Transcript Succession Notes

NOTES 4-2
SUCCESSION
What’s Ecological Succession?
Ecosystems are constantly changing in
response to natural and human
disturbances.
New communities of organisms gradually
replace existing ones.
First Type of Succession
Primary succession --- The series of
changes that occur in an area where no
ecosystem existed.
Example --- a new island that has formed
by the eruption of an undersea volcano.
Pioneer species --- first species to
populate the area. These are often
mosses and lichens. Then the rest follows.
Second Type of Succession
Secondary Succession --- Series of
changes that occur after a disturbance in
an existing ecosystem that didn’t destroy
the soil.
Examples of disturbance --- floods, fires,
hurricanes, tornados, etc.
Example --- an abandoned farm land.