The community of an individual: implications for the community concept

The concept of the ecological community is examined from the perspective of its criteria and domain. The multiple definitions and uses of this concept indicate a variety of scales and approaches. In this paper, a core definition of the minimal criteria and domain is proposed. Using those criteria, a model of the ecological community is developed based on a focal individual and its interactions with other individuals. In order to increase the scale of the domain of this approach, additional criteria are required. This model is used to explore characteristics of the minimum domain and larger scales of the community concept. The structure that emerges emphasizes context dependency and the potential for indeterminacy for most types of interactions. A prominent historical argument, the nature of boundaries between communities, has no relevance in this model.