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IB ESS Knowledge Bank 19 - 2.4g - Secondary Succession & Plagioclimax
IB ESS Knowledge Bank 19 - 2.4g - Secondary Succession & Plagioclimax
Disturbance
The changes over time Communities are affected by periods of disturbance e.g. flood, fire,
landslides, earthquakes, hurricanes & other natural hazards.
* R-selected species - can respond rapidly to low survival rates. They reach sexual All of these have an effect of making gaps available that can be colonized
maturity quickly, produce many young and can disperse widely. Mature early; Little by pioneer species. This adds to the the productivity and diversity of the
parental care; Little investment in offspring; Adapted to unstable environments; community.
Pioneers, colonizers; Niche generalists; Prey; Regulated mainly by external factors;
Lower trophic levels; E.g. mice, locusts and greenfly, annual plants, flour beetles,
bacteria.
* K-selected species - recover slowly from a decline in population & usually reach
sexual maturity at an older age, produce few young, often live for a long time.
Increase in the death rate may cause a population crash. The low reproduction rate
may make it impossible to replace the losses. Long life; slower growth; late maturity;
fewer large offspring; High parental care & protection; high investment in individual
offspring; adapted to stable environment; later stages of succession; niche
specialuists; predators; regulated mainly bu internal factors; higher trophic levels;
E.g. Include whales, elephants, rhinos.trees, albatrosses, humans