Option G: Conservation EcologyG1 Community Ecology (pg 328-338)

Species – any group of organisms that can mate, creating a viable offspring

Population – a group of a specific species living in specific ecosystem

Community – All populations in a given ecosystem at a given time.

Factors that affect the distribution of plant species in an ecosystem include: pH, temperature, water, light, salinity, and available mineral nutrients,.

Biomass is the combined weight of the biological material from living, or recently living organisms. A highly productive ecosystem will produce a lot of biomass.

How to calculate biomass: Pg 329

Factors affect the distribution of animal species in an ecosystem include: temperature, water, breeding sites, food supply, available territory.

One way to see how different factors affect species population size is through quadrat sampling.

Pg 328 Inquiry box

Mark-Recapture Sampling

Every organism has specific biological characteristic that affect the way it will interact with the abiotic and biotic resources in its environment. This causes the organism to fit into a specific niche.

Fundamental niche – the set of resources individuals in a population could use under ideal conditions

Realized Niche – The set of resources an individual in a population uses under actual environmental conditions

Competitive Exclusion

Competitive Exclusion

Competition over resources can happen between different species or between members of the same species.

The population size of the weaker species could decline, one species could modify its behaviour to use different resources, or one population could migrate.

Predation – where one species preys on another

Predator prey cycles often follow a sinusoidal curve, where both populations have similar fluctuations, but one population lags behind the other.

Mutualism – a relationship where both organisms benefit (+/+ relationship)

Ex: Oxbirds pick parasites off of the skin of the impala

Ex: bacterial living in our stomachs and large intestines

Parasitism – a relationship where one species benefits and the other is harmed, but not usually killed

Herbivory – primary consumers who live off of plants.

Disruption of Community Equilibrium often happens through natural disasters and introduction of exotic species. Ex: European Rabbit introduced to Australia in 1859