Community Dynamics

Question 1

Resistance

Answer 1

a community resists change and remains stable despite disturbance

Question 2

Resilience

Answer 2

a community is able to recover from a disturbance and return to its undisturbed state

Question 3

Regime shift

Answer 3

can be due to climate change, loss of keystone species, introduced species, etc.

Question 4

Ecological succession

Answer 4

gradual process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time
Can be decades or millions of years

Question 5

Primary succession

Answer 5

Areas not previously occupied- glacial tills, lava flows, etc.

Question 6

Secondary succession

Answer 6

Areas of environmental disturbance- wildfire, floods, human disturbance

Question 7

Pioneer organisms

Answer 7

first colonizers of barren environments
Examples- lichens, grasses, invertebrates, etc.

Question 8

10% rule:

Answer 8

10% of the energy harvested at a lower trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level up

Question 9

Gross primary productivity (GPP)

Answer 9

Rate at which ecosystem producers convert solar energy to chemical energy and biomass

Question 10

Biomass

Answer 10

the total mass of organisms in a given area or volume

Question 11

Net primary productivity (NPP)

Answer 11

Rate at which an ecosystem’s producers convert solar energy to chemical energy, minus the rate at which producers use energy for respiration