ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION 2022

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION 2022Observed process of change in the species structure of a natural community over time. DISTURBANCE Event that changes composition of an ecosystem. 00:43 01:17 BLOW OUT (Disturbances) Natural disturbance caused by animals, fires, lightning, floods or earthquakes that provide an opening for better suited organisms to thrive and others to succeed them over time. PRIMARY SUCCESSION Absence of soil defines this type of succession which takes place in an environment where the disturbance cleared all organisms and soil. SECONDARY SUCCESSION Process by which one community replaces another community that has been destroyed. PIONEER SPECIES Organisms that can live in a newly created, barren or altered environments. Example: lichens (see photo) They develop soil and create organic matter from their dead remains. CLIMAX COMMUNITY Stable, final stage where all organisms are in equilibrium until the next disturbance. Largest amount of biodiversity for a particular ecosystem. EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY SUCCESSION Volcanic activity Glaciation River sedimentation Sand dunes Rocks EXAMPLES OF SECONDARY SUCCESSION Hurricane Flooding Forest fire Clear-cut forest Avalanche Landslide MICROSUCCESSION Succession of micro-organisms like protists, fungi and bacteria occurring within a microhabitat (Photo: fungi on rotting tree). KEYSTONE SPECIES A species so intertwined in an ecosystem that without its present the ecosystem would collapse. Sea otters eat Sea Urchin, and in return this keep the Sea Urchins from eating too much Kelp. This kelp is the producer for some ecosystems. EXPLAIN THE VALUE OF A PIONEER SPECIES Develop the soil.