Learning Objectives

17.3.1 Analyze multiple studies to understand the diverse mechanisms involved in primary and secondary succession.

17.3.2 Summarize the results of experiments designed to determine the mechanisms of succession.

More than 40 years have gone by since Connell and Slatyer wrote their influential theoretical paper on succession. Since that time, there have been a number of experimental tests of their three models. Those studies show that the mechanisms driving succession rarely conform to any one model, but instead are dependent on the community and the context in which experiments are conducted.