Interaction of Animals (competition and predation)

Every organism in a community has its own unique role to play. This is called its niche.

Its niche also includes the place it lives, its part of the food chain, the amount of light and humidity it needs, and the physical conditions in which it can survive

Two or more species cannot share the same niche. If 2 species try to occupy the same niche for a long period of time, one of the species will die off.

Because there are not enough resources to go around, organisms must struggle with one another to get the things they need to survive. This type of interaction is known as competition.

One of the resources organisms struggle for is food One of the resources organisms struggle for is food. They also compete for water, light, and suitable places to live

population in an ecosystem. Competition can have a significant effect on the size and location of a population in an ecosystem.

Examples of competition: plants competing for light, water, nutrients

Male lions fighting over females

Living things that catch, kill, and eat other living things are called predators.

The organisms that are eaten by predators are called prey.

In catching and eating prey, predators help to reduce the size of prey populations.

When predators are absent, prey species can become too numerous and crowd out other organisms