Chapter 4

Ecosystems Are Dynamic

 Learning Objectives
• Understand the nature of ecosystem change and
its implications for society and environmental
management.
• Understand the process of primary and secondary
succession and the ways in which humans alter
these processes.
• Appreciate the role of disturbance such as fires,
insect infestations, and major storms as often being
an integral and natural part of healthy ecosystem
function.
 Learning Objectives, cont’d
• To explore the impact and management of
invasive species.
• To recognize the main factors affecting species
population growth.
• To appreciate the nature of evolution and
extinction.
• To appreciate some of the implications of
global climate change on species distributions
and abundance.
 Introduction
Communities and ecosystems change over time.
The rate of change depends on:
• the factors driving
change
• response of individual
species
• how species interact
with one another
 Introduction
The rate of change (and how well species adapt to it)
also depends on how species respond collectively and
individually to their abiotic environment (Chapter 3).
 Introduction
For animals, the response may be related to the type,
distribution, and availability of food resources or the
potential for predation.
As vegetation
communities
change so do the
heterotrophic
components that
rely on plants, and
the reverse can also
be true. ,
 Introduction
• Change can be rapid (e.g., forest fire) or slow
(e.g., natural climate change)
• The speed of change now
occurring due to GHG
emissions is faster than
any previously
experienced, and many
species will be unable to
adapt (why-examples?).
R Friberg
 Ecological Succession
Ecological succession: the gradual replacement of one
assemblage of species by another as conditions change over time.
A disturbance is a natural or human-induced event that interrupts
ecological succession (e.g., wildfire, flood, landslide). It alters the
structure and function of populations, communities, ecosystems

R Friberg
 There are two basic types of succession: primary
succession and secondary succession
Primary succession is
the colonization of a
previously unvegetated
surface, such as when a
glacier retreats or a
landslide removes all
traces of the vegetation
of the previous
ecosystem.
• Little or no soil exists
The first species to occupy such an area, known as
primary colonizers, must be able to withstand
high variability in temperatures and water
availability and highly limited nutrients.
Lichens are
typically the first
colonizers as they
have a high range
of tolerance and
can break down
rocks, trap water &
nutrients.
By trapping water and nutrients, and accumulating
biomass over centuries, lichens make it possible
for other species to colonize, such as mosses.
The next stage in successional advance is usually invasion
by herbaceous plants such as grasses and “weed”
species considered to be part of the soil seed bank.
Followed by hardy shrubs and light tolerant trees that
ameliorate conditions until shade-tolerant tree species
become established.
It was believed that vegetation would reach a well-defined,
stable stage known as the climax community (example?)
• The ‘final’ successional stage was believed to be in equilibrium with
the environment (stable and unchanging).
But equilibrium
conditions are rare—
disturbances (fires,
insects, flooding, ice
storms) are so
common that most
systems never reach a
stable climax stage.
Succession is not an inevitable linear progression.
Seral stages may blend into each other rather than
being discrete, e.g., a small fire or windthrow sets a
portion back.

Areas with blended

seral stages, or blended
vegetation types for
other reasons are
known as ecotones,
with a blended or
richer / more diverse
structure.
Climax is a relative rather than an absolute stage, however,
the nature of the species assemblage is for mature
communities is relatively predictable.
• Climatic climax: climax vegetation is strongly
influenced by climate
• Edaphic climax: Soil characteristics are most important
R Friberg
in determining community composition
Does this photo from high
elevation in the cathedral
mountains reflect an early seral
stage or climax community?
If climax, would it be climatic
or edaphic?
Secondary succession occurs on surfaces where
soil and possibly some vegetation is already
present, such as abandoned fields or following a
fire or clearcut logging.

It takes less
time,
therefore, to
reach more
advanced
successional
stages as it has
a ‘head start.’
Indicators of Immature and Mature Ecosystems
As succession occurs,
• NPP declines as slower growing species establish
• Diversity increases as more specialized species dominate
• This may not continue indefinitely though due to competitive
exclusion and per below.
The Intermediate Diversity
Hypothesis: moderately
disturbed ecosystems maintain
high levels of diversity compared
to those that experience low or
high levels of disturbance.
 Ecological Succession, cont’d
Effects of Human Activities
Humans influence ecological succession by
keeping ecosystems in an early successional stage
• e.g., agriculture, short rotation forestry
•To maximize NPP (why?)
Results in reduced
biodiversity and other
issues, e.g., associated with
monocultures-example?
 Changing Ecosystems
• Ecosystems do not exist in a static state but one of
dynamic equilibrium (and sometimes change to a
different state!): e.g., forest to grassland or desert.
• Not all ecosystems are equally able to withstand
perturbations
• Inertia: the ability of an ecosystem to withstand
change (lets compare this to ‘resistance’)
• Resilience: the ability to recover to the original
state following disturbance (did milfoil affected
lakes return to their original state?)
 Changing Ecosystems, cont’d
Invasive Alien Species
Organisms found in an area outside their normal
range (and habitat) are considered alien species
(E.g. Purple Loosestrife and Eurasian Water
Milfoil).
Multiply quickly, out-
compete native species, and
change native habitats are
considered to be invasive
alien species.
Examples?
Invasive Alien Species
• Invasive species are second only to habitat
destruction as a leading cause of biodiversity loss.
• In Canada, 12% of species assessed are not native
(>500 have become agricultural weeds)
Invasive Alien Species
• Diffuse knapweed: wide range of tolerance and a very
effective seed dispersal system.
• Aquatic ecosystems (e.g. zebra mussel).

Often, invasive species have been deliberately

introduced by humans (examples?).
• Are all alien species invasive? Examples?
https://ww
w.gov.mb.ca
/agriculture
/crops/wee
ds/diffuse-
knapweed.h
tml
 Changing Ecosystems, cont’d
Hyperabundance (out of scope)
Species Removal (we’re moving on now from invasives)
• Removal of species from food webs can disturb the
ecosystem.
• The reduction of keystone species may be particularly
disruptive.
For example: sea otter on the
Pacific coast are overhunted →
sea urchin population explodes →
kelp habitat disappears →
biodiversity associated with kelp
habitat is lost
Other examples?
Feedback
• An important aspect of maintaining stability in ecosystems,
whereby information is fed back into a system due to change.
• The feedback initiates responses that may exacerbate (positive
feedback) or moderate (negative feedback) the change.
Negative feedback loop: most common in natural systems and
important to maintaining equilibrium, e.g.: Sea otters
INPUT OR INFORMATION:
Sea urchins increase,
overgraze kelp beds

MODERATIONG RESPONSE:
Otter population increases due
NEGATIVE OR to abundant urchins
STABILIZING RESULT:
Sea urchins decrease
Positive feedback loop
• The effect of increased temperatures in the North (polar
amplification – you should be able to discuss this)
INPUT OR INFORMATION:
Warming climate

RESPONSE:
Melting ice &
Climate warming snow.
EXACERBATED /
accelerated

RESPONSE:
RESPONSE: Land & sea
Land & sea adsorb more
radiate more heat.
more heat.
Synergism (also influences change)
• The combined effect of two or more separate
entities is greater than the sum of their individual
effects, e.g. acid deposition exacerbated by other pollutants.
Ecological Restoration
• Restoration ecology developed as a field of study,
and practice, to help repair environmental damage
• Ecological restoration is very challenging and
costly, and there is widespread agreement that it is
better to avoid degrading ecosystems in the first
place rather than to try restoring them afterwards.
 Population Growth
Population
• A group of organisms
(individuals) of the same species
living within a specified region.
Population density
• The number of individuals of a
population within a defined area
(e.g., a hectare, square km, etc.)
Population dynamics
• Changes in population
characteristics over time
• Low numbers (small population) make a species more
vulnerable to extinction.

What other factors

might make a species
more vulnerable?

As long as births are

more numerous than
deaths, a population will
grow exponentially
(Fig 4.7).
That is, a
population will
grow exponentially
until environmental
resistance (Fig. 4.6)
begins to inhibit
growth and flatten
the curve.
The carrying
capacity of an
environment is
the number of
individuals of a
species that can
be sustained in
an area
indefinitely,
relative to given
resource supply
and demand.
Carrying capacity is not
fixed (see right) and may
vary with changes in
abiotic or biotic
components of the
system.
• Puffin example Ch 3.
Density-dependent
species have an S-shaped
growth curve (higher
population-lower growth
rate).
• Equilibrium view.
• Examples?
Density-independent
species have a J-shaped
growth curve (higher
population leads to higher
growth rate)…until the
population meets
environmental resistance
(factors that drive carrying
capacity).
• Pine beetle – why?
• Algae blooms (nutrients)
followed by a crash).
• Zebra mussels in Europe-
exhausted the food supply.
The capacity of species to increase in number is known as its
biotic potential, the maximum rate at which a species may
increase if there is no environmental resistance.
Different species have different reproductive strategies: k vs r strategist
R-strategists produce large numbers of young early in life and
over a short time period, but invest little parental energy in their
upbringing (zebra mussel).
Such species are usually small and short-lived— they are
opportunists—and tend to dominate the early seral stages of the
successional process.
In contrast, k-strategists focus on quality.
• They produce few offspring but devote time and effort to
ensuring these offspring reach maturity.
• They tend to live longer and are larger (larger mammals,
including humans).
Many endangered species are k-strategists (but are all?).
Evolution, Speciation, and Extinction
• Over the long term, populations adapt to changing
conditions through evolution, a change in the genetic
makeup of the population with time.
• Natural selection leads to changes in the
characteristics of a population:
Those individuals that have
genes that allow them to be
better adapted to new
conditions are more
successful in terms of
survival and reproduction.
Speciation is when a new species is formed.
• It can occur due to geographic isolation (examples?) of
populations which evolve separately (aka allopatric
speciation). E.g., separated on different islands due to sea
level rise.

If conditions are
different in each
location, natural
selection will favour
the individuals best
suited to those
conditions.
Another form of speciation is where there are
adaptations of a part of a population to within the
same area, e.g., to a different food source: adaptive
radiation (aka sympatric speciation).

e.g., polar bear

emerged from the
grizzly (though
some interbreeding
has recently come
to light).
Genetic diversity helps to protect a species from
extinction.
Species resilience depends on:
• magnitude of the environmental change,
• how rapidly it takes place,
• and the capacity of the species’ gene pool to respond to
these changes
The broader the gene pool, the greater the capacity to
adapt to change:
• Therefore, peripheral populations (on the edge of their
range) (e.g., in Canada) are important to protect (why?).
As discussed earlier, what other factors impacts a species’
vulnerability and resilience to extinction?
Changes in the abiotic environment
(e.g.?) are not the only factors
driving evolutionary change.
Species may also change through co-
evolution, whereby changes in one
species cause changes in another.
• e.g., predator and prey evolving to
be more efficient; and mountain
pine beetle.
Contemporary evolution refers to
processes that biologists have
identified as occurring much
more quickly as a result of human
activities
• e.g., BOFFFFs
Extinction is the opposite of evolution and
represents the elimination of a species that can no
longer survive under new conditions.
• Close to 99 per cent of the species that have lived on
Earth are now extinct (i.e., extinction is not new!) .
• However - speciation rate has exceeded the extinction
rate in the past; but in recent times, human activities
have strongly tipped the scales in favour of extinction
over speciation.
• Research suggests that human-caused extinction in the
next 50 years will take 3 to 5 million years to replace.
 Evolution, Speciation, and
Extinction, cont’d
Impacts of Global Change
Global climate change will have profound impacts on
the numbers and distributions of species in the world.
• Some plants and animals will be able to adapt to
these rapid changes; others will not.
• Scientists predict that 9% to 52% of all terrestrial
species will be on an irreversible path to extinction
by 2050.
• Changes will affect marine ecosystems as much as,
if not more than, terrestrial ecosystems.
 Implications
• Ecosystems are dynamic entities that change
over time.
• We should accept and understand the nature of
these changes and distinguish between those
that are the result of natural processes and those
that are the result of human activities.
• The temporal and spatial scales of ecosystem
change are often so great that they are very
difficult to observe in the human lifespan.
 Implications, cont’d
Shifting baselines phenomenon.
• Every generation sets the baseline for change at the
beginning of their own existence, rather than from the
beginning of human-induced change.
Global climate change will place considerable
stress on many species in terms of their limits of
tolerance (see earlier figure & discussion)
• This will lead to changes in range and abundance, and
some species will become extinct.
• When faced with such dynamic ecosystem changes, we
must use equally dynamic thinking to confront the
challenges of the future.
 Implications, cont’d
• Species may be translocated to other areas to
reinforce dwindling populations of the same
species, or to replace populations that have been
extirpated.
• In rewilding, the goal is not to reintroduce one
species but rather to restore the ecological
processes that underlie natural systems,
complete with their ecological components.