Ecology 1: Distribution, Occurance, & competition
Relevant portions of text:
 Pg 1159
 Section 52.4 (pg 1172, 1177-1181
 Section 54.1 (pg 1209-1212, 1215)
 Section 54.2 (pg 1216-1217)
 Section 54.3 (pg 1222-1225)
Objectives & Study Questions:
Define ecology. At what levels of organization can ecology be studied?
Define the following terms: population, community, ecosystem.
What is community ecology?
What is meant if we say the distribution of an organism is limited by its dispersal ability?
What are some abiotic factors that would limit species distribution?
What are some biotic factors that would limit species distribution?
What is an organisms tolerance range? Minimum (requirement)? Maximum?
What are some abiotic factors that might limit the distribution of an organism because their levels might
be outside the tolerance range?
What is the difference between interspecific and intraspecific competition?
What is facilitation?
What is an ecological niche?
What is the difference between a fundamental niche and a realized niche?
What factors might make the realized niche of a species smaller than its fundamental niche?
What is competitive release?
Why is competition a negative interaction (detrimental for both competing species)?
Explain the concept of competitive exclusion.
Explain how resource partitioning reduces competition allowing many species to co-exist in the same
geographic area.
Explain how natural selection produces resource partitioning (i.e., the ghost of competition past)
What is character displacement?
What is ecological diversity? Explain the two components of diversity.
What effect does increased diversity typically have on the stability of an ecosystem, the resistance of an
ecosystem to disturbance, and the ability of the ecosystem to recover from disturbance.
What characteristics would a stable community (community at equilibrium) have?
Explain the organismal (interactive) model of community composition.
What is a climax community?
What is the individualistic continuum model of community structure?
How are the organismal and the individualistic model different?
Explain the non-equilibrium model and the intermediate disturbance hypothesis and how it related to
diversity
Why would diversity be low in areas where disturbance is rare? In areas where disturbance is very
common?
What is ecological succession?
What is the difference between primary and secondary succession.
What is a pioneering species?
What are early successional species? Late successional species?
What is a sere?