
Interspecific interactions such as
predation are a key aspect of community ecology.
'Community ecology' is a subdiscipline of
ecology which studies the distribution, abundance,
demography, and
interactions between coexisting
populations. Interactions between populations, determined by specific
genotypic and
phenotypic characteristics, is the primary focus of community ecology.
Community ecology has its origin in
European plant sociology. Modern community ecology examines
patterns such as variation in
species richness, equitability,
productivity and
food web structure; it also examines
processes such as predator-prey
population dynamics,
succession, and community assembly. Patterns and processes in turn can be considered in terms of space and time, at different scales.
See also
★
Behavioral ecology
★
Ecosystem ecology
★
Population ecology
References
★ Odum, E. P. 1959. ''Fundamentals of ecology''. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia and London. 546 p.
★ Barbour, Burke, and Pitts, 1987. ''Terrestrial Plant Ecology'', 2nd ed. Cummings, Menlo Park, CA.
★ Ricklefs, R.E. 2005. ''The Economy of Nature'', 6th ed. WH Freeman, USA.