Ecology

Ecological Communities: Networks of Interacting Species

We wish to learn:
* What is an ecological community and what kinds of interactions give birth place within it?
* How important are the various categories of species interactions, including mutualisms, commensalisms, disceptation and predation?
* What kinds of interactions among species become important when many an(prenominal) species affect unitary another?
* What consequences do these interactions have for biodiversity
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Species Interactions, nutriment Webs, and Ecological Communities
An ecological community is defined as a group of actually or potentially interacting species living in the same place. A community is bound together by the network of influences that species have on sensation another. Inherent in this view is the notion that whatever affects one species also affects many others -- the balance of nature. We build an understanding of communities by examining the two-way, and therefore the multi-way, interactions involving pairs of species or many species.



 
 
type of interaction| sign| effectuate|
mutualism| +/+| both species benefit from interaction|
commensalism| +/0| one species benefits, one unaffected|
competition | -/-| each species affected negatively|
predation, parasitism, herbivory| +/-| one species benefits, one is disadvantaged|
Food webs are pictorial depictions of the interconnections among species based on energy flow . aught enters this biologic web of life at the bottom of the diagram, through the photosynthetic fixation of carbon by green plants.  Many victuals webs also gain energy inputs through the decomposition of primitive matter, such as decomposing leaves on the forest floor, aided by microbes.  River food webs in forested headwater streams are good examples of this. 
Energy moves from lower to higher trophic (feeding) levels by consumption:  herbivores deals plants, predators consume herbivores, and may in turn be eaten by top...If you expect to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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