Chapter 54 Community Ecology. Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Overview: A Sense of Community A biological.

Chapter 54 Community Ecology

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Overview: A Sense of Community A biological community is an assemblage of populations of various species living close enough for potential interaction.

Fig. 54-1

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Concept 54.1: Community interactions are classified by whether they help, harm, or have no effect on the species involved Ecologists call relationships between species in a community interspecific interactions. Examples are competition, predation, herbivory, and symbiosis (parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism). Interspecific interactions can affect the survival and reproduction of each species, and the effects can be summarized as positive (+), negative (–), or no effect (0).

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Competitive Exclusion Strong competition can lead to competitive exclusion, local elimination of a competing species. The competitive exclusion principle states that two species competing for the same limiting resources cannot coexist in the same place.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Ecological Niches The total of a species’ use of biotic and abiotic resources is called the species’ ecological niche. An ecological niche can also be thought of as an organism’s ecological role. Ecologically similar species can coexist in a community if there are one or more significant differences in their niches.

Fig. 54-2 A. ricordii A. insolitus usually perches on shady branches. A. distichus perches on fence posts and other sunny surfaces. A. aliniger A. distichus A. insolitus A. christophei A. cybotes A. etheridgei Figure 54.2 Resource partitioning among Dominican Republic lizards

Fig. 54-3 Ocean Chthamalus Balanus EXPERIMENT RESULTS High tide Low tide Chthamalus realized niche Balanus realized niche High tide Chthamalus fundamental niche Low tide Ocean Figure 54.3 Can a species’ niche be influenced by interspecific competition?

Fig. 54-3a Ocean Chthamalus Balanus EXPERIMENT High tide Low tide Chthamalus realized niche Balanus realized niche Figure 54.3 Can a species’ niche be influenced by interspecific competition?

Fig. 54-3b RESULTS High tide Chthamalus fundamental niche Low tide Ocean Figure 54.3 Can a species’ niche be influenced by interspecific competition?

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Character Displacement Character displacement is a tendency for characteristics to be more divergent in sympatric populations of two species than in allopatric populations of the same two species. An example is variation in beak size between populations of two species of Galápagos finches.

Fig. 54-4 Los Hermanos G. fuliginosaG. fortis Beak depth Daphne G. fuliginosa, allopatric G. fortis, allopatric Sympatric populations Santa María, San Cristóbal Beak depth (mm) Percentages of individuals in each size class 60 40 20 0 60 40 20 0 60 40 20 0 810121416 Figure 54.4 Character displacement : indirect evidence of past competition

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Predation Predation (+/– interaction) refers to interaction where one species, the predator, kills and eats the other, the prey. Some feeding adaptations of predators are claws, teeth, fangs, stingers, and poison.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Prey display various defensive adaptations. Behavioral defenses include hiding, fleeing, forming herds or schools, self-defense, and alarm calls. Animals also have morphological and physiological defense adaptations. Cryptic coloration, or camouflage, makes prey difficult to spot. Video: Seahorse Camouflage Video: Seahorse Camouflage

Fig. 54-5 Canyon tree frog (a)Cryptic coloration (b)Aposematic coloration Poison dart frog (c) Batesian mimicry: A harmless species mimics a harmful one. Hawkmoth larva Green parrot snake Yellow jacket Cuckoo bee Müllerian mimicry: Two unpalatable species mimic each other. (d) Figure 54.5 Examples of defensive coloration in animals

Fig. 54-5a Canyon tree frog (a) Cryptic coloration Figure 54.5 Examples of defensive coloration in animals

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Animals with effective chemical defense often exhibit bright warning coloration, called aposematic coloration. Predators are particularly cautious in dealing with prey that display such coloration.

Fig. 54-5b Poison dart frog (b) Aposematic coloration Figure 54.5 Examples of defensive coloration in animals

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings In some cases, a prey species may gain significant protection by mimicking the appearance of another species. In Batesian mimicry, a palatable or harmless species mimics an unpalatable or harmful model.

Fig. 54-5c Hawkmoth larva (c) Batesian mimicry: A harmless species mimics a harmful one. Green parrot snake Figure 54.5 Examples of defensive coloration in animals

Fig. 54-5d Cuckoo bee Müllerian mimicry: Two unpalatable species mimic each other. Yellow jacket (d) Figure 54.5 Examples of defensive coloration in animals

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Herbivory Herbivory (+/– interaction) refers to an interaction in which an herbivore eats parts of a plant or alga. It has led to evolution of plant mechanical and chemical defenses and adaptations by herbivores.

Fig. 54-6 Figure 54.6 A West Indies manatee (Trichechus manatus) in Florida

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Parasitism In parasitism (+/– interaction), one organism, the parasite, derives nourishment from another organism, its host, which is harmed in the process. Parasites that live within the body of their host are called endoparasites; parasites that live on the external surface of a host are ectoparasites.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Many parasites have a complex life cycle involving a number of hosts. Some parasites change the behavior of the host to increase their own fitness.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Mutualism Mutualistic symbiosis, or mutualism (+/+ interaction), is an interspecific interaction that benefits both species. A mutualism can be: – Obligate, where one species cannot survive without the other – Facultative, where both species can survive alone Video: Clownfish and Anemone Video: Clownfish and Anemone Fish- Brings scraps and lures larger fish and anemone offers protection to fish

Fig. 54-7 (a) Acacia tree and ants (genus Pseudomyrmex) (b) Area cleared by ants at the base of an acacia tree Figure 54.7 Mutualism between acacia trees and ants

Fig. 54-7a (a) Acacia tree and ants (genus Pseudomyrmex) Figure 54.7 Mutualism between acacia trees and ants

Fig. 54-7b (b) Area cleared by ants at the base of an acacia tree Figure 54.7 Mutualism between acacia trees and ants

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Commensalism In commensalism (+/0 interaction), one species benefits and the other is apparently unaffected. Commensal interactions are hard to document in nature because any close association likely affects both species.

Fig. 54-8 Figure 54.8 A possible example of commensalism between cattle egrets and water buffalo

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Concept 54.2: Dominant and keystone species exert strong controls on community structure In general, a few species in a community exert strong control on that community’s structure. Two fundamental features of community structure are species diversity and feeding relationships.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Species Diversity Species diversity of a community is the variety of organisms that make up the community. It has two components: species richness and relative abundance. Species richness is the total number of different species in the community. Relative abundance is the proportion each species represents of the total individuals in the community.

Fig. 54-9 Community 1 A: 25% B: 25% C: 25% D: 25% Community 2 A: 80% B: 5% C: 5% D: 10% ABCD Figure 54.9 Which forest is more diverse?

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Two communities can have the same species richness but a different relative abundance. Diversity can be compared using a diversity index: –Shannon diversity index (H): H = –[(p A ln p A ) + (p B ln p B ) + (p C ln p C ) + …]

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Determining the number and abundance of species in a community is difficult, especially for small organisms. Molecular tools can be used to help determine microbial diversity.

Fig. 54-10 Soil pH Shannon diversity (H) 3.6 RESULTS 3.4 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.6 2.4 2.2 3456789 Figure 54.10 Determining microbial diversity using molecular tools

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Trophic Structure Trophic structure is the feeding relationships between organisms in a community. It is a key factor in community dynamics. Food chains link trophic levels from producers to top carnivores. Video: Shark Eating a Seal Video: Shark Eating a Seal

Fig. 54-11 Carnivore Herbivore Plant A terrestrial food chain Quaternary consumers Tertiary consumers Secondary consumers Primary consumers Primary producers A marine food chain Phytoplankton Zooplankton Carnivore Figure 54.11 Examples of terrestrial and marine food chains

Fig. 54-12 Humans Smaller toothed whales Baleen whales Sperm whales Elephant seals Leopard seals Crab-eater seals Birds Fishes Squids Carnivorous plankton Copepods Euphausids (krill) Phyto- plankton Figure 54.12 An antarctic marine food web

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Species may play a role at more than one trophic level. Food webs can be simplified by isolating a portion of a community that interacts very little with the rest of the community.

Fig. 54-13 Sea nettle Fish larvae Juvenile striped bass Fish eggsZooplankton Figure 54.13 Partial food web for the Chesapeake Bay estuary on the U.S. Atlantic coast

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Limits on Food Chain Length Each food chain in a food web is usually only a few links long. Two hypotheses attempt to explain food chain length: the energetic hypothesis and the dynamic stability hypothesis.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings The energetic hypothesis suggests that length is limited by inefficient energy transfer. The dynamic stability hypothesis proposes that long food chains are less stable than short ones. Most data support the energetic hypothesis.

Fig. 54-14 Productivity Number of trophic links 0 1 2 3 4 5 High (control): natural rate of litter fall Medium: 1 / 10 natural rate Low: 1 / 100 natural rate Figure 54.14 Test of the energetic hypothesis for the restriction of food chain length

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Species with a Large Impact Certain species have a very large impact on community structure. Such species are highly abundant or play a pivotal role in community dynamics.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Dominant Species Dominant species are those that are most abundant or have the highest biomass. Biomass is the total mass of all individuals in a population. Dominant species exert powerful control over the occurrence and distribution of other species.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings One hypothesis suggests that dominant species are most competitive in exploiting resources. Another hypothesis is that they are most successful at avoiding predators. Invasive species, typically introduced to a new environment by humans, often lack predators or disease.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Keystone Species Keystone species exert strong control on a community by their ecological roles, or niches. In contrast to dominant species, they are not necessarily abundant in a community.

Fig. 54-15 With Pisaster (control) Without Pisaster (experimental) Number of species present Year 20 15 10 5 0 1963’64’65’66’67’68’69’70’71’72’73 RESULTS EXPERIMENT Figure 54.15 Is Pisaster ochraceus a keystone predator?

Fig. 54-15a EXPERIMENT Figure 54.15 Is Pisaster ochraceus a keystone predator?

Fig. 54-15b With Pisaster (control) Without Pisaster (experimental) Number of species present Year 20 15 10 5 0 1963’64’65’66’67’68’69’70’71’72 ’73 RESULTS Figure 54.15 Is Pisaster ochraceus a keystone predator?

Fig. 54-16 (a) Sea otter abundance Otter number (% max. count) 100 80 60 40 20 0 400 300 200 100 0 (b) Sea urchin biomass Grams per 0.25 m 2 10 8 6 4 2 0 1972 Number per 0.25 m 2 19851997 Year (c) Total kelp density Food chain 19891993

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Foundation Species (Ecosystem “Engineers”) Foundation species (ecosystem “engineers”) cause physical changes in the environment that affect community structure. For example, beaver dams can transform landscapes on a very large scale.

Fig. 54-17 Figure 54.17 Beavers as ecosystem “engineers”

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Some foundation species act as facilitators that have positive effects on survival and reproduction of some other species in the community.

Fig. 54-18 With JuncusWithout Juncus 0 2 4 6 8 Number of plant species Salt marsh with Juncus (foreground) (a) (b) Figure 54.18 Facilitation by black rush (Juncus gerardi) in New England salt marshes

Fig. 54-18a Salt marsh with Juncus (foreground) (a) Figure 54.18 Facilitation by black rush (Juncus gerardi) in New England salt marshes

Fig. 54-18b With JuncusWithout Juncus 0 2 4 6 8 Number of plant species (b)

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Bottom-Up and Top-Down Controls The bottom-up model of community organization proposes a unidirectional influence from lower to higher trophic levels. In this case, presence or absence of mineral nutrients determines community structure, including abundance of primary producers.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings The top-down model, also called the trophic cascade model, proposes that control comes from the trophic level above. In this case, predators control herbivores, which in turn control primary producers.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Long-term experimental studies have shown that communities vary in their relative degree of bottom-up to top-down control.

Fig. 54-19 Control plots Warmed plots E. antarcticusS. lindsayae 0 100 200 300 Nematode density (number of individuals per kg soil) RESULTS Figure 54.19 Are soil nematode communities in Antarctica controlled by bottom-up or top-down factors?

Fig. 54-UN1 Polluted StateRestored State Rare Abundant Fish Zooplankton Algae AbundantRare

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Concept 54.3: Disturbance influences species diversity and composition Decades ago, most ecologists favored the view that communities are in a state of equilibrium. This view was supported by F. E. Clements who suggested that species in a climax community function as a superorganism.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Other ecologists, including A. G. Tansley and H. A. Gleason, challenged whether communities were at equilibrium. Recent evidence of change has led to a nonequilibrium model, which describes communities as constantly changing after being buffeted by disturbances.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Characterizing Disturbance A disturbance is an event that changes a community, removes organisms from it, and alters resource availability. Fire is a significant disturbance in most terrestrial ecosystems. It is often a necessity in some communities.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings The intermediate disturbance hypothesis suggests that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater diversity than either high or low levels of disturbance. High levels of disturbance exclude many slow- growing species. Low levels of disturbance allow dominant species to exclude less competitive species.

Fig. 54-20 Log intensity of disturbance Number of taxa 30 20 15 10 1.11.21.31.41.51.61.71.81.92.0 35 25 1.00.9 Figure 54.20 Testing the intermediate disturbance hypothesis

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings The large-scale fire in Yellowstone National Park in 1988 demonstrated that communities can often respond very rapidly to a massive disturbance.

Fig. 54-21 (a) Soon after fire(b) One year after fire Figure 54.21 Recovery following a large-scale disturbance

Fig. 54-21a (a) Soon after fire

Fig. 54-21b (b) One year after fire

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Ecological Succession Ecological succession is the sequence of community and ecosystem changes after a disturbance. Primary succession occurs where no soil exists when succession begins. (“nothing before”) Secondary succession begins in an area where soil remains after a disturbance. (established community before catastrophe)

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Early-arriving species and later-arriving species may be linked in one of three processes: – Early arrivals may facilitate appearance of later species by making the environment favorable. – They may inhibit establishment of later species. – They may tolerate later species but have no impact on their establishment.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Retreating glaciers provide a valuable field- research opportunity for observing succession. Succession on the moraines (accumulation of pebbles, stones deposited by a glacier) in Glacier Bay, Alaska, follows a predictable pattern of change in vegetation and soil characteristics.

Fig. 54-22-1 Pioneer stage, with fireweed dominant 1 1941 1907 1860 1760 Alaska Glacier Bay Kilometers 510150 Figure 54.22 Glacial retreat and primary succession at Glacier Bay, Alaska

Fig. 54-22-2 Pioneer stage, with fireweed dominant 1 1941 1907 1860 1760 Alaska Glacier Bay Kilometers 510150 Dryas stage 2 Figure 54.22 Glacial retreat and primary succession at Glacier Bay, Alaska

Fig. 54-22-3 Pioneer stage, with fireweed dominant 1 1941 1907 1860 1760 Alaska Kilometers 510150 Dryas stage 2 Alder stage 3 Glacier Bay Figure 54.22 Glacial retreat and primary succession at Glacier Bay, Alaska

Fig. 54-22-4 Pioneer stage, with fireweed dominant 1 1941 1907 1860 1760 Alaska Glacier Bay Kilometers 510150 Dryas stage 2 Alder stage 3 Spruce stage 4 Figure 54.22 Glacial retreat and primary succession at Glacier Bay, Alaska

Fig. 54-22a Pioneer stage, with fireweed dominant 1 Figure 54.22 Glacial retreat and primary succession at Glacier Bay, Alaska

Fig. 54-22b Dryas stage 2 Figure 54.22 Glacial retreat and primary succession at Glacier Bay, Alaska

Fig. 54-22c Alder stage 3 Figure 54.22 Glacial retreat and primary succession at Glacier Bay, Alaska

Fig. 54-22d Spruce stage 4 Figure 54.22 Glacial retreat and primary succession at Glacier Bay, Alaska

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Succession is the result of changes induced by the vegetation itself. On the glacial moraines, vegetation lowers the soil pH and increases soil nitrogen content.

Fig. 54-23 Successional stage PioneerDryasAlderSpruce Soil nitrogen (g/m 2 ) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Figure 54.23 Changes in soil nitrogen content during succession at Glacier Bay

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Human Disturbance Humans have the greatest impact on biological communities worldwide. Human disturbance to communities usually reduces species diversity. Humans also prevent some naturally occurring disturbances, which can be important to community structure.

Fig. 54-24 Figure 54.24 Disturbance of the ocean floor by trawling

Fig. 54-24a Figure 54.24 Disturbance of the ocean floor by trawling

Fig. 54-24b Figure 54.24 Disturbance of the ocean floor by trawling

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Concept 54.4: Biogeographic factors affect community biodiversity Latitude and area are two key factors that affect a community’s species diversity.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Latitudinal Gradients Species richness generally declines along an equatorial-polar gradient and is especially great in the tropics. Two key factors in equatorial-polar gradients of species richness are probably evolutionary history and climate. The greater age of tropical environments may account for the greater species richness.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Climate is likely the primary cause of the latitudinal gradient in biodiversity. Two main climatic factors correlated with biodiversity are solar energy and water availability. They can be considered together by measuring a community’s rate of evapotranspiration. Evapotranspiration is evaporation of water from soil plus transpiration of water from plants.

Fig. 54-25 (a) Trees Actual evapotranspiration (mm/yr) Tree species richness 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 20 0 40 1003005007009001,100 (b) Vertebrates Vertebrate species richness (log scale) 200 100 50 10 05001,0001,5002,000 Potential evapotranspiration (mm/yr) Figure 54.25 Energy, water, and species richness

Fig. 54-25a (a) Trees Actual evapotranspiration (mm/yr) Tree species richness 160 120 100 140 180 80 60 40 20 0 1003005009001,100700 Figure 54.25 Energy, water, and species richness

Fig. 54-25b (b) Vertebrates Vertebrate species richness (log scale) 200 100 50 10 0 500 1,000 1,5002,000 Potential evapotranspiration (mm/yr) Figure 54.25 Energy, water, and species richness

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Area Effects The species-area curve quantifies the idea that, all other factors being equal, a larger geographic area has more species. A species-area curve of North American breeding birds supports this idea.

Fig. 54-26 Area (hectares) Number of species 1,000 100 10 1 0.111010010 3 10 4 10 5 10 6 10 7 10 8 10 910 Figure 54.26 Species-area curve for North American breeding birds

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Island Equilibrium Model Species richness on islands depends on island size, distance from the mainland, immigration, and extinction. The equilibrium model of island biogeography maintains that species richness on an ecological island levels off at a dynamic equilibrium point.

Fig. 54-27 Number of species on island Equilibrium number (a) Immigration and extinction rates Rate of immigration or extinction Extinction Immigration Rate of immigration or extinction Number of species on island (b) Effect of island size Small islandLarge island Immigration (small island) (large island) Extinction (large island) (small island) (c) Effect of distance from mainland Number of species on island Rate of immigration or extinction Immigration (far island) (near island) Extinction (far island) Extinction (near island) Far island Near island Figure 54.27 The equilibrium model of island biogeography

Fig. 54-27a Number of species on island Equilibrium number (a) Immigration and extinction rates Rate of immigration or extinction Extinction Immigration Figure 54.27 The equilibrium model of island biogeography

Fig. 54-27b Rate of immigration or extinction Number of species on island (b) Effect of island size Small island Large island (large island) Immigration (small island) Extinction (large island) (small island) Figure 54.27 The equilibrium model of island biogeography

Fig. 54-27c (c) Effect of distance from mainland Number of species on island Rate of immigration or extinction Far island Near island Immigration (far island) (near island) Extinction (far island) (near island) Extinction Figure 54.27 The equilibrium model of island biogeography

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Studies of species richness on the Galápagos Islands support the prediction that species richness increases with island size.

Fig. 54-28 Area of island (hectares) (log scale) Number of plant species (log scale) 1010010 3 10 4 10 5 10 6 10 25 50 100 200 400 5 Figure 54.28 How does species richness relate to area?

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Concept 54.5: Community ecology is useful for understanding pathogen life cycles and controlling human disease Ecological communities are universally affected by pathogens, which include disease-causing microorganisms, viruses, viroids, and prions. Pathogens can alter community structure quickly and extensively.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Pathogens and Community Structure Pathogens can have dramatic effects on communities. For example, coral reef communities are being decimated by white-band disease.

Fig. 54-29 Figure 54.29 White-band disease visible on a coral

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Human activities are transporting pathogens around the world at unprecedented rates. Community ecology is needed to help study and combat them.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Community Ecology and Zoonotic Diseases Zoonotic pathogens have been transferred from other animals to humans. The transfer of pathogens can be direct or through an intermediate species called a vector. Many of today’s emerging human diseases are zoonotic.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Avian flu is a highly contagious virus of birds. Ecologists are studying the potential spread of the virus from Asia to North America through migrating birds.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings You should now be able to: 1.Distinguish between the following sets of terms: competition, predation, herbivory, symbiosis; fundamental and realized niche; cryptic and aposematic coloration; Batesian mimicry and Müllerian mimicry; parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism; endoparasites and ectoparasites; species richness and relative abundance; food chain and food web; primary and secondary succession.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings 2.Define an ecological niche and explain the competitive exclusion principle in terms of the niche concept. 3.Explain how dominant and keystone species exert strong control on community structure. 4.Distinguish between bottom-up and top-down community organization. 5.Describe and explain the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings 6.Explain why species richness declines along an equatorial-polar gradient. 7.Define zoonotic pathogens and explain, with an example, how they may be controlled.

Fig. 54-30 Figure 54.30 Tracking avian flu

Fig. 54-UN2

Fig. 54-UN3

Chapter 54 Community Ecology. Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Overview: A Sense of Community A biological.

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Chapter 54 Community Ecology. Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings Overview: A Sense of Community A biological.

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