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| Ecology Notes 2 Section 2-3 |
| Ecological Succession: |
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| A. Ecological Succession is where one community in one area is gradually replaced by another community. 1. Ecological succession can completely change what a place looks like, but not always. 2. Climax community is a stable collection of plants, animals, and and other organisms. a. Succession takes a long time. (Can take more than 100 years) b. Outside forces such as pollutants, sewage, and detergents speed up the rate of succession. c. Plowing fields, fire, and floods slow down the process of ecological succession. 3. Succession leads to different climax communities and cannot always be predicted. 4. Succession can take many different paths. The end result of ecological succession is due to chance. a. People cannot assume that an ecosystem will recover from environmental damage caused by humans. The ecosystem may never be the same again! b. "People must be careful when deciding what resources need to be used. Succession will occur - but nobody can accurately predict the course that it will take. End of Chapter 2 Notes! |