01:119:115 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Detritivore, Primary Production, Photic Zone

• School: Rutgers University
• Department: Biological Science
• Course: 01:119:115
• Professor: All

Document Summary

Concept 54. 3: disturbance influences species diversity and composition. A disturbance is an event that changes a community, removes organisms from it, and alters resource availability e. g. a fire. A high level of disturbance is the result of a high intensity and high frequency of disturbance and would exclude many slow-growing species (storm, fire) Low levels of disturbance would allow dominant species to exclude less competitive species (farmland: most communities are constantly changing after being buffeted by disturbances (non-equilibrium model) The intermediate disturbance hypothesis suggests that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater diversity than either high or low levels of disturbance: Invertebrate richness peaked in streams with intermediate frequency/intensity of flooding. Ecological succession is the sequential process of community and ecosystem changes after a disturbance. Primary succession occurs when no soil exists as succession begins (e. g. volcanic island; lichens and moss, galapagos)