ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

Agenda

• We will explore ecological succession.
• I will explain the difference between primary and secondary succession.

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION NOTES

Ecological Succession

Ecological Succession:

Series of environmental changes that occur in a predictable way.

Types of Succession

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Primary Succession

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And

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Secondary Succession

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Primary Succession

• Begins in a place without any soil
• Sides of volcanoes
• Glacier recession
• Starts with the arrival of living things such as lichens that do not need soil to survive
• Called PIONEER SPECIES

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The Island of Surtsey…�Example of Primary Succession�New Land�Formed from an Underwater Volcano

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu

http://www.saguaro-juniper.com/

Primary Succession

• Soil starts to form as lichens and the forces of weather and erosion help break down rocks into smaller pieces

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• When lichens die, they decompose, adding small amounts of organic matter to the rock to make soil

http://www.life.uiuc.edu

Primary Succession

• Simple plants like mosses and ferns can grow in the new soil

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http://uisstc.georgetown.edu

http://www.uncw.edu

Primary Succession

• Insects, small birds, and mammals have begun to move in
• What was once bare rock now supports a variety of life

http://p2-raw.greenpeace.org

Secondary Succession��New plant life that occurs after all plant life has been destroyed. (Soil still intact)

Secondary Succession

• Begins in a place that already has soil and was once the home of living organisms

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• Occurs faster and has different pioneer species than primary succession

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• Example: after forest fires

http://www.geo.arizona.edu

http://www.ux1.eiu.edu

http://www.agen.ufl.edu

Result of Both = Climax Community

• A stable group of plants and animals that is the end result of the succession process
• Does not always mean big trees
• Grasses in prairies
• Cacti in deserts

create & complete the venn diagram

Primary

Secondary

• No Soil
• No previous land
• Formed from volcanoes, sand dunes, glacier recession
• Slower than secondary
• pioneer plants are first to grow

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• Soil is present
• Preexisting land
• Forms after human impact or natural disasters (fires, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes)
• Faster than primary
• No need for pioneer plants

• progress to mature/ climax stage
• types of succession
• have biotic and abiotic factors

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• After reading each scenario, decide if the description is primary or secondary succession.
• Place a P by the primary examples and a S by the secondary examples.

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You Have 5 Minutes to Complete this Section!

• Read each description and decided whether it is primary or secondary succession.

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• An old house was torn down. Small plants and grasses grew in a vacant lot. Over the next few years, bushes and tree seedlings began to grow.

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• An undersea volcano erupted and formed a small island. Mosses and lichens began to grow on the bare volcanic rock.

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• A logging company cut down all the large spruce trees in an area of forest. After the area was cleared, spruce seedlings began to sprout. Animals returned to the area.

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• A wildfire broke out across the California area and continued to spread for several days. As a result, many plants and crops were destroyed and animals for forced to find new shelter.

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• A glacier retreats and leaves behind gravel deposits called moraine. The youngest moraines are populated with bacteria and fungi and will soon become lichens.

• Read each description and decided whether it is primary or secondary succession.

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• __S____ An old house was torn down. Small plants and grasses grew in a vacant lot. Over the next few years, bushes and tree seedlings began to grow.

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• __P____ An undersea volcano erupted and formed a small island. Mosses and lichens began to grow on the bare volcanic rock.

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• ___S___ A logging company cut down all the large spruce trees in an area of forest. After the area was cleared, spruce seedlings began to sprout. Animals returned to the area.

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• ___S___ A wildfire broke out across the California area and continued to spread for several days. As a result, many plants and crops were destroyed and animals for forced to find new shelter.

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• ____P__ A glacier retreats and leaves behind gravel deposits called moraine. The youngest moraines are populated with bacteria and fungi and will soon become lichens.

exit ticket

• Explain:
• How is primary succession like a homemade meal?

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• How is secondary succession like leftovers?