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Communities

SL Content Statements

  • C4.1.9
    Competition versus cooperation in intraspecific relationships

  • Include reasons for intraspecific competition within a population. Also include a range of real examples of competition and cooperation.
  • C4.1.10
    A community as all of the interacting organisms in an ecosystem

  • Communities comprise all the populations in an area including plants, animals, fungi and bacteria.
  • C4.1.11
    Herbivory, predation, interspecific competition, mutualism, parasitism and pathogenicity as categories of interspecific relationship within communities

  • Include each type of ecological interaction using at least one example.
  • C4.1.12
    Mutualism as an interspecific relationship that benefits both species

  • Include these examples: root nodules in Fabaceae (legume family), mycorrhizae in Orchidaceae (orchid family) and zooxanthellae in hard corals. In each case include the benefits to both organisms.
  • C4.1.13
    Resource competition between endemic and invasive species

  • Choose one local example to illustrate competitive advantage over endemic species in resource acquisition as the basis for an introduced species becoming invasive.
  • C4.1.14
    Tests for interspecific competition

  • Interspecific competition is indicated but not proven if one species is more successful in the absence of another. Students should appreciate the range of possible approaches to research: laboratory experiments, field observations by random sampling and field manipulation by removal of one species.
    NOS: Students should recognize that hypotheses can be tested by both experiments and observations and should understand the difference between them.
  • C4.1.15
    Use of the chi-squared test for association between two species

  • AOS: Students should be able to apply chi-squared tests on the presence/absence of two species in several sampling sites, exploring the differences or similarities in distribution. This may provide evidence for interspecific competition.
  • C4.1.16
    Predator–prey relationships as an example of density-dependent control of animal populations

  • Include a real case study.
  • C4.1.18
    Allelopathy and secretion of antibiotics

  • These two processes are similar in that a chemical substance is released into the environment to deter potential competitors. Include one specific example of each—where possible, choose a local example.