Competition in Communities Section 17.2 Competition in Communities

Competition When 2 species use the same resource = competition Examples: food, nesting sites, water, light, soil minerals The resources an organism needs are its niche

Niches Fundamental niche – all the resources in the ecosystem that the animal could use All of this niche can’t be used because of competition with other species Realized niche – the resources that the animal actually uses

How animals deal with competition Competitive exclusion – 2 species can’t use the same resource at the same time One animal ‘wins’ and the other animal ‘loses’ Usually not a fight to the death One animal just moves to a different location

How animals deal with competition… Resource partitioning – a way to reduce competition When 2 animals are trying to use the same limited resource, they may divide it between themselves Example: hawks hunt during the day and owls at night

Predation and competition Predators keep the prey population under control Without this control the competition for resources can increase More competition can cause less biodiversity as weaker species are eliminated