C1 Species and

Communities

Essential Questions
What is the community made up of?
How do species interact with each
other and the environment?
How can you create a sustainable
ecosystem?

Correlation equals
causation?

Factors which affect distribution of

animals
Temperature: all animals are
adapted to survive in narrow
range of temperatures
E.g. Coral reefs, ectotherms (coldblooded) rely on external
temperatures for metabolism

Water: animals vary in amount

of water that they need
As habitat, drinking,
heating/cooling, a place to lay
eggs. etc.

Factors which affect distribution of

animals
Breeding sites: some animals
require specific type of site.
E.g. mosquitoes need water for egg
laying

Food supply: some species

adapted to feed on specific foods
E.g. pandas and bamboos

Territory: some species establish

and defend certain territories
E.g. Coyotes mark territories with
scent

Factors which affect distribution of

plants

Sampling Populations

Generally populations are too large to be examined

directly (by direct count or measurement of all the
individuals in the population), but they must be
sampled in a way that still provides representative
information about them.

Most studies in population ecology involve

collecting living organisms. Sampling techniques
must be appropriate to the community being
studied and the information required by the
investigator.
Photo: Brendan Hicks

Sampling techniques include:

point sampling
Transect
quadrat sampling
mark and recapture

Inserting a visual implant tag in a mark

and recapture study of carp

Interactions between
species

Competition
Predation
Symbiosis
Mutualism
Commensalism
Parasitism

Interactions between
species
1. Find the definition of the following:
Competition, Predation, Symbiosis,
Mutualism, Commensalism,
Parasitism
2. For your chosen ecosystem, provide
an example of each one of the
interactions in the Google doc shared
with you.

G1.5 The Niche Concept

Niche = mode of
existence of species in
an ecosystem
Includes
Habitat: where species lies
in the ecosystem
Nutrition: how species
obtains its food
Relationships: the
interactions with other
species in the ecosystem

G1.7 Competitive exclusion

No two species in a
community can occupy the
same niche Complete
competitors cannot coexist
Gause set up experiments
involving three species of
Paramecium in a medium of
oatmeal with bacteria or
yeast.
P. aurelia with P. caudatum:
competitive exclusion
P. caudatum with P. bursaria:
P.caudatum was feeding on
bacteria whereas P. bursaria was
feeding on yeast niches not
identical

G1.8 Fundamental and realized

niches
Fundamental niche = potential
mode of existence, given the
adaptations of the species
niche that an organism functionally could
live in in the absence of competitors or
other interacting species

Realized niche = actual mode of

existence, which results from its
adaptations and competition from other
species
Niche that organism is actually found,
following all interactions with other
species

Barnacle competition:
Field experiments on barnacles were
carried out by Connell in 1961 on rocky
shores on Scotland
two species of barnacle; Chthamalus

G1.8 Fundamental and realized

niches

G1.8 Fundamental and realized

niches