In F. E. Clements' view of community organization, which statement best describes how species function within a community?

• A. A community has multiple stable equilibria.
• B. A community at a site has only one stable equilibrium.
• C. A community is always in flux with no stable state.
• D. Equilibria depend on the predator present.

Answer: (B)

Clements viewed a community as a tightly integrated unit—a superorganism—where species interact in a way that drives the ecosystem toward a single, predictable endpoint at a given site. In this view, succession unfolds in a orderly, deterministic path toward one climax community that represents the stable state for that location. Therefore, the best description is that a community at a site has only one stable equilibrium, reflecting that unique climax.

Why the others don’t fit as well: some theories allow multiple stable states, or no stable state at all, or that stability depends on factors like predators—these ideas align with different ecological views (such as Gleason’s individualistic concept). Clements’ perspective emphasizes one defined, stable endpoint for a site, not multiple or indefinite states.