Community and

Ecosystem Ecology
Part 1
Objectives for Today
• What are communities, and what factors affect community richness
and diversity?
• Compare and contrast the different hypotheses for the spatial
patterns of species richness that we see
• What is succession, and what factors might influence it?
• What are the main factors that determine species richness on
islands?
• What influences biomass production in terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems?
Community Ecology
• Community: a group of populations (of different species) that inhabit
the same area at the same time
Community Ecology
• Community ecology: study of the factors that influence the number
and abundance of species in a community
Ecosystem Ecology
• Ecosystem: the physical environment and the communities of
organisms that live in it
Ecosystem Ecology
• Ecosystem ecology: study of the interaction between biotic (living)
and abiotic (non-living) components of an ecosystem
• including the flow of energy and cycling of chemical elements in an ecosystem
Species Richness and Diversity
• Species richness: the number of different species in a community
• A measure of diversity
Species Richness and Diversity
• What factors influence species richness?
• Latitude
• Time
• Area
• Productivity (of producers)
Species Richness and Diversity
• Species richness increases as you approach the equator
• What factors account for this pattern?
• Temperature?
• Water availability?
• Age of habitat?
• Size of habitat?
• We can break these
down into a few,
contributing
hypotheses
Species Richness and Diversity
• Species-time hypothesis: temperate habitats contain fewer species
because they are younger than tropical habitats
• Communities in temperate habitats are periodically wiped out by glaciers
during ice ages
• Tropical habitats have
remained undestroyed
for longer
Species Richness and Diversity
• Species-time hypothesis:
• Suggests that communities diversify with age, so older communities should
contain more species
• We can test that:
• Tree species that have existed longer in Britain have more diverse insect communities
living on them
Species Richness and Diversity
• Species-area hypothesis: larger areas of habitat contain more species
because larger areas can support more species
• Suggests that communities diversify with availability of resources/space
• We can test that:
Tree species that have larger ranges
in Britain have more diverse insect
communities living on them
Species Richness and Diversity
• Species-productivity hypothesis: greater production by plants (or
other producers) results in greater species richness overall
• Influenced by temperature and rainfall
• Tree diversity (and the diversity of
other species) follows this pattern
• Areas that have more plant
producers also have more diverse
animal communities
Species Richness and Diversity
• Species-productivity hypothesis: greater production by plants (or
other producers) results in greater species richness overall
• Time and productivity interact:
• Evolutionarily older areas with similar temperature/rainfall have greater
diversity than younger areas
• Older, temperate forests of Asia have
higher tree diversity than younger
forests of Europe or America
Community and
Ecosystem Ecology
Part 2
Succession
• Succession: the gradual and continuous change in a community after
a disturbance
• Primary succession: colonization of pristine land by organisms
• Secondary succession: re-colonization of land that had previously contained
communities after a severe disturbance
Succession
• Climax community: a stable, final community reached after a period
of succession
Succession
• Facilitation model: each new species to colonize changes the
environment to make it more suitable for other species
• Initial colonizers break up rock and add organic matter to soil
• Provide food for subsequent species
Succession
• Mount St. Helens exploded in 1980, sending a wave of debris down
the slope into Spirit Lake
• Effectively destroying the communities along the mountain and lake
Succession
• Researchers have been studying sites devastated by the volcano for
facilitation
• Fungi are the first to colonize
• They add organic material to soil
• And allow other species to invade
• Eventually, climax pine forest returns
Succession
• Inhibition model: early colonists prevent other species from
colonizing
• First colonizers may exclude other species by taking up space or using
resources (passive)
• Or actively prevent competition by producing toxins or blocking other species
from entering the habitat
Island Biogeography
• What factors determine how communities form on islands during
succession?
• Facilitation,
inhibition
• Species ability to
reach the island
• Distance from
mainland
• Size of island
• Extinction rate
Island Biogeography
• Equilibrium model of island biogeography: the number of species on
an island will be an equilibrium point determined by both
immigration and extinction rates
• Also works on other ‘island’ habitats
Island Biogeography
• Equilibrium model of island biogeography:
• Initially, the immigration rate of new species is high and the extinction rate is
low
• Over time, the immigration rate
slows (because only species that
have already arrived are
continuing to arrive)
• The extinction rate increases as
competition for resources
increases
Island Biogeography
• The equilibrium model of island biogeography generates testable
predictions:
• Species number should increase as island size increases
• Species number should decrease as distance to the mainland (or source pool)
increases
• There should be a high turnover of species on the island
Island Biogeography
• Species-area relationships:
• At equilibrium, larger islands will have more species than smaller ones
Island Biogeography
• Species-distance relationships:
• At equilibrium, islands that are farther from a mainland or source population
will have fewer species than closer ones
Biomass Production in Ecosystems
• Net primary production (NPP) is the amount of energy produced by
primary producers that is available to consumers
• Equal to the amount of energy fixed by producers minus the amount of
energy used by producers during respiration
Biomass Production in Ecosystems
• Primary production in terrestrial ecosystems:
• Depends mostly on water and temperature
• Also influenced by nutrient availability, particularly nitrogen in the soil
Biomass Production in Ecosystems
• Primary production in aquatic ecosystems:
• Depends mostly on light and nutrient availability
• Cold water from the ocean floor, carrying nutrients, is able to cycle to the
surface more easily in colder oceans (not blocked by warm water at the
surface)
• Nutrients are also brought to the
surface by upwelling
Biomass Production in Ecosystems
• Primary production varies across Earth’s terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems
Biomass Production in Ecosystems
• Most of the primary production is eaten by detritivores
(decomposers)
• Most plants die in place before they are eaten, so their energy passes to
detritivores rather than primary consumers
Community and
Ecosystem Ecology
Part 3
Species Interactions
• Different species interact with each other in various ways
• Consider two species interacting:
• Competition: both are harmed
• Predation, herbivory, parasitism, parisitoidism: one benefits, one is harmed
• Mutualism: both benefit
Competition
• Competition harms both interacting species
• Two species compete for space, food, or other resources
• Both occupy the same ecological niche
• Both suffer reduced population growth and/or possible extinction
Competition
• Competition occurs among species sharing a similar niche or resource
• Resource partitioning is the result of past competition: one species is
excluded from the niche completely
• Species may evolve to be less similar to each other to
avoid competition (character displacement)
Antagonists
• Predators (including parasitoids, and herbivores) reduce the
population growth of their targeted species
• They kill their host or prey
Antagonists
• Parasites (including pathogens) reduce the population growth of their
targeted species
• They damage their host or prey
• Generally, do not kill the host or prey, but weaken it
Antagonists
• When two species interact as antagonists they evolve defenses and
weapons against each other
• Called a coevolutionary arms race
Antagonists
• Coevolutionary arms race:
• Example, garter snakes feed on rough-skinned newts
• Newts produce a deadly poison, Tetrodotoxin (TTX), as a defense
• Garter snakes evolve resistance to TTX
Antagonists
• Coevolutionary Arms Race
• TTX binds to sodium channels in neurons causing paralysis and death
• Garter snakes in certain populations have evolved a sodium channel that
resists binding by TTX
• The newts evolve even higher levels of TTX
• Both species continue to escalate defense and counter-defense until an end
point is reached
Antagonists
• Animals and plants evolve defenses against predation, herbivory, and
parasitism
• Toxins, weapons, camouflage
Antagonists
• Aposematic coloration: bright or striking coloration that advertises a
plant or animal is toxic or dangerous
Antagonists
• Camouflage: blending into the background to avoid detection by
predators or prey
Antagonists
• Müllerian mimicry: when several toxic species converge on the same
color pattern
• All species benefit from the increased recognition of the warning coloration
by predators
Antagonists
• Batesian mimicry: when a non-toxic species converges on the same
color pattern as a toxic species
• Mimics are ‘cheaters’ and cause harm to the toxic species
• When mimics become common the coloration is less effective because
predators will start to ignore it
Antagonists
• How do the ‘cheaters’ in Batesian mimicry cause reduced population
growth in the species they’re mimicking?
• What do you predict might
happen over time to this color
pattern?
Mutualisms
• Species in mutualisms both benefit from their interactions
• Both enjoy increased population growth due to their positive interactions
Mutualisms
• Mutualism:
• Example, Darwin’s moth and the orchid it pollinates
• The moth’s long tongue fits perfectly into the flower’s extremely long nectary
• Both benefit from the exclusive relationship
Population Density
• The way that species interact might depend on their population
densities
Population Density
• Populations may interact in a density-dependent manner:
• Predators might focus on catching common prey (rather than rarer prey)
• Pathogens evolve to infect the most common host genotype
Population Density
• Populations may interact in a density-independent manner:
• Predators may only kill a certain number of prey within their territories,
regardless of how many prey are available