Community Ecology

Community
Assemblage of species populations that occur together in space and time. Composite of its component populations. Species making up the community have their own role in the environment
Producers, consumers and decomposers

Community

Type of Communities
Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Autotrophic Community
Can produce its own energy needs. Example: Forest, Plant communities

Heterotrophic Community
Depend on the continuous inflow of energy Cannot produce their own energy needs.

Question
Consider a fallen log. Is the community inhabiting a fallen log autotrophic or heterotrophic? Why?

Community
Biological Component of the ecosystem Defined at any size, scale or level within a hierarchy of habitats. Global scale, pattern of community types can be recognized. Vary greatly in size, ,lack precise boundaries, rarely completely isolated

Community
Large scale communities are delineated by climate and referred as biomes.

Community Species Diversity Species Richness Species Dominance

Species Richness
Number of species in a community Measure of diversity Community with many species present is said to have high species diversity. Example:
Tropical rainforest has very high species richness. Marine community is high in species richness.

Species Richness

Species Diversity
Evenness of distribution Example:
2 communities, A and B, have 10 species each. They have the same species richness. If the 10 species in community A are equally represented (meaning each species has 10% of the total species present) and community B has 60% of species 1, 10% of species 2, 5% of species 3 and the 2 rarest species are represented only by 1% each, community A has a more even distribution of species than community B. Which has a higher species diversity and why?

How will you measure Species Diversity?

Shannon-Wiener Index (H) The more species there are in a community relative to the number of individuals, the more complex it is the more information it stores. If diversity is high, it is hard to predict the certainty of a randomly picked individual.

Shannon-Wiener Index (H)

s H = (pi) (ln pi) i=1 Where: H = diversity of species s = number of species pi = proportion of individual of the total sample belonging to the ith species.

Species Richness
Determined by counting the number of species present. Values of J ranges from 0 to 1.0. An evenness equal to 1 means all species are equally represented in the community.

Species Richness
J=H Hmax Where: H = Shannon-Wiener Index of Diversity Hmax = ln S

Simpsons Index
Uses the premise that the chance to find a pair of the same species from the population of all species at random is higher if the species diversity is low. Species diversity is the inverse of the dominance index.

Simpsons Index
D=1 pi2 Where: D = Simpsons index of diversity pi= proportion of the total sample belonging to the ith species. S = number of species

Evenness of Distribution
E=D Dmax =D S

Where: E = Evenness of distribution D = Simpsons index of diversity Dmax = Maximum possible evenness of distribution = S S = Number of species

 Species diversity- measure of the relative importance of each species within a community based on its abundance,productivity or size Inversely related to : geographic isolation, distance effect, environmental stress or habitat , species richness energy hypothesis

Diversity Influences Community operation and stability.

Why are there so many different kinds of organisms?

Evolutionary Time Hypothesis Climatic Stability Hypothesis Climatic Predictability Hypothesis Heterogeneous Environment Hypothesis Productivity Hypothesis Competition Theory Predation Theory Island Biogeography Theory

Evolutionary Time Hypothesis

According to Alfred Wallace, the tropical regions are more ancient than temperate region and compared to northern latitudes are less disturbed by glaciation. Allowed more time for the evolution of varied forms of life.

Climatic Stability Hypothesis

In unstable climate, species would develop broad tolerances to enable them to survive wide variations in the physical environment. Stable environment allows species to specialize in a variety of microclimate habitats occupying small niches and allow diverse species to do the same.

Climatic Predictability Hypothesis

Species evolved ways to take advantage of seasonally predictable variations in climate and depend upon those variations for their life cycle.

Heterogeneous Environment Hypothesis

The structure of the community is complex, there will be more potential niches and greater opportunity for speciation of organism to exploit those niches. Variations in altitude and topography provide additional habitat and further increase species diversity.

Productivity Hypothesis
The availability of resources will result in increased diversification of species resulting in increased specialization. High primary productivity would support diverse forms of life.

Competition Theory
Competition favors specialization resulting in smaller niches. In relatively stable environments, there is strong intra and interspecific competition.

Predation Theory
Random and selective removal of prey species by a predator reduces the level of competition among them Allow species to coexist locally because population of competitors is kept low enough to prevent any one from becoming dominant.

Island Biogeography Theory

Number of species on an island is balanced by the number of extinction and immigration. Important in the management of endangered species and the development of nature reserves.

Species Dominance
Those that may be the most numerous Possess the highest amount of biomass Occupy the largest space Have the greatest influence or control over the activities of the community.

Dominant Species
Generalists Capable of utilizing a wide range of conditions. Subdominants are more specialized.

How is dominance measured?

Dominance = basal area or aerial coverage, species A area sampled Relative Dominance = basal area or aerial coverage, species A total basal area or coverage, all species Relative density = total individuals, species A total individuals, all species

How is dominance measured?

Frequency = intervals or points where species A occurs total number of sample plots or points Relative frequency = frequency value, species A total frequency value, all species

How is dominance measured?

Importance value = relative frequency + relative dominance + relative density Simpsons index of dominance = pi2

Community Structure
Form and organization of the different components in a given place. Producers, consumers, decomposers trophic structure Food chain, food web

Vertical Stratification in a community

Provides physical structure for animals and other organisms Several layers of vegetation that harbors a variety of animal life. Determined by light penetration (photic or euphotic and aphotic), temperature profile (epilimnion, thermocline, hypolimnion) and oxygen profile (aerobic or oxic and anaerobic or anoxic)

Light Penetration

Temperature Profile

Horizontal Stratification
Zonation brought by differences in climatic and edaphic or soil factors that retard growth of vegetation. Different places are characterized by different soil types supporting different types of vegetation.

Edge
point where adjacent communities meet. Result from abrupt changes in soil type, topographic, and microclimatic changes. Stable and permanent because of adjoining vegetation types Example: Terrestrial meeting aquatic environments.

Edges
Result from disturbances such as fire, flood, land clearing, agriculture Adjoining vegetation types change with time.

Ecotone
Develops when adjoining communities blend and intergrade with one another. Contains all or most of the ecological niches of the adjacent communities as well as sometaht are unique to ecotone

Edge and Ecotone

Represent contribution of adjacent community on the other community.

Community Resilience Capacity of community to recover from a disturbance.

Community Persistence
Community will remain even in the presence of some disturbances.

Community Change
Gradual series of change in composition and function of the community called ecological succession. Each step in successional process is a seral stage or sere. Change is directional and non-seasonal Final stage of development is selfregulating and self-regenerating and is the climax community.

Types of Ecological Succession

Primary- change in species composition over time in a habitat that was not previously inhabited by organisms-no soil exists when primary succession begins
Secondary- change in species composition that takes place after some disturbance removes existing vegetation

Mechanism of Succession Autogenic Allogenic

Process of Succession
1. Nudation 2. Migration or colonization 3. Ecesis (Establish, grow and reproduce) 4. Compete 5. Stabilize

Characteristics of community at developmental and mature stages

Characteristics Immature Mature

Ecosystem Structure Plant size

Species diversity Trophic structure

Small Low

Large High

Mostly producer Mix: producer, few decomposer consumer & decomposer

Characteristics of community at developmental and mature stages

Characteristics Immature Mature

Ecosystem Structure Ecological richness Community organization

Few, mostly generalized Low

Many, mostly specialized High

Characteristics of community at developmental and mature stages

Characteristics Immature Mature

Ecosystem Function Role of detritus Unimportant in nutrient regeneration Net community High production

Important

Low

Characteristics of community at developmental and mature stages

Characteristics Immature Mature

Ecosystem Function Gross production/ Standing biomass Food chain

High

Low

Simple, mostly Complex, plant, herbivore, dominated by few decomposer decomposers

Characteristics of community at developmental and mature stages

Characteristics Immature Mature

Ecosystem Function Efficiency of nutrient cycle Efficiency of energy use

Low Low

High High

Questions?
Why are agricultural fields considered to be always at the early stage of ecological succession?

Why do grasslands normally do not mature into a forest community? How does plant succession affect animal habitats?

Mechanisms of Ecological Succession

Connell and Slatyer (1977) proposed 3 models of mechanisms underlying ecological succession.
Facilitation Modification Inhibition

Facilitation Model
Facilitate the pioneer species in establishing in the nude environment. Prepare the grounds for earlier species.

Tolerance Model
Predictable sequence be produced because different species have different strategies for exploiting resources.

Inhibition Model
Resists invasion by other species and later species are able to gain ground only when the early colonizers die. Disease or local disturbances