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Vocab 20.2
Patterns in Communities
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Species Richness | the number of different species in an area or community |
Species Evenness | A measure of the relative abundance of each species in an ecological community |
Species-Area Effect | A pattern in which the number of species in an area increases as the area increases |
Disturbance | In ecology, an event that changes a community by removing or destroying organisms or altering resource availability |
Stability | The tendency of a community to maintain a relatively constant structure |
Ecological Succession | A gradual process of change and replacement in a community |
Primary Succession | Succession that begins in an area that previously did not support life |
Secondary Succession | The process by which one community replaces another |
Pioneer Species | a species that colonizes an uninhabited area and that starts an ecological cycle in which many other species became established |
Climax Community | A community that, after a process of ecological succession, has reached a generally stable state |