Succesion and the Enviroment (Spencer Mottley)

     Today I was thinking back to Dr Riddick's son's talk about forestry, invasive species and 

succesion in the enviroment. Succesion in the enviroment refers to when "natural communities 

replace or succeed one another over time" (The University of Chicago). Succesion almost 

always occurs in multiple different stages. Starting with an initial stage that usally occurs after a 

disturbence of somekind like a wildfire, tornado, or land clearing. In terrestoral ecosytems this 

initial stage is usally sometype of grassland or meadow. Then once sometime has elapsed with 

minimal distrubence the ecosystem enters into an intermedete faze. Which in terrestoral 

ecosytems usally entails shurbs and eventually young trees that have established themselves 

but are not yet mature. After many years without substantial disturbence the ecosystem 

transforms into a mature state, which in terrestrial ecosystems is often a closed canopy forest. 

Upon further thought I relized that seasonal change and climatic changes could also be 

considered types of ecological succesions due to the changes that occur to natural communties 

as a result of these phenomona. After disscusing the topic of succesion in the enviroment, I was 

left with a question, Can succesion occur in aqutic ecosystems? My answer to this question 

is yes but it looks different than it looks on land. Consider a new dock being built on a tidal creek 

at first the pilings are devoid of life but once some time will elapse surely they will become 

colonized by barnacles and likely even a few young oysters and after many years the oysters 

growing on the piling will mature and make a reef like ecosystem that will provide habitat to 

many fish and crabs. 

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