BIOLOGY 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Niche Differentiation, Ecosystem Engineer, Character Displacement
Document Summary
Community: the set of interacting species in a place. Interspecific interactions: predation (carnivore, herbivore, symbiosis (parasitism, disease, competition, facilitation. Many of the same interactions happen within a single population. Defense against predators: be difficult to see. Cryptic coloration: coloration that blends in with habitat: toxic defense chemicals. Aposematic coloration: bright coloration that warns predators of poisonousness: active defense, mimic a defended species, be hard to eat. Spikes and thorns make it difficult to be eaten: running, behaviors. Interspecific interactions involving direct contact: parasitism (+/-) Parasite lives in or on a host. Pathogens: disease causing organisms: mutualism (+/+) Rarely results in immediate death of loser, but can shift population dynamics. Competitive exclusion: when two species compete, the inferior competitor will be eliminated overtime in a stable environment. Niche: all aspects of an organisms use of resources in its environment: how a(cid:374) orga(cid:374)is(cid:373) (cid:862)fit"s i(cid:374)(cid:863) Niche overlap interspecific competition: avoiding niche overlap: Natural selection should lead to minimizing competition.
