Chapter 58

• Community ecology


  The study of the factors that influence the number and abundance of species in a community
• Community ecology studies wha?


  • Studies how groups of species interact and form functional communities
• Community


  Populations of different species that live/interact with one another in the same place/environment
• Species richness


  The factors that influence the number and abundance of species in a community
• Communities occur on a wide range of scales, and one community can be located within another
• Ecosystem


  All the organisms in a given area plus the physical environment (soil, water, air)
• An ecosystem consists of all the organisms in a given area plus the physical environment (soil, water, air)