Succession
WordNet
noun
(1) Acquisition of property by descent or by will
(2) The action of following in order
"He played the trumps in sequence"
(3) A following of one thing after another in time
"The doctor saw a sequence of patients"
(4) A group of people or things arranged or following in order
"A succession of stalls offering soft drinks"
"A succession of failures"
(5) (ecology) the gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable climax is established