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Ecological succession is the process of change in the species that make up an ecological community over time. The process of succession occurs either after the initial colonization of a newly created habitat, or after a disturbance substantially alters a pre-existing habitat. [ 1 ]
Frederic Edward Clements (September 16, 1874 – July 26, 1945) was an American plant ecologist and pioneer in the study of both plant ecology [2] and vegetation succession. [ 3 ] : 51 Biography
Based on the assumption that only particular species with qualities ideal for "early succession" can colonize the newly exposed landforms after an ecological disturbance. These "colonizing" qualities include: highly effective methods of dispersal, the ability to remain dormant for long periods of time, and a rapid growth rate.
One example of primary succession takes place after a volcano has erupted. The lava flows into the ocean and hardens into new land. The resulting barren land is first colonized by pioneer organisms, like algae, which pave the way for later, less hardy plants, such as hardwood trees, by facilitating pedogenesis, especially through the biotic acceleration of weathering and the addition of ...
Early ecological succession theory maintained that the directional shifts from one stage of succession to the next were induced by the plants themselves. [1] In this sense, succession theory implicitly recognized priority effects; the prior arrival of certain species had important impacts on future community composition.
Many studies have been conducted on old field succession, the process by which fields slowly grow back into forests over many years. While there are two types of succession, primary and secondary, secondary succession is what we think about when considering old fields. These processes may be cyclic or seral depending on the system dynamics and ...
Cyclic succession is a pattern of vegetation change in which in a small number of species tend to replace each other over time in the absence of large-scale disturbance. Observations of cyclic replacement have provided evidence against traditional Clementsian views of an end-state climax community with stable species compositions .
A bear with a salmon. Interspecific interactions such as predation are a key aspect of community ecology.. In ecology, a community is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community, ecological community, or life assemblage.