Dominance (ecology)
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For other uses, see Dominance.
![](http://webarchiveweb.wayback.bac-lac.canada.ca/web/20151125134133im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Rhizophora_yngtree.jpg/220px-Rhizophora_yngtree.jpg)
Rhizophoraceae (mangroves) dominate tropical tidal swamps
Ecological dominance is the degree to which a taxon is more numerous than its competitors in an ecological community, or makes up more of the biomass. Most ecological communities are defined by their dominant species.
- In many examples of wet woodland in western Europe, the dominant tree is alder (Alnus glutinosa).
- In temperate bogs, the dominant vegetation is usually species of Sphagnum moss.
- Tidal swamps in the tropics are usually dominated by species of mangrove (Rhizophoraceae)
- Some sea floor communities are dominated by brittle stars.
- Exposed rocky shorelines are dominated by sessile organisms such as barnacles and limpets.
See also[edit]
- National Vegetation Classification, a system for classifying British plant communities by their dominant species
- Monodominance
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