Unit 24

Communities and
Ecosystems
Species Interactions
Many different interactions among species
Beneficial, detrimental, or neither
Interaction Species 1 Species 2
(-) (-)
Competition competitor competitor
Predation (+) predator (-) prey
Parasitism (+) parasite (-) host
Commensalis (+)
m commensal (0) host
(+)
Mutualism (+) mutualist mutualist
(+)
Detritivory detritovore (0) detritus
Species Interactions
Competition: between
individuals for limiting
resource
Reduction in reproduction
and survival
Predation: one individual
(predator) eats another
(prey)
Parasitism: one species
(parasite) consumes
tissues of another (host)
Species Interactions
Commensalism:
commensal benefits while
host neither harmed nor
helped
Mutualism: both species
benefit from interaction
Detritivores: eat dead
organic matter
Lotka-Volterra Models
Interspecific competition: competition between two
species for resources
Can be added to logistic growth models
Lotka-Volterra Models
1: )
2: )
and are competition coefficients
Species Interactions
Niche: an organisms functional role in community
Competitive exclusion principle: no two species can
share the same niche
Communities
Community: all interacting
species in defined area
Communities can be
defined by their trophic
structure
How and what organisms
eat
Food chains: linear chains
depicting who eats whom
Communities
Food web: series of
interconnected food
chains
Defines all known trophic
interactions in ecosystem
Ten percent rule: only 10%
of energy passed from
one trophic level to next

http://ecosystems2.weebly.com/food-web.html
Communities
Trophic levels: different levels of a
food chain
Autotrophs: first trophic level
Consumers/heterotrophs: Rest of
trophic levels
Primary consumers eat plants
Secondary consumers eat
primary consumers
They are carnivores
Tertiary consumers eat carnivores
Usually top carnivores
Omnivores eat both plants and
animals
Bioaccumulation and
Biomagnification
Bioaccumulation: build up
of a toxin in one individual
inability to get rid of toxins

Biomagnification: build up of toxins in tissues of higher trophic

levels
Lower trophic levels eaten by predator
Predator then has greater levels of toxins build up in their
body
http://mercurypolicy.scripts.mit.edu/blog/?p=499
Ecosystems
All interactions between community and physical environment
Environment: abiotic and biotic factors that single organisms
exposed to during lifetime
Nutrient cycling and energy flow: crucial aspects of
ecosystems
Energy flow: unidirectional
Energy not used in metabolism and other forms of work available for
next trophic level
Nutrients tend to stay within an ecosystem
Ecosystems
Compartment/reservoir: single component of ecosystem
Ex: atmosphere, soil, water
Flux: movement of nutrients between compartments
Residence time: amount of time a nutrient particle
spends in a compartment
System: area being studied
Steady state: when nutrient inputs are equal to outputs
https://sciencesource2.pearsoncanada.ca/resources/hotpotato_quiz_09_01_2.