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Community patterns

Two South Island takahē eggs on a black background.

In order to plan for the recovery of the takahē population, studies investigating the interactions and interrelationships of takahē populations and the communities they live in are important.

Living parts of an ecosystem are called biotic factors, while the environmental factors that they interact with are called abiotic factors. Because living things both respond to and are influenced by their environment, it is important to study both factors together to get a full picture.

Biological communities are an interacting group of various species in a common location. The composition of a community is often grouped into their feeding or trophic levels – producers or consumers. Investigating patterns in an ecological community will highlight multiple interrelationships and interactions. Often this is the data that will drive decisions in regard to conservation initiatives. In the case of the takahē, population data about stoats, red deer and snow tussock grass show significant interactions and identify threats.

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Acknowledgement: Photo of South Island takahē eggs, South Island Takahē, Porphyrio hochstetter i, collected 11 December 1949, Takahē Valley, Fiordland, New Zealand. Field Collection 1948 - 1966. Te Papa Tongarewa (OR.000546). CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Rights: Te Papa Tongarewa, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Published: 7 February 2019,Updated: 7 February 2019Size: 1.68 MB