1. Disturbance and Succession

2. Successional Species Types
Early successional, pioneer, opportunist
Late successional
seed dispersal distance
long, good
short, poor
growth rate
fast
slow
reach maturity
early
late
number of offspring
high
low
competitive ability

4. The Kabetogama Peninsula

5. Kabetogama Peninsula

6. Beaver – Castor Canadensis

7. Beaver
Dam

8. Pond and Bog Succession

9. Climax Community

11. Many Communities Experience Constant Disturbance or Change

12. Fir Wave on Mt. Coe, Baxter State Park, Maine

13. Fir Wave Up Close

14. Global Patterns of Species Richness
Global Amphibian Diversity

15. Measures of Biodiversity
Species richness – the number of species in an area – the simplest measure of biodiversity
Species evenness or equitability – the relative proportion of number of individuals of each species in an area
Often richness and evenness are combined into a Species Diversity Index

16. A comparison of species diversity in two communities
Community 1
A: 25% B: 25% C: 25% D: 25%
Community 2
A: 80% B: 5% C: 5% D: 10% D C B A

20. Animated Life of A.R. Wallace

21. Explanations for Global Patterns of Species Richness
1) Morphological diversity, spatial heterogeneity
2) High average rarity - no monocultures – in tropics
3) Climatic constancy of tropics
4) Geological age
5) Special adaptations in extreme (harsh) environments
6) Competitive "balance"
7) Alternating competitive advantages
8) "All niches filled theory" - saturation of community
9) Productivity
from A.R. Wallace

22. Richness and
Productivity

23. Richness and
Structural Diversity

24. Environmental harshness

25. Richness and Climatic Variability

26. Richness and Environmental Age
South American Rain Forest – Today and Past Refuges

27. Richness and High Average Rarity
Global Plant
Richness
Local Centers
Of Diversity
Quality of
Data

28. Richness and High Average Rarity
Endemic Plant Species Globally

29. Richness and High Average Rarity
Endemic Plants in Africa