By Bára Winterová Published on September 23, 2020

15. Community Structure and Niche Theory

What will you learn in this lecture:

To understand the various definitions for the term ‘niche’.
Define and describe several types of guilds.
Distinguish between the oganismic and individualistic views of niche distribution.
Explain how these approaches lead to different views of community assembly.
Define neutral community assembly.

Enrolled students of fall 2024 should watch this lecture before November 12.

Addon on Historical Background of the Niche Theories

What questions should you be able to answer now?

What are the differences between Clementsian and Gleasonian niches?
What was the background of the different founders of community ecology? Why did they see the communities the way they did?
When does it make sense to use the different niche definitions?
What is neutral community assembly and what is your opinion of it?

Featured image: Medieval coats of arms from Nové Strašecí showing the guilds present in this Bohemian town at that time.