Trees in this Bangladesh forest are in competition for light.

Competition can be defined as an interaction between organisms or species, in which the fitness of one is lowered by the presence of another. Limited supply of at least one resource (such as food, water, and territory) used by both is required.^[1] Competition both within and between species is an important topic ecology, especially in community ecology. Competition is one of many interacting biotic and abiotic factors that affect community structure. Competition among members of the same species is known as intraspecific competition, while competition between individuals of different species is known as interspecific competition. Competition is not always a straightforward, direct interaction either, and can occur in both a direct and indirect fashion. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Biological interactions result from the fact that organisms in an ecosystem interact with each other, in the natural world, no organism is an autonomous entity isolated from its surroundings. ... “Life on Earth” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... Fitness (often denoted in population genetics models) is a central concept in evolutionary theory. ... In biology, agricultural science, physiology, and ecology, a limiting factor is one that controls a process, such as organism growth or species population size or distribution. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... In ethology, sociobiology and behavioral ecology, the term territory refers to any geographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics (and, occasionally, animals of other species). ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... For the journal, see Ecology (journal). ... Community ecology is the study of the distribution, abundance, demography, and interactions between coexisting populations (not precisely synonymous with population ecology). ... Look up biotic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In ecology, a community is an assemblage of populations of different species, interacting with one another. ... Intraspecific competition is the interaction between members of the same species that vie for the same resource in an ecosystem (e. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

According to the competitive exclusion principle, species less suited to compete for resources should either adapt or die out. According to evolutionary theory, this competition within and between species for resources plays a critical role in natural selection. The competitive exclusion principle, sometimes referred to as Gauses Law of competitive exclusion or just Gauses Law, states that two species that compete for the exact same resources cannot stably coexist. ... For other uses, see Adaptation (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Extinction (disambiguation). ... This article is about biological evolution. ... For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ...

Types of competition

By mechanism

The following terms describe mechanisms by which competition occurs, which can generally be divided into direct and indirect. These mechanisms apply equally to interspecific and interspecific competition. The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

Male-male competition in red deer during rut is an example of interference competition within a species.

• Interference competition - occurs directly between individuals via aggression etc. when the individuals interfere with foraging, survival, reproduction of others, or by directly preventing their physical establishment in a portion of the habitat.

• Exploitation competition - occurs indirectly through a common limiting resource which acts as an intermediate. For example the use of the resource(s) depletes the amount available to others, or they compete for space.

• Apparent competition - occurs indirectly between two species which are both preyed upon by the same predator. For example, species A and species B are both preys for predator C. The increase of species A will cause the decrease of species B because the increase of A's would increase the number of predator C's which in turn will hunt more of species B.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the species of deer. ... The Rut is the period of time when antlered ungulates, such as deer, sheep, elk, moose, caribou, ibex, goats, pronghorn and Asian and African antelope, mate. ... In psychology and other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior that is intended to cause harm or pain. ... It has been suggested that Limiting Factor be merged into this article or section. ...

Interspecific and intraspecific

Intraspecific competition

Main article: Intraspecific competition

Intraspecific competition occurs when members of the same species vie for the same resources in an ecosystem (e.g. food or nutrients, light or space). For example, two trees growing close together will compete for light above ground, and water and nutrients in the soil. Therefore, getting less resources, they will usually perform less well than if they grew by themselves. Adaptations to such an environment include growing taller (especially in forests), or developing a larger root system. Intraspecific competition is the interaction between members of the same species that vie for the same resource in an ecosystem (e. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... A nutrient is either a chemical element or compound used in an organisms metabolism or physiology. ... Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland Technically, soil forms the pedosphere: the interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. ... This article is about a community of trees. ... For other uses, see Root (disambiguation). ...

Interspecific competition

Main article: Interspecific competition

Interspecific competition may occur when individuals of two separate species share a limiting resource in the same area. If the resource cannot support both populations, then lowered fecundity, growth, or survival may result in at least one species. Interspecific competition has the potential to alter populations, communities and the evolution of interacting species. An example among animals could be the case of cheetahs and lions; since both species feed on similar prey, they are negatively impacted by the presence of the other because they will have less food. In fact, lions sometimes steal prey items killed by cheetahs. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Fecundity is the potential reproductive capacity of an organism or population, measured by the number of gametes (e. ... This article is about the animal. ... For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation). ...

Evolutionary strategies

Main article: r/K selection theory

In evolutionary contexts, competition is related to the concept of r/K selection theory, which relates to the selection of traits which promote success in particular environments. The theory originates from work on island biogeography by the ecologists Robert MacArthur and E. O. Wilson^[2]. In ecology, r/K selection theory relates to the selection of traits which promote success in particular environments. ... For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ... In biology, a trait or character is a genetically inherited feature of an organism. ... The study of island biogeography is a field within biogeography that attempts to establish and explain the factors that affect the species diversity of a particular community. ... Robert Helmer MacArthur (April 7, 1930 – November 1, 1972) was an American ecologist who made a major impact on many areas of community and population ecology. ... Edward Osborne Wilson (b. ...

In r/K selection theory, selective pressures are hypothesised to drive evolution in one of two stereotyped directions: r- or K-selection^[3]. These terms, r and K, are derived from standard ecological algebra, as illustrated in the simple Verhulst equation of population dynamics^[4]: In ecology, r/K selection theory relates to the selection of traits which promote success in particular environments. ... This article is about the branch of mathematics. ... The logistic function or logistic curve is defined by the mathematical formula: for real parameters a, m, n, and . ... In mathematics, an ordinary differential equation (or ODE) is a relation that contains functions of only one independent variable, and one or more of its derivatives with respect to that variable. ... Population dynamics is the study of marginal and long-term changes in the numbers, individual weights and age composition of individuals in one or several populations, and biological and environmental processes influencing those changes. ...

where r is the growth rate of the population (N), and K is the carrying capacity of its local environmental setting. Typically, r-selected species exploit empty niches, and produce many offspring, each of whom has a relatively low probability of surviving to adulthood. In contrast, K-selected species are strong competitors in crowded niches, and invest more heavily in much fewer offspring, each of whom has a relatively high probability of surviving to adulthood. Population growth rate is a term used in demographics and ecology which refers to the rate at which the number of individuals in a population increases. ... The equilibrium maximum of the population of an organism is known as the ecosystems carrying capacity for that organism. ... Two lichens on a rock, in two different ecological niches In ecology, a niche; (pronounced nich, neesh or nish)[1] is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem[1]. The ecological niche; describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of... In biology, offspring are the product of reproduction, a new organism produced by one or more parents. ... Robert Trivers theory of parental investment predicts that the sex making the largest investment in lactation, nurturing and protecting offspring will be more discriminating in mating and that the sex that invests less in offspring will compete for access to the higher investing sex. ...

See also

• Character displacement
• Minimum viable population
• Resource partitioning

Character displacement refers to the phenomenon where differences among similar species whose distributions overlap geographically are accentuated in regions where the species co-occur but are minimized or lost where the species’ distributions do not overlap. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Resource Partitioning a subdivision of resources and was developed to explain the evolution of animal species into a particular niche within an ecosystem. ...

References