COMMUNITY ECOLOGY

COMMUNITY -competition for light and nutrients,

- is an assemblage or association of but facilitation also occurs in plant
populations of two or more different species communities.
occupying the same geographical area and in  Animal-Animal interactions
a particular time, also known as a - involve one or more competitor
biocoenosis. species vying for a resource.
 Animal-Plant interactions
COMMUNITY ECOLOGY - critical components of many
- is the study of the organization and ecological processes in forests, such as seed
functioning of communities of organisms.  dispersal, pollination, or community
- It also studies the relationships of structure.
the members of a community to their
environment. TYPES OF SPECIES
 Native Species
Community Structure  Nonnative Species
 Physical Appearance  Indicator Species
 Species Diversity  Keystones Species
 Niche Structure  Foundation Species

Ecological Succession Biological community

-the process by which the structure - Interacting and sharing natural
of a biological community evolves over resources
time.
SPECIE INTERACTIONS
Types of Succession  Predation
 Primary  Competition
-occurs in essentially lifeless areas  Parasitism
regions in which the soil is incapable of  Mutualism
sustaining life.  Commensalism
 Secondary
-occurs in areas where a community PREDATION (-/+)
that previously existed has been removed.  one organism eats another organism
to obtain nutrients.
Ecological Niche o Predators Adaptation -
-the way a species relates to, or fits Locate and subdue
in with, its environment. o Prey Adaptation - Elude and
defend
Resource Partitioning COMPETITION (-/-)
-is differentiation of ecological  when individuals or populations
niches, enabling similar species to coexist in compete for the same resource and
a community. can occur within or between species.

Relationship Between Organisms TYPES OF COMPETITION:

 Plant-Plant interactions • Consumptive or Exploitative
Competition
 COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
-when organisms compete for a
resource
• Interference Competition
- when they compete for territory
 Preemptive Competition
- when they compete for new
territory by arriving there first.
PARASITISM (-/+)
 a relationship in which one organism
benefits and the other organism is
harmed, but not always killed.
TYPES OF PARASITISM
 Ectoparasites
-It lives on the surface of the hosts
 Hyperparasitism
- which a parasite is infected by
another parasite.
 Social Parasitism
- Exemplified by an ant species that
does not have worker ants living
among another species that do, by
using the host species’ workers.
MUTUALISM (+/+)
 A relationship that benefits both
species.
3 FORMS:
• Obligate Mutualism
- one organism cannot survive
without the other.
• Diffusive Mutualism
- when one organism can live with
more than one partner.
Type of
Sign
Interaction
Mutualism +/+
Commensalis +/0
m
Competition -/-
Predation, +/-
Parasitism
• Facultative Mutualism
- mutualism is when one species can
survive on its own under certain
conditions.
COMMENSALISM (+/0)
 a relationship in which one organism
benefits while the other is neither
helped nor harmed.
4 BASIC TYPES OF COMMENSAL
RELATIONSHIPS
 Chemical commensalism
- occurs when one bacteria produce a
chemical that sustains another bacteria. 
 Inquilism
-is when one organism lives in the
nest, burrow, or dwelling place of another
species. 
 Metabiosis
-is commensalism in which one
species is dependent on the other for
survival. 
 Phoresy
- is when one organism temporarily
attaches to another organism for the
purposes of transportation.
Communities are constantly disturbed:
 By their own members
 By natural, external agents
 By human activities
Effects
Both species benefit from interaction
One specie benefits, one unaffected
Each species affected negatively
One specie benefits, one is disadvantage