BIOL 180 Chapter Notes - Chapter 15: Ecological Succession, Secondary Succession, Primary Succession
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BIOL 180 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Disturbance and change in ecological communities: disturbance: any strong, short-lived disruption to a community that changes the distribution of living and/or nonliving resources. Usually occur with a predictable frequency and severity: disturbance regine: disturbances occurring with a predictable frequency and severity. Fires kill all or most of the existing trees in a boreal forest every 100-300 years on average. To maintain communities in good condition, biologists have to ensure that normal disturbance regimes occur. Or else dramatic community composition changes can occur. Succession: recovering following a severe disturbance that removes all or most of the organisms from a terrestrial or aquatic area o. Primary succession: when a disturbance removes the soil and its organisms as well as organisms that live above the soil surface. Secondary succession: when a disturbance removes some or all of the organisms from an area but leaves the soil intact, including the seeds and microorganisms within.
