change in the species composition of communities over time - ANSWERsuccession
an abiotic event that physically injures or kills some individuals and create
opportunities for other individuals - ANSWERdisturbance
both trophic and nontrophic interactions - ANSWERinteraction web
the set of characteristics that shape communities - ANSWERcommunity structure
the number of species in a community - ANSWERspecies richness
relative abundances compared with one another - ANSWERspecies evenness
combines species richness and species evenness - ANSWERspecies diversity
involves the colonization of habitats that are devoid of life, either as a result of
catastrophic disturbance or because they are newly created habitats -
ANSWERprimary succession
involves the reestablishment of a community in which most, but not all, of the
organisms or organic constituents have been destroyed - ANSWERsecondary
succession
Early species modify the environment in ways that benefit later species. The
sequence of species facilitations leads to a climax community. - ANSWERfacilitation
model
also assumes the earliest species modify the environment, but in neutral ways that
neither benefit nor inhibit later species. - ANSWERtolerance model
assumes early species modify conditions in negative ways that hinder later
successional species. - ANSWERinhibition model
limited to species belonging to same taxon - ANSWERtaxonomic affinity
a group of species that use the same resources even though they might be
taxonomically distant - ANSWERguild
a subset of a community that includes species that function in similar ways but do
not necessarily use the same resources - ANSWERfunctional group
species organization based on trophic interactions - ANSWERfood web
groups of species obtaining energy similarly - ANSWERtrophic level