BSC 116 Lecture Notes - Lecture 38: Niche Differentiation, Food Chain, Termite
4 Jun 2016
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Herbivory: special case of predation; animals that eat plants/algae. Directly or indirectly affects host survival and reproduction. Example: wasps laying their eggs on a caterpillar. Commensalism: +/0 one benefits and the other is not affected (not greatly affected) Example: species that ride along or follow other to pick up leftovers. Competition: -/- species compete for resources needed for growth, reproduction, etc. Niche: sum of the biotic and abiotic needs of species; it"s a place/role in a habitat. Wide niche overlap leads to competitive exclusion- weaker competitor eliminated from local area. Each species better adapted to a portion of the resources: example- two barnacles species competing for space. Character displacement: resource partitioning leads to morphological differences. Example: galapagos finches in sympatry (living together) and allopatry (living apart) Species richness and relative abundance are both aspects of community diversity. Relative abundance: proportion of individuals that belongs to each species. Two communities can have same richness but different structures.
