Lecture 7

Communities and Nutrient Cycling

Abundance- total number of organisms in a community
Diversity- number of different species, ecological niches, or genetic variation
Ecological structure- patterns of spatial distribution of individuals and
populations within a community
o Random distribution
o Cluster/clumped distribution- for protection, mutual assistance,
reproduction, access to resources
o Uniform distribution-often the result of competition
Complexity- number of species at each trophic level and the number of
trophic levels in a community
Communities in transition
Ecological Succession
o Primary Succession- a community begins to develop on a site
previously unoccupied by living organisms
o Secondary Succession- an existing community is disrupted and a new
one subsequently develops at the site
o Climax community- community that develops last and remains the
logest
Biomes- specific types of terrestrial ecosystems with characteristic temperature and
precipitation condition