BIOA02H3 : Lec06 - Community Ecology.docx
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BIOA02H3 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Study of communities in relation to the environment. Community: an assemblage of all populations of various species living within a given area where there is the opportunity for potential interactions to occur. E. g. various animals and plants surrounding a watering hole. All members of savanna community in southern africa. Populations in communities linked by interspecific interactions: affect the survival and reproduction of all species involved, can have different effects on populations involved. Cost to both species / conspecifics / etc. Predators have a variety of feeding adaptations: claws, teeth, fangs, stingers, poison. Consume food: described by optimal foraging theory. Mathematical models that predict an animal"s diet preferences. Prey evolve various evasive strategies: size. Too small for effort: eternal vigilance. Takes evasive action: spines and armor. Dangerous / impossible to attack: color variation. Prey display a great variety of defensive adaptations. Cryptic coloration: camouflage, make prey difficult to see. Aposematic coloration: warns predators to stay away from prey.