From Biol301

Contents 1 Factors affecting distribution of species 2 Dispersion of Individuals within Populations 2.1 Spaced Distribution 2.2 Clumped Distribution

Factors affecting distribution of species

• Continued from last class
• Only briefly mentioned
• Some reasons include: competition and physical disturbance
  • Example given: Sea palms vs. muscles
    • In high wave action areas, the sea palms dominate but elsewhere, oysters overtake the sea palms.

Dispersion of Individuals within Populations

• Dispersion patterns can show us habitat heterogeneity or social interaction
• Three types of dispersion: spaced, clumped, and random

Spaced Distribution

• Non-random, generally equally spaced
• Usually correlated with some interaction between the individuals like:
  • Competition
  • Social interaction
• Example given: Desert brush; competition of roots underground.

Clumped Distribution

• Often the result of a predisposition to form groups.
• Could be the result of poor or low dispersal of offspring.
• Could be evidence of clumped distribution of resources.