Community Ecology

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Community Ecology Noun

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[kuh-myoo-ni-tee ee-kol-uh-jee]

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Community Ecology

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The scientific study of the interactions between populations of different species that form a biological community within a shared environment.

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Example: This diagram shows how different species in a community, like plants, caterpillars, birds, and microbes, interact through a food chain, transferring energy.

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Species Richness Noun

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[spee-sheez rich-ness]

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Species Richness

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The total number of different species that are represented within a particular ecological community, landscape, or region.

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Example: This ecosystem has high species richness because it contains many different types of organisms, such as deer, foxes, birds, insects, and various plants.

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Species Diversity Noun

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[spee-sheez di-vur-si-tee]

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Species Diversity

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A measure of biological variety in a community, considering both the number of species and their relative abundance.

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Example: This image shows that species diversity considers both the number of different species (richness) and how evenly individuals are distributed among those species (evenness).

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Niche Noun

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[nich]

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Niche

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The specific ecological role and position of a species, including its interactions with biotic and abiotic factors in its environment.

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Example: This image shows a woodpecker and a flying squirrel competing for the same nesting hole, demonstrating how an organism's niche includes its interactions with others.

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Fundamental Niche Noun

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[fun-duh-men-tl nich]

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Fundamental Niche

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The full range of environmental conditions and resources an organism can possibly occupy and use without any limiting factors.

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Example: This diagram shows the full range of environmental conditions (like water and nutrient availability) where a species *could* potentially live, which is its fundamental niche.

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Realized Niche Noun

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[ree-uh-lahyzd nich]

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Realized Niche

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The portion of a fundamental niche that a species actually occupies due to limiting factors like competition or predation.

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Example: A species' realized niche (green) is the actual range of conditions it occupies, which is a smaller part of its potential fundamental niche (yellow).

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Resource Partitioning Noun

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[ree-sors pahr-tish-uh-ning]

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Resource Partitioning

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The division of limited environmental resources by species to help avoid competition in an ecological niche and allow coexistence.

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Example: Different warbler species avoid competition by feeding in different parts of the same tree, dividing the resource so they can coexist in one habitat.

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Predation Noun

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[pred-ay-shun]

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Predation

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A biological interaction where one organism, the predator, hunts, kills, and consumes another organism, known as the prey.

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Example: This image shows a predator (the lion) hunting its prey (the zebra), a key interaction in an ecosystem where one organism eats another.

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Symbiosis Noun

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[sim-bee-oh-sis]

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Symbiosis

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Any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic or parasitic.

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Example: This diagram shows the symbiotic relationship (mutualism) between a clownfish and a sea anemone, detailing how each organism benefits from their interaction.

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Parasitism Noun

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[par-uh-si-tiz-uhm]

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Parasitism

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A symbiotic relationship where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host, which is harmed.

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Example: This diagram shows a tick's life cycle, where the tick (a parasite) must feed on different hosts (animals, humans) to survive and reproduce.