1. Community Ecology Predators –Carnivores and herbivores –All heterotrophs are either predators or parasites or both –Adaptations Finding, capturing, and consuming prey Examples: acute smell, heat-sensitive pits, speed, flesh-cutting teeth, camouflage

2. Community Ecology Prey –Adaptations Resembling an inedible object Hiding Deceptive markings –Fake eyes, false heads Chemical defenses Mimicry –King snake and the deadly coral snake Plants- thorns, tough leaves, chemical defenses

3. Symbiosis close, long-term relationship between two organisms Parasitism –Lice, leeches, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes –Heartworms, tapeworms, disease-causing protists Mutualism –Ants and acacia tree –Pollinating insect and flowering plants Commensalism

4. Ecological Succession Gradual, sequential regrowth of a community of species in an area Primary succession –Development of a community in an area that has not supported life previously Sand dune, bare rock, volcanic island –Soil is not initially present –Slow process –Lichens  Grasses  Mosses and large plants  Trees

5. Ecological Succession Secondary succession –Occurs where an existing community has been cleared by a disturbance, but the soil has remained intact Forest fire, storms, farming, logging, mining –Original ecosystem returns through a series of well defined stages –Example Eastern temperate regions: weeds (annual grasses, dandelions)  perennial grasses and shrubs  trees (dogwoods)  deciduous forest community

6. Climax Community Stable end point Organisms in each stage alter the environment in ways that makes it less favorable for them to survive, but more favorable for the organisms that eventually succeed them. Each stage paves the way for the next Leading to the climax community, which remains constant for a long time.