7th Grade7th Grade

Unit 2: Unit 2:

EcosystemsEcosystems

Lesson 3: Lesson 3:

Succession and EquilibriumSuccession and Equilibrium

Vocabulary of Instruction:Vocabulary of Instruction:

Climax Community•Is a stable

group of plants and animals that is the end result of the succession process.

Climax C

ommunity

Equilibrium• Is the condition

of a system in which competing influences are balanced

Pioneer Species• Are those

organisms, usually plants, that colonize barren rock or lava during primary succession.

• Examples:MossesLichensFernsweeds

Mosses

Weeds

Lichens

Ferns

Primary Succession

• Is the earliest phase of ecosystem development.

Secondary Succession

• Describes the changes in the kinds of plants and animals that live in a particular community over time.

Succession• Directional, orderly process of

change in a living community in which the community modifies the physical environment to eventually establish an ecosystem which is as stable as possible at the site in question.