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A community is made up of all the living things in a particular place at a particular time. Where species are found within communities is dependent on the environment and their interrelationships with other species
A community is made up of all the living things in a particular place at a particular time. Where species are found within communities is dependent on the environment and their interrelationships with other species
Investigating patterns in an ecological community will highlight multiple interrelationships and interactions. Often this is the data that will drive decisions in regard to conservation initiatives. In the case of the takahē, population data about stoats, red deer and snow tussock grass show significant interactions and identify threats.
Relationships
Relationships
Inter-relationships
Inter-relationships
Relationships between organisms of different species.
Intra-relationships
Intra-relationships
Relationships between organisms of the same species.
Tolerance
Tolerance
Tolerance is the concept that explains an organism's ability to survive a variation of an environmental factor.
Optimal zone – Central portion of curve which has conditions that favour maximal reproductive success and survivability
Zones of stress – Regions flanking the optimal zone, where organisms can survive but with reduced reproductive success
Zones of intolerance – Outermost regions in which organisms cannot survive (represents extremes of the limiting factor)
Gause's Law
Gause's Law
Gause's Law is also known as the principle of competitive exclusion, which tells us that two species cannot coexist if they need the same resources in order to survive.
One species will be better adapted to access the resource than the other species, so the lesser species will be driven to adapt to gain a different resource, to move to a new location without competition for that resource or will go extinct.
Ecological Patterns
Ecological Patterns
Zonation
Zonation
Zonation is a community pattern in which there are visible strata or zones in an ecosystem caused by changes in abiotic factors along an environmental gradient. This is seen particularly clearly in rocky seashores, where groupings of species form a banding pattern across the shore.
Stratification
Stratification
Stratification is a community pattern in which there is vertical layering that is created by different heights to which the tree species present grow. The layers in Aotearoa bush from tallest to shortest are the Canopy, Subcanopy, Epiphytes and Lianes, Tree ferns, Shrubs and Ground layer.
Succession
Succession
Ecological succession is the process by which communities change over time, where species make the environment more suitable for colonization by future species. Primary succession is when there was previously no life and secondary succession is when there has previously been vegetation.
The Curious Case of the Takahē
The Curious Case of the Takahē
Community Interactions
Community Interactions
In order to plan for the recovery of the takahē population, studies investigating the interactions and interrelationships of takahē populations and the communities they live in are important.
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