Which of the following is not a characteristics of a community?

Sex ratio

Sex ratio is not a characteristic of a community, but rather a population attribute. In ecology, a community refers to a group of different species living in the same area, interacting with each other in various ways. Communities are defined by various characteristics, such as species diversity, food webs, and stratification. These factors help to describe the interactions and structure of the community.

Let's break down the other options:

• a) Stratification: This is a characteristic of a community. Stratification refers to the vertical layers in a community, like the forest canopy, understory, and forest floor, where different species inhabit various layers of the environment.
• b) Food webs: Food webs represent the feeding relationships in a community. They are vital for understanding how energy flows between different species in the ecosystem. Food webs show which organisms eat others, indicating the balance within the community.
• d) Species diversity: This is another crucial characteristic of a community. It refers to the variety and abundance of different species in a given area. A higher species diversity generally indicates a more stable and healthy community.

On the other hand, the sex ratio refers to the ratio of males to females in a population. It is an important demographic characteristic used in the study of populations, but it does not directly relate to the characteristics of a community itself. Therefore, option C (Sex ratio) is not a characteristic of a community.