BIO330H5 Study Guide - Final Guide: Herbivore
Document Summary
Assumes equilibrium, but real communities are variable, constantly change in response to weather, etc. Realistically systems are very far from equilibrium. Ignores factors other than competition, including disturbance, dispersal, herbivory. Rather than ignoring disturbance, variability, treat them as a fundamental. Results determined partly by chance, not just by competition. Allow coexistence without differences in resource use. In real life, disturbance, death open up opportunities for establishment. Seeds disperse into these sites: spatial variability. Which species occupies a site is largely by chance. May or may not lead to permanent coexistence, but can greatly delay. Can let good dispersers (fugitives) survive even if they are bad competitors extinction. If a species does well in one year, many seeds added to soil. If it does badly next year, stored seeds prevent extinction: frequency-dependent predation herbivory. No single species can ever displace another. Grasses grow quickly and grow well in presence of herbivore fertilizers (poop)
