Niche It is the overall role of an organism in a community. It is where the organism lives, what it eats, when it eats, when it rests, when it reproduces, etc. It is the “rule book” for the organism. NO TWO SPECIES CAN BE IN THE EXACT SAME NICHE!

Competition Two organisms use the same resource. They both want the same thing. The competition can be:

Intraspecific competition Vs.

Interspecific competition Vs.

Resource partitioning

Adaptive radiation

Unknown ancestor from the South American mainland

Foreign Species Not native to an ecosystem Often have no natural predators to control their population Can out-compete native species for a niche

Purple Loosestrife

English Ivy

Himalayan Blackberry

Morning Glory

Giant Hogweed

Scotch Broom

Eurasian Watermilfoil

Eastern Grey Squirrel

Black Slug

American Bullfrog

Mute Swan

Red-Eared Slider Turtle

Ecological succession It is the gradual change in the type of plants that form the majority of the producers in an environment. This change takes place over hundreds or thousands of years. There are two main kinds:

There is no soil to begin with. Lichens change bare rock into nutrients. Primary

There is soil but all the producers have been removed due to fire or flood. Succession is faster because small plants move in relatively quickly. Secondary

Succession in an aquatic environment

End