BIO 3115 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Coral Reef Fish, Log-Normal Distribution, Species Richness
19 Feb 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Natural rarity: trophic status , species that are naturally rare because of their biology, ecology and evolutionary history. Most large carnivores because of high trophic status combined with large body size, which means relatively few individuals can be supported: specialized requirements (+competition) , some species are naturally rare because they have very specialized habitat requirements. If the required habitat is rare, then so too will be the species in question. If they can survive outside of particular habitats, they are usually faced with exlusion because of interactions and competition with other species. Immigration rates therefore depend on distance of colonizers. Coral reef fish; coral reefs are exceptionally diverse, but have limited distribution (only 0. 2% of the oceans" surface!). Recent mass bleaching at global scales raises doubts about coral reef viability: low genetic variability, some species are naturally rare because low genetic variability prevents them from adapting to changing environmental conditions.
