Community Ecology

Community Group of individuals from different species in a given area Species Richness Relative abundance

Why are Certain Species Found Together? Individualistic Hypothesis Abiotic factors Interactive hypothesis Interdependent

Rivet and Redundancy Rivet Redundancy Most species tightly associated Most species loosely associated

Interspecific Interactions Ind. # 1 Ind. # 2 Competition - Predation + Mutualism Commensalism

Competition Interspecific Intraspecific

Competitive Exclusion Rule Two species cannot occupy the same ecological niche

Resource Partitioning

Character Displacement

Predation

Plant Defenses Physical Chemical Thorns Spines Poisons Nicotine Strychnine Morphine Tannins

Animal Defenses Physical Chemical Shells Horns/Antlers/Quills Teeth Poisons Odors

Animal Defenses Cryptic Coloration Aposematic Coloration

Animal Defenses Batesian Mimicry Mullerian Mimicry

Animal Defenses

Mutualism

Commensalism

Trophic Levels Primary Producers Primary Consumers Secondary Consumers Tertiary Consumers Quaternary Consumers

Trophic Levels Primary Producers Primary Consumers Secondary Consumers Tertiary Consumers Quaternary Consumers

Keystone Species

Keystone Species