Community

COMMUNITY

by Antonio C. Antonio

October 15, 2014

What is community?  Most of us will readily respond to say that a community is a group of people and/or animals living together to form a population.

The dictionary would define “community” as a noun that means: (1) A group of people living in the same place or having particular characteristics in common; and, (2) A feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

From the ecological standpoint, the term “community” is an assemblage or associations of populations of two or more different species occupying the same spatial and temporal plane; or geographical area in a particular time.  The interaction involves both flora and fauna and, therefore, is the biological component of an ecosystem.  The roles of the animal and plant species are classified as producer, consumer and decomposer.  These roles are all supportive to the circle of life within the ecosystem.

Another term for an ecological community is “biocoenosis”.  These terms was introduced (or coined) by Karl Mobius in 1877 to describe the interaction among and between organisms living together in a habitat.

The most complete community is a forest… a healthy forest which is characterised with biodiversity (meaning: The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.).  Having said this, I should further say that there is more to simply losing our forests… we are actually losing a community.

Just my little thoughts…

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