A terrestrial food chain A marine food chain 21

Humans Smaller toothed whales Baleen whales Sperm whales Elephant Figure 54.14 Humans Smaller toothed whales Baleen whales Sperm whales Elephant seals Crab- eater seals Leopard seals Birds Fishes Squids Figure 54.14 An Antarctic marine food web. Carniv- orous plankton Euphau- sids (krill) Cope- pods Phyto- plankton 22

Species with a Large Impact Certain species have a very large impact on community structure. Such species are highly abundant or play a pivotal role in community dynamics Dominant species are those that are most abundant or have the highest biomass -Dominant species exert powerful control over the occurrence and distribution of other species -For example, sugar maples have a major impact on shading and soil nutrient availability in eastern North America; this affects the distribution of other plant species © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 23

Keystone Species and Ecosystem Engineers Keystone species exert strong control on a community by their ecological roles, or niches In contrast to dominant species, they are not necessarily abundant in a community Field studies of sea stars illustrate their role as a keystone species in intertidal communities © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 24

Number of species present Figure 54.17 EXPERIMENT RESULTS Figure 54.17 Inquiry: Is Pisaster ochraceus a keystone predator? 20 15 With Pisaster (control) Number of species present 10 Without Pisaster (experimental) 5 1963 ’64 ’65 ’66 ’67 ’68 ’69 ’70 ’71 ’72 ’73 Year 25

Ecosystem engineers (or “foundation species”) cause physical changes in the environment that affect community structure For example, beaver dams can transform landscapes on a very large scale © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 26

Disturbances, species diversity, and composition Decades ago, most ecologists favored the view that communities are in a state of equilibrium (the equilibrium model) Recent evidence of change has led to a nonequilibrium model, which describes communities as constantly changing after being buffeted by disturbances A disturbance is an event that changes a community, removes organisms from it, and alters resource availability © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 27

Characterizing Disturbance A high level of disturbance is the result of a high intensity and high frequency of disturbance The intermediate disturbance hypothesis suggests that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater diversity than either high or low levels of disturbance High levels of disturbance exclude many slow-growing species Low levels of disturbance allow dominant species to exclude less competitive species In a New Zealand study, richness of invertebrate taxa was highest in streams with an intermediate intensity of flooding © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 28

Index of disturbance intensity (log scale) Figure 54.20 35 30 25 Number of taxa 20 15 Figure 54.20 Testing the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. 10 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 Index of disturbance intensity (log scale) 29

The Yellowstone forest is an example of a nonequilibrium community Figure 54.21 The large-scale fire in Yellowstone National Park in 1988 demonstrated that communities can often respond very rapidly to a massive disturbance The Yellowstone forest is an example of a nonequilibrium community Figure 54.21 Recovery following a large-scale disturbance. (a) Soon after fire (b) One year after fire 30

Ecological Succession Ecological succession is the sequence of community and ecosystem changes after a disturbance Primary succession occurs where no soil exists when succession begins Secondary succession begins in an area where soil remains after a disturbance Succession is the result of changes induced by the vegetation itself Early-arriving species and later-arriving species may be linked in one of three processes Early arrivals may facilitate appearance of later species by making the environment favorable They may inhibit establishment of later species They may tolerate later species but have no impact on their establishment 31

Island Equilibrium Model Species richness on islands depends on island size, distance from the mainland, immigration, and extinction The equilibrium model of island biogeography maintains that species richness on an ecological island levels off at a dynamic equilibrium point © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 32

(far island) (near island) (far island) (small island) Immigration Figure 54.27b (far island) (small island) Immigration Extinction (large/ near island) Extinction Rate of immigration or extinction (large island) Immigration (near island) (far island) (small island) (far island) Figure 54.27 The equilibrium model of island biogeography. Small island Large island Number of species on island 33

Number of plant species Area of island (hectares) Figure 54.28 RESULTS Studies of species richness on the Galápagos Islands support the prediction that species richness increases with island size 400 200 100 Number of plant species (log scale) 50 25 10 Figure 54.28 Inquiry: How does species richness relate to area? 5 10 100 103 104 105 106 Area of island (hectares) (log scale) 34

Contrasting views of community structure are the subject of continuing debate. The interactive hypothesis of community structure depicts a community as an assemblage of closely linked species locked into association by mandatory biotic interactions. The community functions as an integrated unit, as a superorganism. The individualistic hypothesis of community structure depicts a community as a chance assemblage of species found in the same area because they happen to have similar abiotic requirements for rainfall, temperature, or soil type. The individualistic hypothesis is generally accepted by plant ecologists. 35

Contrasting views of community structure are the subject of continuing debate. Further debate arises when these ideas are applied to animals. The rivet model of communities is a reincarnation of the interactive model and suggests that most animal species are associated with particular other species in the community. Reducing or increasing the abundance of one species in a community will affect many other species. The redundancy model proposes that most animal species in a community are not closely associated with one another. Species operate independently, and an increase or decrease in one species in a community has little effect on other species. In this sense, species in a community are redundant. If a predator disappears, another predatory species will take its place as a consumer of specific prey. The rivet and redundancy models represent extremes; most communities have some features of each model. 36