Which term denotes a stable, mature community with little species turnover?

Which term denotes a stable, mature community with little species turnover?

• A. Old-Growth Forest
• B. Invasive Species
• C. Climax Community
• D. Secondary Succession

Answer: (C)

In ecological succession, communities develop toward a stable, mature assemblage that changes little in species composition over time. This end state is called a climax community. It represents a long-term balance where the ecosystem has settled after earlier successional stages and disturbances become relatively infrequent, allowing the species present to persist with little turnover. An old-growth forest can show many characteristics of a late-successional, stable system, but the formal label for the stable endpoint of succession is climax community. Invasive species are organisms that disrupt stability and alter the community, not the stable end-state. Secondary succession is the process of regrowth after a disturbance to a previously occupied site, not the final stable community.

In ecological succession, communities develop toward a stable, mature assemblage that changes little in species composition over time. This end state is called a climax community. It represents a long-term balance where the ecosystem has settled after earlier successional stages and disturbances become relatively infrequent, allowing the species present to persist with little turnover. An old-growth forest can show many characteristics of a late-successional, stable system, but the formal label for the stable endpoint of succession is climax community. Invasive species are organisms that disrupt stability and alter the community, not the stable end-state. Secondary succession is the process of regrowth after a disturbance to a previously occupied site, not the final stable community.