Community ecology is an expanding and rich subfield of ecology. Ecologists investigate the factors that influence biodiversity, community structure, and the distribution and abundance of species. These factors include interactions with the abiotic world and the diverse array of interactions that occur between species. Community ecology encompasses many types of ecological interactions that continue to change over time. A forest community includes the plant community, all trees, birds, squirrels, deer, foxes, fungi, fish in a forest stream, insects and all other species living there or migrating seasonally. All populations occupying the same habitat form a community: populations inhabiting a specific area at the same time. The number of species occupying the same habitat and their relative abundance is known as species diversity. Community ecology theory predicts that spatial and temporal environmental variation has an important role in species coexistence. For invaders, this can mean spatial and temporal niche opportunities, provided that invaders and residents differ in their responses to varying factors.

Hima Xavier

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