19. Succession
What will you learn in this lecture:
- Ability to define and give examples of primary and secondary succession.
- To identify the major mechanisms underlying successional change.
- The major successional trends in diversity, niche width, and compositional predictability, and be able to provide specific examples from the natural world.
Enrolled students of fall 2024 should watch this lecture before November 26.
What questions should you be able to answer now?
- How is succession connected to disturbance?
- What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?
- What are the major mechanisms underlying successional change and how are they interconnected?
Useful links and materials:
Chapter 19 in: Krebs, Charles J. Ecology: The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance.
Featured image: Illustration of song The Trees in which Rush attempts to explain succession in eastern deciduous forests of North America.