Ecological Succession, Stability and Resilience
Big idea: Communities change after new habitat forms or disturbance occurs; stability includes resistance to change and resilience through recovery, both influenced by diversity and feedbacks.
Learning goals
- primary succession
- secondary succession
- pioneer species
- resistance
- resilience
Core concepts
primary succession
Community development on a surface initially lacking soil and a biological legacy.
secondary succession
Community recovery after disturbance where soil or other biological legacies remain.
pioneer species
Early colonists able to establish under exposed or resource-poor conditions.
resistance
The degree to which an ecosystem remains unchanged during a disturbance.
resilience
The capacity and rate of recovery after an ecosystem has been altered.