Ecology/ EnvSci 5-2 Ecological Succession

What is ecological succession?

• The movement of organisms from one habitat to another

• The process by which ecosystems change and develop over time

• The process of photosynthesis

• The extinction of a species

What are the two main types of ecological succession?

• Primary and seasonal succession

• Primary and secondary succession

• Horizontal and vertical succession

• Gradual and rapid succession

A common type of succession that occurs on a surface where an ecosystem has previously existed

• primary succession

• secondary succession

• climax community

• pioneer species

The first organisms to colonize any newly available area and begin the process of ecological succession

• ecological succession

• climax community

• primary succession

• pioneer species

A final and stable community

• climax community

• pioneer species

• primary succession

• secondary succession

A gradual process of change and replacement of the types of species in a community

• climax community

• pioneer species

• ecological succession

• lichens

Which of the following are most likely to be the pioneer organisms on an area of bare rock?

• Saplings

• Shrubs

• Lichens

• perennial grasses

Where would an ecologist be least likely to go to study primary succession?

• locked, abandoned asphalt parking lot in New York City

• a gravel-filled valley that had been covered by a glacier until recently

• a new island formed by a volcanic eruption

• the Amazon Rain Forest

Succession is possible because

• climates change over time.

• it is a rapid and chaotic process that is very difficult to control.

• new species make the environment less suitable for previous ones.

• existing plants reproduce quickly.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Which of the following is an example of secondary succession?

• breaking down of bare rock by fungi and mosses

• pioneer plants begin to grow after glacial melting

• growth of plants after a forest is destroyed by fire

• appearance of weeds in cracks in a concrete surface

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4