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COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
CHAPTER REVIEW
A community is an assemblage of populations interacting with one another within the same environment. Communities are characterized by their composition (types of species) and by their diversity, which includes richness (number of species) and evenness (relative abundance). Investigators are trying to determine if species co-occur in communities because their tolerance ranges for some abiotic factor(s) overlap or because they are part of a superorganism. In any case, richness seems to depend on the size of the community. In a community, each population occupies a habitat and also has an ecological niche, which is the role an organism plays in its community, including its habitat and its interactions with other organisms. Relationships between populations in a community are defined by such interactions as competition, predation, parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. The competitive exclusion principle states that no two species can occupy the same niche at the same time. Resource partitioning is believed to be present whenever similar species feed on slightly different foods or occupy slightly different habitats. Predation reduces the size of the prey population but can have a feedback effect that limits the predator population. Prey species have evolved various means to escape predatorsfor example, chemical defenses in plants and mimicry in animals. Species in a community may exhibit several types of symbiotic relationships. In parasitism, the fitness of the parasite increases, and that of the host decreases. Commensalism has a neutral effect. In mutualism, the fitness of both species increases. Communities are dynamic and undergo ecological succession, a change in a community following a disturbance. The process of succession is complex and may not always reach particular end points of community composition and diversity. Habitat patchiness at different stages of succession produces greater species diversity within the community. To increase biodiversity, an intermediate level of disturbance may be desirable, predation and competition may be beneficial (except when exotic species are introduced), and a size large enough for greater degree of diversity is helpful.

S T U DY E X E R C I S E S
Study the text section by section as you answer the questions that follow.

34.1 COMMUNITY COMPOSITION

AND

DIVERSITY (P . 702)

Communities are assemblages of interacting populations that differ in composition and diversity. Environmental and biotic factors influence community composition and diversity. The ecological niche is the role an organism plays in its community, including its habitat and its interactions with other organisms. 1. Draw a line between the terms in the second column that pertain to those in the first column, and a line between those in the third column that pertain to those in the second column. a. composition c. richness e. relative abundance b. diversity d. evenness f. number of species 2. Label each of these findings with (1) for the individualistic model of community structure and (2) for the interactive model of community structure. a. Five different coral reefs all contain the same species in the same relative numbers. _____ b. There was so much overlapping between species between the forest and field that determining where one ended and the other began was impossible.

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3. The habitat of an organism is simply a. but the ecological niche of an organism includes its habitat and its interactions with other organisms. What types of interactions? b. 4. Which would you expect to be largerthe fundamental niche of an organism or its realized niche?
a.

Why? b.

34.2 COMPETITION (P . 704)

Competition often leads to resource partitioning which reduces competition between species. 5. You would expect competition to be a lose/lose situation because both species are a. ______________. According to the b. ________________________________________________________________________________, no two species can occupy the same niche.
c.

_____________________________ is a way for two species to ensure different niches. For example, various

species of monkeys can coexist because each species d. ________________________________________________. 6. The barnacle Chthamalus is able to exist on rocks in the entire intertidal zone. When Balanus is present, it only exists in the upper intertidal zone. Why isnt Chthamalus found in the lower intertidal zone? a. ________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Why is Chthamalus found in the upper intertidal zone? b. __________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________

34.3 PREDATION (P . 707)

Predation often reduces prey population density, which in turn can lead to a reduction in predator population density. 7. The Canadian lynx and the snowshoe hare population sizes cycle. Why would they cycle if the predator-prey relationship is causing the cycling? a. __________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ Why would they cycle if a hare-food relationship is involved? b. _____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Identify the antipredator device in the following: Inchworms resemble twigs. a. ______________ Dart-poison frogs are brightly colored. b. ______________ Frilled lizards open up folds of skin around the neck. c. ______________ 9. If appropriate, label the following as describing Batesian (B) or Mllerian (M) mimicry; if neither is appropriate, leave blank. a. A predator mimics another species that has a successful predatory style. b. A prey mimics another species that has a successful defense. c. A predator captures food. d. Several different species with the same defense mimic one another.

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34.4 SYMBIOSIS (P . 710)

Symbiotic relationships include parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. 10. Commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism are all different types of ________________________ relationships. 11. Complete this table to compare types of symbiosis by marking a plus (+) if the species benefits, a minus () if the species is harmed, and a zero (0) if the symbiotic relationship has no effect on the species.
First Species parasitism commensalism mutualism Second Species

12. Label each of the following as describing commensalism (C), mutualism (M), or parasitism (P): a. The clownfish lives safely within the poisonous tentacles of the sea anemone, which other fish avoid. b. Certain bacteria cause pneumonia. c. Humans get a tapeworm from eating raw pork. d. Epiphytes grow in branches of trees but get no nourishment from the trees. e. Flowers provide nourishment to a pollinator, and the pollinator carries pollen to another flower. 13. Label these symbiotic relationships of species A to species B with the following terms: commensalism, competition, mutualism, parasitism, predation Species A consumed more of the resource than species B. a. ______________ Species A eats species B. b. ______________ Species A is cultivated by species B as a source of food. c. ______________ Species A infects species B. d. ______________ Species A rides along with species B to get food while species B hunts. e. ______________

34.5 COMMUNITY STABILITY

AND

DIVERSITY (P . 712)

Ecological succession is a change in species composition and community structure and organization over time. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis suggests that the presence of patches that contain various species increases biodiversity. Island biogeography suggests how to maintain biodiversity, permitting the continuance of all ecological interactions. 14. Draw a series of stages that illustrate the changes in plant species composition during secondary succession. early late-climax community

15. Match these terms with the descriptions below: climax-pattern model (CM), facilitation model (FM), inhibition model (IM), tolerance model (TM). a. An area could have any type of community, and chance alone determines the various stages of succession. b. Climate determines the type of community that arises in a particular area. Each area will always have the same type of climax community. 296

c. Each stage prevents other species from coming in until they die off. d. Each previous mix of plants makes it easier for the next mix of plants to take over. 16. Place a check by each factor that increases community diversity. a. large and/or connected natural areas b. low levels of disturbance c. intermediate levels of disturbance d. uniformity of habitat e. diversity of habitat f. competition between species g. human interference

CHAPTER TEST
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
Do not refer to the text when taking this test. 1. A community is made up of a. all the members of a given population. b. all of the plant populations of a given area. c. all of the populations of a given area. d. all of the populations of a given area plus the abiotic habitat in which they live. 2. Which is a facet of species diversity? a. species richness b. species evenness c. composition only d. Both a and b are correct. 3. Which of these is likely to have the greatest number of species? a. a small island with many diverse habitats b. a small, homogenous island c. a large island with many diverse habitats d. a large, homogenous island 4. Two competing paramecia species a. cannot occupy the same test tube. b. can exist in the same test tube. c. can exist in two different areas of the same test tube. d. None of these are correct. 5. Competition a. always eliminates one or the other species. b. widens niche breadth. c. narrows niche breadth and increases species diversity. d. None of these is correct. 6. The niche that an organism occupies while interacting with all others in its community is its a. realized niche. b. fundamental niche. c. habitat. d. patch. 7. Predator population size is limited in part by available ______________, while prey population size is limited by ______________. a. living space; food b. predators; prey c. food; predators d. food; food 8. Plants produce hormone analogues that a. interfere with metabolism of the adult insect. b. inhibit egg production in insects. c. interfere with the development of insect larvae. d. None of these is correct. 9. Antipredator defenses may include a. camouflage. b. fright. c. warning. d. All of these are correct. 10. Mimicry can help a. a predator capture food. b. prey avoid capture. c. Both a and b are correct. d. None of these is correct. 11. Bees, wasps, and hornets are examples of a. Batesian mimicry. b. Mllerian mimicry. c. mimicry for predation. d. Both a and c are correct. For questions 1214, match the organisms with the following terms: a. parasitism b. commensalism c. mutualism 12. virus 13. termites and protozoa 14. barnacle

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15. In which relationship do both species benefit? a. mutualism b. commensalism c. symbiosis d. Both b and c are correct. 16. Which can be a parasite? a. bacteria b. plants c. animals d. All of these are correct. 17. What parasite is a vector for Lyme disease? a. virus b. bacterium c. tick d. fungus 18. Choose the scenario that best represents secondary succession. a. treesshrubsgrassesperennial grasses b. annual weeds and grassesperennial grasses shrubstrees

c. shrubsannual weedsperennial grasses trees d. All of these are correct. 19. Which characteristic is typical of a late successional community? a. comprised of species typical for the area b. many species present c. climax community d. All of these are correct. 20. Which of the following factors increases the diversity of a community? a. diversity of habitats b. high levels of disturbance c. little or no competition d. All of these are correct.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS
Answer in complete sentences. 21. How does niche diversity affect species diversity in a community?

22. Explain how intermediate levels of disturbance maintain diversity.

Test Results: ______ Number right 22 = ______ 100 = ______ %

ANSWER KEY
STUDY EXERCISES
1. Draw lines between: b and c, b and d, e and d, f and c 2. a. 2 b. 1 3. a. where it lives b. predation, competition, symbiosis (parasitism, commensalism, mutualism) 4. a. fundamental b. because it includes the full range of species potential 5. a. competing for the same resource b. competitive exclusion principle c. Resource partitioning d. occupies a different spruce tree zone 6. a. Balanus competes successfully and takes over in lower intertidal zone. b. Chthamalus is better able to withstand drying out and takes over in upper intertidal zone. 7. a. The predator overkills the prey, and as the prey population declines, so does the predator population. b. As the hares die off due to lack of food, the predator population would decline, and as the hare population recovers, so would the predator population recover. 8. a. camouflage b. warning coloration c. fright 9. b. B d. M (both a and c should be left blank) 10. symbiotic 11.
First Species + + + Second Species 0 +

12. a. C b. P c. P d. C e. M 13. a. competition b. predation c. mutualism d. parasitism e. commensalism 14. see Figure 34.12, page 712, in text 15. a. TM b. CM c. IM d. FM 16. a, c, e, f

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CHAPTER TEST
1. c 2. d 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. c 9. d 10. c 11. b 12. a 13. c 14. b 15. a 16. d 17. c 18. b 19. d 20. a 21. The greater the number of niches, the greater the number of possible species that can fill them, and therefore, the greater the diversity. 22. At low lev-

els of disturbance, the organisms that dominate the community ( K -strategists) become more abundant, and other species have fewer opportunities to become established. At high levels of disturbance, only the r-strategists, which reproduce quickly, survive. At intermediate levels of disturbance, both r - and K -strategists maintain their populations at a smaller size, but overall diversity increases.

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