BISC 204 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Beaver Dam, Germination, Predictable Process
22 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Disturbance and succession: one of the major realizations in ecology has been that ecological systems are rarely found in equilibrium ( steady-state") conditions. Populations, communities, and ecosystems are nearly always in perpetual change. Many different disturbances prevent ecological systems from remaining static over ecologically relevant time periods. Although mathematical models often assume that ecological systems are at equilibrium (for a matter of analytical convenience), it is important to realize that these conditions are more the exception than the norm out there in the real world. Really historic perspective, this is not always true there is not always a perfect harmony (ex. Between predators and prey): examples of common disturbances to ecosystems (usually physical disturbances, not always catastrophic sometimes disruption is small and subtle. Beaver dam flooding an area to create an flood plain area that will kill the growing trees that live in that area that they eat and then use for their dam.
