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added community ecology
Modern approaches to population ecology have incorporated the concept of metapopulations. Inspired by the work of E. O. Wilson and R. H. Macarthur's work on island biogeography, metapopulations are important for discussing smaller populations that are connected to other nearby populations through colonization, [[emigration]], and [[extinction]]. Certain populations can act as sources for the metapopulations whereas others act as sinks and cannot sustain their own populations. Metapopulations have important conservation concerns, as increased habitat fragmentation increases the liklihood of local extinction of a species. Prioritizing which "islands" in a metapopulation should be protected can help to preserve and maintain healthy populations of charismatic species, such as butterflies and birds.
Modern approaches to population ecology have incorporated the concept of metapopulations. Inspired by the work of E. O. Wilson and R. H. Macarthur's work on island biogeography, metapopulations are important for discussing smaller populations that are connected to other nearby populations through colonization, [[emigration]], and [[extinction]]. Certain populations can act as sources for the metapopulations whereas others act as sinks and cannot sustain their own populations. Metapopulations have important conservation concerns, as increased habitat fragmentation increases the liklihood of local extinction of a species. Prioritizing which "islands" in a metapopulation should be protected can help to preserve and maintain healthy populations of charismatic species, such as butterflies and birds.
==Community Ecology==
Community ecology incorporates all the populations of species that occur in the same area and interact.<ref>Krohne, D. T. (2018). The Structure of Communities. In Ecology: Evolution, application, integration (pp. 276–297). essay, Oxford University Press. </ref> The main research questions of community ecologists focus on interactions, niches, strucutre, composition, and assembly.
Similar to populations, communities may be difficult to define the boundaries for. Two models for community definition are proposed. F.E. Clements proposed that communities are distinct from eachother, with a set of species unique to each, while H. A. Gleason proposed that communities are not discrete, but continuous, with species prevalence melding communities together through an ecotone.<ref>Dunbar. (1970, January 1). Clements & Gleason - two contrasting views of vegetation associations. UNM Grad Ecology. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from http://unmecology.blogspot.com/2015/08/clements-gleason-two-contrasting-views.html </ref><ref>https://www.britannica.com/science/ecotone</ref> Even though both explanations are in opposition to each other, both are seen in nature. Discrete communities can occur where forests abruptly turn to agricultural land, whereas continuous communities can occur where a grassland gradually turns to a mature forest. The distinction between which model to use depends on the characterisitcs of the ecotone, ranging from abrupt (Clementonian) to gradual (Gleasonian).<ref>Bowersox, M. A., & Brown, D. G. (2001). Measuring the abruptness of patchy ecotones. Plant Ecology, 156(1), 89–103. https://doi.org/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20051137</ref>
=====Ecological Niche=====
=====Interspecific Interactions=====
======Positive Interactions======
======Negative Interactions======
=====Community Structure and Composition=====
=====Community Assembly=====
==References==
==References==