page_title: Community (ecology)
hierarchical_section_title: Community (ecology)
caption_attribution_description: English: Bear predation on salmon can be high in many Alaskan rivers. Brown bears Ursus arctos and Chum Salmon Oncorhynchus keta are managed concurrently in McNeil River State Game Sanctuary by Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game to benefit the salmon, bears, commercial fishers, and provide unparalleled close-up bear viewing and photography opportunities for the public.
context_page_description: In ecology, a community is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis. The term community has a variety of uses. In its simplest form it refers to groups of organisms in a specific place or time, for example, "the fish community of Lake Ontario before industrialization".
  Community ecology or synecology is the study of the interactions between species in communities on many spatial and temporal scales, including the distribution, structure, abundance, demography, and interactions between coexisting populations. The primary focus of community ecology is on the interactions between populations as determined by specific genotypic and phenotypic characteristics.
  Community ecology also takes into account abiotic factors e.g. annual temperature or soil pH. These non-living factors can influence the way species interact with each other. Abiotic factors filter the species that are present in the community, and therefore community structure. For example, the difference in plants present in the desert compared to the tropical rainforest is dictated by the annual precipitation.
context_section_description: In ecology, a community  is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis. The term community has a variety of uses. In its simplest form it refers to groups of organisms in a specific place or time, for example, "the fish community of Lake Ontario before industrialization".
  Community ecology or synecology is the study of the interactions between species in communities on many spatial and temporal scales, including the distribution, structure, abundance, demography, and interactions between coexisting populations. The primary focus of community ecology is on the interactions between populations as determined by specific genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. 
  Community ecology also takes into account  abiotic factors e.g. annual temperature or  soil pH. These non-living factors can influence the way species interact with each other. Abiotic factors filter the species that are present in the community, and therefore community structure. For example, the difference in plants present in the desert compared to the tropical rainforest is dictated by the annual precipitation. These non-living factors also influence the way species interact with each other. Humans can also have an effect on community structure through habitat disturbance, such as introduction of  invasive species. 
  Community ecology has its origin in European plant sociology. It examines processes such as predator–prey population dynamics or succession. Whilst also examining patterns such as variation in:
  Species richness
  Species evenness
  Biodiversity
  Productivity (ecology)
  Food web
  Community structure
  On a deeper level the meaning and value of the community concept in ecology is up for debate. Communities have traditionally been understood on a fine scale in terms of local processes constructing (or destructing) an assemblage of species, such as the way climate change is likely to affect the make-up of grass communities. Recently this local community focus has been criticised. Robert Ricklefs has argued that it is more useful to think of communities on a regional scale, drawing on evolutionary taxonomy and biogeography, where some species or clades evolve and others go extinct.
caption: A bear with a salmon. Interspecific interactions such as predation are a key aspect of community ecology.
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