1. 4.3 Succession

2. Primary and Secondary Succession
Ecological succession is a series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time.
Ecosystems change over time, especially after disturbances, as some species die out and new species move in.
Over the course of succession, the number of different species present typically increases.

3. Primary Succession
Volcanic explosions can create new land or sterilize existing areas.
Retreating glaciers can have the same effect, leaving only exposed bare rock behind them.
Succession that begins in an area with no remnants of an older community( NO LIFE & NO SOIL-LIFELESS) is called primary succession.

4. Primary Succession
The first species to colonize barren areas are called pioneer species.
One ecological pioneer that grows on bare rock is lichen—a mutualistic symbiosis between a fungus and an alga. Mosses, a type of simple plant, are also a pioneer species.

5. Primary Succession
Over time, lichens convert, or fix, atmospheric nitrogen into useful forms for other organisms, break down rock, and add organic material to form soil. Mosses play the same roles in soil formation.
After enough soil is present, plants begin to colonize the new environment and develop the plant community.
Eventually, animals and other organisms will colonize the new ecosystem and develop their respective communities. A mature ecosystem will eventually develop with all available niches occupied. This is known as the climax community.

6. Secondary Succession
Secondary succession often follows a wildfire, hurricane, or other natural disturbance.
We think of these events as disasters, but many species are adapted to them. Although forest fires kill some trees, for example, other trees are spared, and fire can stimulate their seeds to germinate.
Secondary succession can also follow human activities like logging and farming.

7. Secondary Succession
Sometimes, existing communities are not completely destroyed by disturbances. In these situations, secondary succession occurs.
Secondary succession proceeds faster than primary succession, in part because soil survives the disturbance. As a result, new and surviving vegetation can regrow rapidly.

8. Secondary Succession
The animals become more diverse in part because of the many habitats that large plants can provide. A wide variety of animals live in the tree tops, on the middle and lower branches, on the forest floor, and in the soil.

9. Types of Succession Primary Succession Secondary Succession
Pioneer Species: FIRST species to return to an area after a disaster
Begins with bare rock
NO SOIL/wiped out
Example: Rock  lichen  moss
Can happen fast because the soil is prepared from the previous community
Begins with soil
Example: grass  shrub  trees

10. Why Succession Occurs
Every organism changes the environment it lives in.
One model of succession suggests that as one species alters its environment, other species find it easier to compete for resources and survive.
For example, as lichens add organic matter and form soil, mosses and other plants can colonize and grow.
As organic matter continues to accumulate, other species move in and change the environment further.
Over time, more and more species can find suitable niches and survive.

11. Succession After Natural Disturbances
Secondary succession in healthy ecosystems following natural disturbances often reproduces the original climax community.
Healthy coral reefs and tropical rain forests often recover from storms, and healthy temperate forests and grasslands recover from wildfires.

12. Succession After Human-Caused Disturbances
Ecosystems may or may not recover from extensive human-caused disturbances.
Clearing and farming of tropical rain forests, for example, can change the microclimate and soil enough to prevent regrowth of the original community.

13. Ecosystems affected by:
Human impact: Pollution
Natural Disturbances: caused by nature
Storms, earthquakes, volcanoes, disease
When ecosystems become affected this causes the biodiversity to suffer.

14. Biodiversity
Biodiversity: the variety of life in a particular ecosystem or habitat.

15. Causes for loss of biodiversity
Climate changes
Catastrophic events
Human activity
Habitat destruction: for agriculture and urban development.
Invasive, non-native species
species moved into new geographic areas by humans

16. Examples:

17. A biologists compares how different ecosystems undergo succession
A biologists compares how different ecosystems undergo succession. She divides the series of events that happen during primary and secondary succession into three different stages. Which feature might be used to distinguish secondary succession from primary succession?
A. the lack of pioneer species in the second stage B. the presence of pioneer species in the final stage C. the presence of trees and large plants in the final stage
D. the presence of soil and organic matter in the first stage.

18. Answer: D

19. The common brushtail possum is a marsupial native to Australia
The common brushtail possum is a marsupial native to Australia. This possum was introduced to New Zealand where it had no natural predators and had an abundant food supply. Which of these likely occurred a few years after the introduction of this possum to New Zealand?
A. The possums became extinct.
B. The possums developed shorter life spans.
C. The possum population grew to a larger size.
D. The possum population evolved into a different species.

20. Answer: C.
The possum population grew to a larger size. With no natural predators, the possum population was allowed to grow unchecked.