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Chapter 7. Community Ecology. Chapter Overview Questions. What determines the number of species in a community? How can we classify species according to their roles in a community? How do species interact with one another? How do communities respond to changes in environmental conditions? - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Chapter 7
Community Ecology
Chapter Overview Questions
What determines the number of species in a community?
How can we classify species according to their roles in a community?
How do species interact with one another? How do communities respond to changes in
environmental conditions? Does high species biodiversity increase the
stability and sustainability of a community?
Updates OnlineThe latest references for topics covered in this section can be found at the book companion website. Log in to the book’s e-resources page at www.thomsonedu.com to access InfoTrac articles.
InfoTrac: California's wild crusade. Virginia Morell. National Geographic, Feb 2006 v209 i2 p80(16).
InfoTrac: Traveling green. Carol Goodstein. Natural History, July-August 2006 v115 i6 p16(4) .
InfoTrac: Too hot to trot. Charlie Furness. Geographical, May 2006 v78 i5 p51(7).
The Nature Conservancy: Jaguar Habitat and Center of Maya Civilization Protected in Historic Land Deal
National Geographic News: Conservationists Name Nine New "Biodiversity Hotspots"
Core Case Study:Why Should We Care about the
American Alligator? Hunters wiped out
population to the point of near extinction.
Alligators have important ecological role.
Figure 7-1
Core Case Study:Why Should We Care about the
American Alligator? Dig deep depressions (gator holes).
Hold water during dry spells, serve as refuges for aquatic life.
Build nesting mounds. provide nesting and feeding sites for birds. Keeps areas of open water free of vegetation.
Alligators are a keystone species: Help maintain the structure and function of the
communities where it is found.
Endangered Species
1967 – American Alligator listed as endangered
By 1977 – reduced listing to threatened Now there are farms that provide alligator
meat and skin There are invasive species that threaten the
alligators: breeding populations of burmese pythons in Florida
COMMUNITY STRUCTURE AND SPECIES DIVERSITY
Biological communities differ in their structure and physical appearance.
Figure 7-2
Fig. 7-2, p. 144
Short-grassprairie
Desertscrub
Tall-grassprairie
Thornscrub
Thornforest
Deciduousforest
Coniferousforest
Tropicalrain forest
Species Diversity and Niche Structure: Different Species Playing Different Roles
Biological communities differ in the types and numbers of species they contain and the ecological roles those species play. Species diversity/ species richness
• the number of different species it contains species evenness
• combined with the abundance of individuals within each of those species
Do you have equal numbers of different species?
The Edges
Community structure varies around the edges How? Might be sunnier, warmer, drier than forest
interior Increasing edges with habitat fragmentation
increases stress on organisms How? Species more vulnerable to predators and fire Can create barriers to colonizing new areas,
finding mates and food
Species Diversity and Niche Structure
Niche structure: how many potential ecological niches occur? how they resemble or differ? how the species occupying different niches
interact? Geographic location:
species diversity is highest in the tropics and declines as we move from the equator toward the poles.
TROPIC
Consistent daily climate and reliable food sources results in specialists with narrow niches versus generalists
Species in higher latitudes with variable weather have adaptations that allow them to survive in a greater range of environments
TYPES OF SPECIES
Native, nonnative, indicator, keystone, and foundation species play different ecological roles in communities. Native:
• those that normally live and thrive in a particular community.
Nonnative species: • those that migrate, deliberately or accidentally
introduced into a community.• Also known as invasive
Purposely introducing nonnatives
1957 the African bee was introduced to increase the productivity of honey bees
This introduction created “The killler bees” They have migrated North but are limited by
cold weather. Theses bees are overly aggressive
compared with commercial honey bees
CANE TOAD
We will watch a video that discusses the affects of the CANE TOAD introduced in Australia
Case Study:Species Diversity on Islands
MacArthur and Wilson proposed the species equilibrium model or theory of island biogeography in the 1960’s.
Model projects that at some point the rates of immigration and extinction should reach an equilibrium based on: Island size Distance to nearest mainland
Possible Author for Book
E. O. Wilson Main works The Theory of Island Biogeography, 1967, Princeton University Press (2001
reprint), ISBN 0-691-08836-5, with Robert H. MacArthur The Insect Societies, 1971, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-45490-1 Sociobiology: The New Synthesis 1975, Harvard University Press, (Twenty-fifth
Anniversary Edition, 2000 ISBN 0-674-00089-7) On Human Nature, 1979, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-01638-6 Genes, Mind and Culture: The coevolutionary process, 1981,
Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-34475-8 Promethean fire: reflections on the origin of mind, 1983, Harvard University Press
, ISBN 0-674-71445-8 Biophilia, 1984, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-07441-6
Success and Dominance in Ecosystems: The Case of the Social Insects, 1990, Inter-Research, ISSN 0932-2205
The Ants, 1990, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-04075-9, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, with Bert Hölldobler
The Diversity of Life, 1992, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-21298-3, The Diversity of Life: Special Edition, ISBN 0-674-21299-1
The Biophilia Hypothesis, 1993, Shearwater Books, ISBN 1-55963-148-1, with Stephen R. Kellert Journey to the Ants: A Story of Scientific Exploration, 1994, Harvard University Press,
ISBN 0-674-48525-4, with Bert Hölldobler Naturalist, 1994, Shearwater Books, ISBN 1-55963-288-7 In Search of Nature, 1996, Shearwater Books, ISBN 1-55963-215-1, with Laura Simonds Southworth Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, 1998, Knopf, ISBN 0-679-45077-7 The Future of Life, 2002, Knopf, ISBN 0-679-45078-5 Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Ant Genus, 2003, Harvard University Press,
ISBN 0-674-00293-8 From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books. 2005, W. W. Norton. The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth, September 2006, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
ISBN 978-0393062175 Nature Revealed: Selected Writings 1949-2006, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
ISBN 0-8018-8329-6 The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies, 2009, W.W. Norton &
Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-393-06704-0, with Bert Hölldobler
Indicator Species: Biological Smoke Alarms
Species that serve as early warnings of damage to a community or an ecosystem. Presence or absence of trout species because
they are sensitive to temperature and oxygen levels.
Birds are affected quickly by change Butterflies are associated with certain plants Coal miners used to use canaries
• If they stopped singing then its time to get out!!!
Keystone Species: Major Players
Keystone species help determine the types and numbers of other species in a community thereby helping to sustain it. How were Yellowstone wolves a keystone
species? Figures 7-4 and 7-5
Case Study: Why are Amphibians Vanishing?
Frogs serve as indicator species because different parts of their life cycles can be easily disturbed. Figure 7-3
Fig. 7-3, p. 147
Young frogAdult frog(3 years)
Sperm
SexualReproduction
Eggs Fertilized eggdevelopment Organ formation
Egg hatches
Tadpole
Tadpole developsinto frog
Case Study: Why are Amphibians Vanishing?
Frogs sensitive at various stage of life Eggs absorb UV radiation or pollution Tadpoles live in water and eat plants As adults they eat insects (pesticide exposure)
Frogs have thin permeable skin Easily absorb pollutants from water, air, soil As of 2004 33% of populations threatened 43% of populations declining
Case Study: Why are Amphibians Vanishing?
See answers on next slide
FROGS: No single cause has been indentified
1. Habitat loss and fragmentation Draining and filling wetlands, deforestation,
development2. Prolonged drought: kills tadpoles3. Pollution
Pesticides = sensitivity to bacterial, viral and fungal diseases and cause sexual abnormalities
4. Increases in ultraviolet radiation from ozone layer destruction
Harms embryos of amphibians in shallow ponds
Frogs continued5. Parasistes6. Viral and Fungal diseases
Chytrid fungus attacks the skin7. Climate Change:
5. Evaporated water increases cloud cover, lowers daytime temps and warms night = chytrid fungi
8. Overhunting (Frog leg delicacy in Asia and France)
9. Natural immigration or deliberate introduction of nonnative predators + competitors
Why should we care if frogs die?
They signal degradation of habitat They eat insects They are genetic storehouse of
pharmaceutical products waiting to be discovered Painkillers, antibiotics, burns, heart disease, etc
They might not need us, but we need them
Video: Frogs Galore
From ABC News, Biology in the Headlines, 2005 DVD.
PLAYVIDEO
Foundation Species: Other Major Players
Expansion of keystone species category. Foundation species can create and enhance
habitats that can benefit other species in a community. Elephants push over, break, or uproot trees,
creating forest openings promoting grass growth for other species to utilize.
Bats and birds regenerate deforested areas (how?)
Beavers create wetlands
How Would You Vote?
To conduct an instant in-class survey using a classroom response system, access “JoinIn Clicker Content” from the PowerLecture main menu for Living in the Environment.
Do we have an ethical obligation to protect shark species from premature extinction and treat them humanely?
a. No. It's impractical to force international laws on individual fishermen that are simply trying to feed their families with the fishing techniques that they have.
b. Yes. Sharks are an important part of marine ecosystems. They must be protected and, like all animals, they should be humanely treated.
Sharks Whale shark dorsal fin can = $10,000 Bowl of soup can = $100 Yet fins found to be high in MERCURY Sharks killed because we fear them, yet only
7 people per year on average die from sharks SHARKS are our key to cancer. Sharks rarely get cancer and have effective
immune systems They grow slow, mature late =
SENSITIVE TO OVERFISHING
SPECIES INTERACTIONS: COMPETITION AND PREDATION
Species can interact through competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism.
Some species evolve adaptations that allow them to reduce or avoid competition for resources with other species (resource partitioning).
Resource Partitioning
Each species minimizes competition with the others for food by spending at least half its feeding time in a distinct portion of the spruce tree and by consuming somewhat different insect species.
Figure 7-7
Niche Specialization
Niches become separated to avoid competition for resources.
Figure 7-6
Fig. 7-6, p. 150
Species 2Species 1N
umbe
r of i
ndiv
idua
lsN
umbe
r of i
ndiv
idua
ls
Species 2Species 1
Resource use
Resource use
Regionof
niche overlap
Examples
The lion eats larger animals and leopards eat the smaller animals when both exist in the same habitat.
Hawks hunt by day and Owls hunt the same prey by night.
SPECIES INTERACTIONS: COMPETITION AND PREDATION
Species called predators feed on other species called prey.
Organisms use their senses their senses to locate objects and prey and to attract pollinators and mates.
Some predators are fast enough to catch their prey, some hide and lie in wait, and some inject chemicals to paralyze their prey.
PREDATION
Some prey escape their predators or have outer protection, some are camouflaged, and some use chemicals to repel predators.
Figure 7-8
Fig. 7-8a, p. 153(a) Span worm
Camouflage
Fig. 7-8b, p. 153(b) Wandering leaf insect
Camouflage
Fig. 7-8c, p. 153(c) Bombardier beetle
Chemical Warfare
Fig. 7-8d, p. 153(d) Foul-tasting monarch butterfly
Chemical Warfare Warning coloration
Fig. 7-8e, p. 153
(e) Poison dart frog
Chemical Warfare
Warning coloration
Fig. 7-8f, p. 153
(f) Viceroy butterfly mimics monarch butterfly
mimicry
Fig. 7-8g, p. 153
(g) Hind wings of Io moth resemble eyes of a much larger animal.
Fig. 7-8h, p. 153
(h) When touched, snake caterpillar changes shape to look like head of snake.
Deceptive Behavior
SPECIES INTERACTIONS: PARASITISM, MUTUALISM, AND
COMMENSALIM Parasitism occurs when one species feeds
on part of another organism. In mutualism, two species interact in a way
that benefits both. Commensalism is an interaction that benefits
one species but has little, if any, effect on the other species.
Parasites: Sponging Off of Others
Although parasites can harm their hosts, they can promote community biodiversity. Some parasites live in host (micororganisms,
tapeworms). Some parasites live outside host (fleas, ticks,
mistletoe plants, sea lampreys). Some have little contact with host (dump-nesting
birds like cowbirds, some duck species)
Mutualism: Win-Win Relationship
Two species can interact in ways that benefit both of them.
Figure 7-9
Fig. 7-9a, p. 154(a) Oxpeckers and black rhinoceros
Fig. 7-9b, p. 154(b) Clownfish and sea anemone
Fig. 7-9c, p. 154
(c) Mycorrhizal fungi on juniper seedlings in normal soil
Fig. 7-9d, p. 154
(d) Lack of mycorrhizal fungi on juniper seedlings in sterilized soil
Mutualism
• The microorganisms in our digestive tract and other guts help digest food and benefit from a sheltered habitat with a consistent food supply
• Without termites there would not be a decay of cellulose. Termites have bacteria and protozoan that help them breakdown cellulose (tough carbohydrates in plants)
Commensalism: Using without Harming
Some species interact in a way that helps one species but has little or no effect on the other.
Figure 7-10
EPIPHYTES
Some orchids grow in the branches of other trees.
They appear to not harm their host tree.
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION: COMMUNITIES IN TRANSITION
New environmental conditions allow one group of species in a community to replace other groups.
Ecological succession: the gradual change in species composition of a given area Primary succession: the gradual establishment
of biotic communities in lifeless areas where there is no soil or sediment.
Secondary succession: series of communities develop in places containing soil or sediment.
Primary Succession: Starting from Scratch
Primary succession begins with an essentially lifeless are where there is no soil in a terrestrial ecosystem
Figure 7-11
Fig. 7-11, p. 156
Exposed rocks
Lichens and mosses
Small herbs and shrubs
Heath matJack pine,
black spruce, and aspen
Balsam fir, paper birch, and
white spruceforest
community
Time
Started on new islands, melted glaciers, after volcanic eruptions
Succession is dependent on climate
Secondary Succession: Starting Over with Some Help
Secondary succession begins in an area where the natural community has been disturbed.
Figure 7-12
Fig. 7-12, p. 157
TimeAnnualweeds
Perennial
weeds and
grasses
Shrubsand pineseedlings
Young pine forest
with developing
understory of oak
and hickory trees
Mature oak-hickory forest
Can We Predict the Path of Succession, and is Nature in
Balance? The course of succession cannot be
precisely predicted. Previously thought that a stable climax
community will always be achieved. Succession involves species competing for
enough light, nutrients and space which will influence it’s trajectory.
ECOLOGICAL STABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Living systems maintain some degree of stability through constant change in response to environmental conditions through:
Inertia (persistence): • the ability of a living system to resist being disturbed or
altered. Constancy:
• the ability of a living system to keep its numbers within the limits imposed by available resources.
Resilience: • the ability of a living system to bounce back and repair
damage after (a not too drastic) disturbance.
ECOLOGICAL STABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Having many different species appears to increase the sustainability of many communities.
Human activities are disrupting ecosystem services that support and sustain all life and all economies.