Ecological Succession in Tropical Rainforest and Tropical Grassland
Ecological Succession in Tropical Rainforest and Tropical Grassland1
Rica Rafaela Y. Jarcia
Group 2 Sec. W-4L
September 12, 2013
1A scientific paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in Bio 150 (Principles of Ecology) laboratory under Mr. Joseph G. Campang, 1st sem., 2013-2014
ABSTRACT Ecological succession can be described as the change in the structure of a community. This succession is relative to the dominant species in the community. The study ecological succession of two communities: tropical grassland at Barangay Putinglupa, Calamba City and a tropical rain forest at CFNR-UPLB. The evaluation of the grassland was used using the line intercept method while in observing the tropical rainforest, the quadrat method was utilized. Ecological indices were then computed using the noted number of species and area covered. Compared to the tropical rain forest, grasslands showed lower values for Shannon indices of diversity and evenness and Simpson’s indices of diversity. It should be noted that the grassland observed exhibited higher value for Simpson’s index of dominance and Equitability. It should also be noted that there is 0% similarity between the two communities. This also shows that succession is not yet occurring.
Introduction
A group of populations of different species living dose enough to interact is called a biological community (Campbell, 2008). Communities can be classified by characteristic (terrestrial or aquatic) or by vegetation (forest or grassland). Communities are characterized by its properties like community structure and composition. One can define community structure as how different groups of species are arranged in time and space. Community composition on the other hand, is the list of species present in a certain community. It is affected by the environmental conditions and adaptations of organisms. It is also characterized by species richness or the number of species in
Rica Rafaela Y. Jarcia
Group 2 Sec. W-4L
September 12, 2013
1A scientific paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in Bio 150 (Principles of Ecology) laboratory under Mr. Joseph G. Campang, 1st sem., 2013-2014
ABSTRACT Ecological succession can be described as the change in the structure of a community. This succession is relative to the dominant species in the community. The study ecological succession of two communities: tropical grassland at Barangay Putinglupa, Calamba City and a tropical rain forest at CFNR-UPLB. The evaluation of the grassland was used using the line intercept method while in observing the tropical rainforest, the quadrat method was utilized. Ecological indices were then computed using the noted number of species and area covered. Compared to the tropical rain forest, grasslands showed lower values for Shannon indices of diversity and evenness and Simpson’s indices of diversity. It should be noted that the grassland observed exhibited higher value for Simpson’s index of dominance and Equitability. It should also be noted that there is 0% similarity between the two communities. This also shows that succession is not yet occurring.
Introduction
A group of populations of different species living dose enough to interact is called a biological community (Campbell, 2008). Communities can be classified by characteristic (terrestrial or aquatic) or by vegetation (forest or grassland). Communities are characterized by its properties like community structure and composition. One can define community structure as how different groups of species are arranged in time and space. Community composition on the other hand, is the list of species present in a certain community. It is affected by the environmental conditions and adaptations of organisms. It is also characterized by species richness or the number of species in
Cited: Begon, M., C.R. Townsend, J.L. Harper. 2006. Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems. 4th ed. USA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Pp. 469-498 Campbell, N.A., J.B. Reece, L.A. Urry, M.L. Cain, S.A. Wasserman, P.V. Minorsky, R.B. Jackson. 2008. Biology.8th ed. USA: Pearson Education, Inc. pp. 1149-1159 Cuevas, V.C., C.R. Cervancia, M.T. Zafaralla, I.L. Lit Jr., A.L. Barrion-Dupo, I.A.F. Lambio. 2013. Exploring Ecology. Philippines: EBD, IBS, UPLB. Pp. 39, 81 Ricklefs, R.E. 2008. Economy of Nature. 6th ed. USA: W. H. Freeman and Company. Pp. 371- 399 Stiling, P. 2004. Ecology, Theories and Applications. 4th ed. South Asia. Pearson Education. pp. 77-78