What is Community (ecology)?
In [[ecology]], a '''community''' is the living things in a place. It may mean a group of living things that are not dependent on other communities. It may mean a small group, such as the living things in a piece of dead wood.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-12-29|title=Community|url=https://biologydictionary.net/community/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127033252/https://biologydictionary.net/community/|archive-date=2020-11-27|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Biology Dictionary|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Population without double counting|Populations]] of many species make up a community. A community with its physical and chemical [[environment]] makes an [[ecosystem]]. Each population may have an effect on other populations in the community in different ways (called [[symbiosis]]).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57966041|title=Biology : Concepts and Applications|last=Starr|first=Cecie|date=2006|publisher=Thomson, Brooks/Cole|others=Christine A. Evers, Lisa Starr|isbn=0-534-46223-5|edition=6th|location=Belmont, CA|pages=706|oclc=57966041}}</ref> == Relations between species == In consumption, one living thing eats another. Three kinds of consumption are [[predation]], [[herbivory]], and [[parasitism]]. In predation, one animal, the [[predator]], kills and eats another animal, the [[prey]]. In herbivory, an animal called an [[herbivore]] eats a [[plant]], either in part or in whole. In [[parasitism]], a parasite lives on another living thing, the [[Host (biology)|host]]. The parasite eats small parts of tissue or nutrients from the host, but usually does not kill it. In [[Competition (biology)|competition]], two living things, from the same or different [[species]], both need the same [[wikt:resource|resources]]. If one species is better at getting the resources, the population of the other species may die out. Competition may have a negative effect on both species. In [[mutualism]], two species both help each other, so they have a positive effect on each other. In [[commen