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Communities and Ecosystems
Network of life
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Community
Biotic (living) members: plants and animals
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Ecosystem
Biotic and abiotic (nonliving) members
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abiotic
weather, water, mineral soil, topography, components
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Ecosystem Properties
- Dynamic
- Scale is important
- Size is difficult to measure
- Boundaries difficult to define
- Generally self-sustaining
- Matter cycles in ecosystem
- Energy powers matter cycling
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Matter
- occupies space and has mass
- cycles in ecosystem
- atoms and compounds that make up plants and animals
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Energy
- capacity to do work
- moves matter around in ecosystem
- Sun is sorce of all past, present, and future on earth
- not cycled
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Niche
- Plant and animal species has a unique role in ecosystem
- comprised of dimensions
- number of dimensions unknown
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Range of tolerance
- any enviromental dimension has RoT
- Group of species with similar ranges form communities
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Generalities for Range of Tolerance
- Some ranges for dimesions are wide = generalist
- some ranges are narrow = specialist
- Management perspective = transplants and reintroduce
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Patterns in ecosystem
space and time
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Patterns in Space
Ecological equivalents - species differ between communities but have similar morphological and physiological adaptations
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Patterns in time
succession is the sequential process of change in ecosystem
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Pioneer Community
- first step following disturbance
- Characterized by turnover of species
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Climax Community
- final step following disturbance
- characterized by turnover of individuals
- reaches dynamic equilibrium
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Succession Types
- Primary - majority of life removed: volcano, mudslides (rare)
- Secondary - remnants of previous community: patchiness of fire
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Earth's System
- atmosphere
- hydrosphere - water, glaciers
- lithosphere - rocks, soils, minerals
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Ecology
the study of organisms in their home environments
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population
organisms of same kind in an area
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natural community
populations of different kind of organisms living together and interacting together
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habitat
environment which particular organism lives
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ecological niche
organisms role in community
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Environment
all of surroundings that affect organism or group of organisms
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limiting factor
factor determing whether a particular organism can survive in that place
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high net primary productivity
estuary, swamp, marsh , tropical rainforest
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heterotrophs
other nurished
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secondary
contain food by eating primary
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