Question

If a disturbance, such as a hurricane, occurs in an ecological community when it is in the intermediate stage of succession, what is the most expected response of the community?

• The community will continue to undergo succession toward the climax stage.
• The community will change to a new mix of species, forming an alternative community.
• The community will undergo secondary succession after a loss of some species.
• The community will undergo primary succession after a loss of all species.

Answer 1

After a disturbance like a hurricane, an ecological community in the intermediate succession stage will most likely undergo secondary succession, as soil and some remnants of life persist, allowing the regrowth towards a climax community.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a disturbance, such as a hurricane, occurs in an ecological community when it is in the intermediate stage of succession, the most expected response of the community is that it will undergo secondary succession after the loss of some species. This is because the community already has soil and possibly some remnants of the earlier community, which means that it does not have to start from the very beginning as in primary succession. Rather, the species that were present before the disturbance will begin to re-colonize the area, and succession will continue toward the climax stage, but the specific species composition might differ if the same conditions do not prevail.