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Chapter 16: Community Structure 16.2 Species Diversity is defined by Species

Richness and Evenness
Community - group of species that occupy a
given area, interacting either directly or indirectly. Indices of Species Diversity
A. Simpson Index ​- measures the probability
16.1 Biological Structure of Community that two individuals randomly selected
Defined by Species Composition from a sample will belong to the same
species (category):
Relative Abundance - expressed as the Pi​2 ​= no. of individuals per species
proportion each species contributes to the total / total no. of individuals all species
number of individuals of all species within the in community
community. D ​= ∑Pi​2
P​i​=n​i​/N Index of Diverstiy ​= 1 - D
Whereas; Reciprocal Index​ = 1/D
i​ = species E​D​= (1/D) / S
n​i =​ is the number of individuals belonging to B. Shannon-Weiner Index
species i H ​= ∑ (Pi x lnPi)
N = is the total number of individuals of all H​max​ ​= ln(S)
species in the community E​H​= H/H​max

Rank Abundance Diagram 16.3 Dominance Can Be Defined by a Number

of Criteria

Dominants
- single or few species predominate a
community.
- usually defined separately for different
taxonomic of functional groups of
organisms within the community.

Note​: The blue line has higher species richness
(length of the curve) and evenness than the other
two communities (slope of the curve).
Dominance
- is the converse of diversity
- typically is assumed to mean the greatest
in number
16.4 Keystone Species Influence Community
Structure Disproportionality to Their Numbers

Species Richness ​- is a count of the number of Keystone Species

species occurring within the community, and is
typically denoted as ​S​.
Species Evenness
- refers to the equitability in the distribution
of individuals among the species.
- The maximum species evenness would
occur if each species in the community
was equally abundant
- A species that has a disproportionate
impact on the community relative to its
abundance.
- Function in a unique and significant
manner and their effect on the community
is disproportionate to their numerical
abundance.
- Removal initiates changes in community
structure and often results in significant
loss of diversity.
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- Role in the community may be to create or
modify habitats or to influence the
interactions among other species.
- Example: Corals (create habitat)
Keystone Herbivores
- May modify the local community through
their feeding activities.
Note:
Predators often function as keystone
species (Ex. Sea otters)
16.5 Food Webs Describe Species Interactions
Fundamental Process in Nature
- acquiring the energy and nutrients
required for assimilation.
- species interaction are all involved in
acquiring these essential resources.
Food Chain
- Is a descriptive diagram
- Abstract representation of feeding
relationships within the community
- Each pointing (​links​) from one species to
another, representing the flow of food
energy from prey to predator.
Food Web
- Highly interwoven, with linkages
representing the complex interactions of
predator and prey
Basal Species
- feed on no other species but are fed on by
others.
Intermediate Species
- feed on other species and the are prey of
other species
Top Predators
- are not subject to predators​.
2
Connectance: S​ ​the maximum number of links;
L ​expressed as a proportion of the maximum
possible number of links.
2
C = L/S​
Linkage density (LD)
- Is a measure of the average number of
links per species in the food web
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LD = L/S
Mean Chain Length (ChLen)
- Is the arithmetic average of the length.
Note​:
- As species richness increases, the
structure of food webs become more
complex and often food webs become
more compartmentalized.
16.6 Species within a Community Can be
Classified into Functional Groups
Guilds
- group of species in trophic level that
exploit a common resource in a similar
fashion
- Introduced by ​Richard Root
- Example: hummingbirds and other
nectar-feeding animals forms a guild for
having common resource; flowering plant.
Functional Type
- Used to define a group of species based
on their common response to the
environment, life history characteristics, or
role within the community.
- Simplify the structure of communities into
manageable units for study and to ask
basic questions about the factors that
structures communities.
16.7 Communities Have a Characteristic
Physical Structure
Physical Structures of Commmunity
- Reflect abiotic factors, such as depth and
and flow of water in aquatic environments.
- Reflect biotic factors, such as spatial
arrangement of the resident organisms.
Note:
- Forms and Structure of terrestrial
communities are defined primarily in
terms of their​ vegetation​.
- In ​aquatic communities, it is classified
and named in terms of the ​dominant
organisms​.
Vertical Stratification
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- A. Temperate deciduous forest, ​B.
Tropical Savannah, ​C. ​Lake
- Every community has a vertical structure,
a stratification of often distinct vertical
layers (size, branching, and leaves).
Canopy
- Upper layer of forest
- Primary site of energy fixation through
photosynthesis
Understory
- Will be well developed if canopy is fairly
open.
Ground Cover (herbs and ferns)
- Depends on soil moisture and nutrient
conditions, slope position, density of the
canopy and understory, and exposure of
the slope.
Forest Floor
- Where important process of
decomposition takes place
- Where microbial organisms feeding on
decaying matter release mineral nutrients
for reuse by the forest plants.
Savannah (Semi-Arid Regions) Vertical
Structure:
- An herbaceous layer (grasses)
- A woody plant layer (shrubs or trees)
Photic Layer - where the availability of light
supports photosynthesis
Aphotic Layer ​- deeper layer of waters, an area
without light
Benthic Layer - The bottom layer of sediments,
where decomposition is most active.
16.8 Zonation is Spatial Change in Community
Structure
Zonation
- Changes in the physical and biological
structures of communities as one moves
across the landscape.
- Patterns of spatial variation in community
structure or zonation are ​common to all
environments.
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- Is most pronounced where sharp changes
occur in the physical environment, as in
aquatic environment
16.9 Defining Boundaries Between
Communities Is Often Difficult
Community Boundary
- In most cases, transition between
communities are gradual, defining the
boundary between communities is difficult.
- The way we classify a community
depends on the scale we use.
16.10 Two Contrasting Views of the
Community
Organismal Concept of Community
- Views the community as a unit, an
association of species, in which each
species is a component of the integrated
whole.
- By Frederic Clements
Individualistic Concept of Community
- Also known as continuum concept.
- Views the co-occurence of species as a
result of similarities in requirements and
tolerances.
- By H.A. Gleason’s
Restoration Ecology
- Main goal: to return a community or
ecosystem to a close approximation of its
condition before disturbance by applying
ecological principles.
- Requires an understanding of the basic
processes influencing the structure and
dynamics of ecological communities.