Chapter 54 Community Ecology

Aposematic coloration The bright warning coloration of many animals with effective physical or chemical defenses. Batesian mimicry A type of mimicry in which a harmless species looks like a species that is poisonous or otherwise harmful to predators. biomanipulation An approach that applies the top-down model of community organization to alter ecosystem characteristics. For example, ecologists can prevent algal blooms and eutrophication by altering the density of higher-level consumers in lakes instead of by using chemical treatments. Biomass The total mass of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a particular habitat. Bottom-up model A model of community organization in which mineral nutrients influence community organization by controlling plant or phytoplankton numbers, which in turn control herbivore numbers, which in turn control predator numbers. 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 Commensalism A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits but the other is neither helped nor harmed. Community is an assemblage of populations of various species living close enough for potential interaction Cryptic coloration, or camouflage, makes prey difficult to spot Disturbance A natural or human-caused event that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it. Disturbances, such as fires and storms, play a pivotal role in structuring many communities. Dominant species are those that are most abundant or have the highest biomass, Dominant species exert powerful control over the occurrence and distribution of other species Ecological niche The sum of a species' use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment. Ecological succession Transition in the species composition of a community following a disturbance; establishment of a community in an area virtually barren of life. Ecosystem engineer An organism that influences community structure by causing physical changes in the environment. Ectoparasites A parasite that feeds on the external surface of a host. Endoparasite A parasite that lives within a host. Energetic hypothesis The concept that the length of a food chain is limited by the inefficiency of energy transfer along the chain. Evapotranspiration The total evaporation of water from an ecosystem, including water transpired by plants and evaporated from a landscape, usually measured in millimeters and estimated for a year. Facilitation An interaction in which one species has a positive effect on the survival and reproduction of another species without the intimate association of a symbiosis. Food chain The pathway along which food energy is transferred from trophic level to trophic level, beginning with producers. Food web The interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem. Herbivory (+/ interaction) refers to an interaction in which an herbivore eats parts of a plant or alga Host The larger participant in a symbiotic relationship, often providing a home and food source for the smaller symbiont. Intermediate disturbance hypothesis The concept that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater species diversity than low or high levels of disturbance. Interspecific competition Competition for resources between individuals of two or more species when resources are in short supply. Interspecific interaction A relationship between individuals of two or more species in a community. Invasive species A species, often introduced by humans, that takes hold outside its native range. Keystone species A species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet exerts strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche. Mllerian mimicry, two or more unpalatable species resemble each other Mutualism A symbiotic relationship in which both participants benefit. Nonequilibrium model A model that maintains that communities change constantly after being buffeted by disturbances. Parasite An organism that feeds on the cell contents, tissues, or body fluids of another species (the host) while in or on the host organism. Parasites harm but usually do not kill their host. Parasitism A symbiotic relationship in which one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of another, the host, by living either within or on the host. Pathogen An organism, virus, viroid, or prion that causes disease. Predation (+/ interaction) refers to an interaction in which one species, the predator, kills and eats the other, the prey Primary succession occurs where no soil exists when succession begins Secondary succession begins in an area where soil remains after a disturbance Relative abundance The proportional abundance of different species in a community. Resource partitioning The division of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant factors from the niches of all coexisting species. Species-area curve quantifies the idea that, all other factors being equal, a larger geographic area has more species 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 number of different species in the community Symbiosis An ecological relationship between organisms of two different species that live together in direct and intimate contact.

Top-down model A model of community organization in which predation influences community organization by controlling herbivore numbers, which in turn control plant or phytoplankton numbers, which in turn control nutrient levels; also called the trophic cascade model. Trophic structure The different feeding relationships in an ecosystem, which determine the route of energy flow and the pattern of chemical cycling. Vector An organism that transmits pathogens from one host to another. Zoonotic pathogens A disease-causing agent that is transmitted to humans from other animals.