Communities & Ecosystems

 

Communities

Communities are composed of several populations of different species living in the same area. By living in the same habitat, community structure develops from the many interactions that occur between different populations. Populations may be involved in a predator and prey interactions, or they may be involved in a cooperative relationship, such as symbiosis, mutalism, or commensalism. Through these interactions, populations fit into their communities by taking a niche, by taking a specific job within their communities. And always thrown into the mix is the environment. Communities must interact with the physical environment. The study of ecosystems looks at how the physical environment shapes communities.