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Subadult male lion and female spotted hyena in the Masai Mara.The two species share the same ecological niche, and are thus in competition with each other. Interspecific competition, in ecology, is a form of competition in which individuals of different species compete for the same resources in an ecosystem (e.g. food or living space).
This form of competition typically manifests in new equilibrium abundances of each prey species. For example, suppose there are two species (species A and species B), which are preyed upon by food-limited predator species C. Scientists observe an increase in the abundance of species A and a decline in the abundance of species B.
Mutualism is an interaction between two or more species, where species derive a mutual benefit, for example an increased carrying capacity. Similar interactions within a species are known as co-operation. Mutualism may be classified in terms of the closeness of association, the closest being symbiosis, which is often confused with mutualism.
The competition-colonization trade-off theory has primarily been used to examine and describe the dispersal-linked traits of a plant's seeds. [7] Seed size is a primary feature that relates to a species ability to colonize or compete within a given population, the effect of seed size was displayed in dicotyledonous annual plants. [8]
Equalizing mechanisms affect interspecific competition (the competition between individuals of different species). For example, when multiple species compete for the same resource, competitive ability is determined by the minimum level of resources a species needs to maintain itself (known as an R*, or equilibrium resource density). [2]
The Lotka–Volterra equation states that two competing species can coexist when intra-specific (within species) competition is greater than inter-specific (between species) competition. [40] Since niche differentiation concentrates competition within-species, due to a decrease in between-species competition, the Lotka-Volterra model predicts ...
For simplicity, consider a five species example where all of the species are aligned on a circle, and each interacts only with the two neighbors on either side with strength α −1 and α 1 respectively. Thus, species 3 interacts only with species 2 and 4, species 1 interacts only with species 2 and 5, etc.
Paramecium aurelia and Paramecium caudatum grow well individually, but when they compete for the same resources, P. aurelia outcompetes P. caudatum.. Based on field observations, Joseph Grinnell formulated the principle of competitive exclusion in 1904: "Two species of approximately the same food habits are not likely to remain long evenly balanced in numbers in the same region.