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Community Interactions: Competition (-/-) definitions

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  • Competition
    A minus-minus interaction where organisms vie for the same limited resource, reducing the fitness of all involved regardless of outcome.
  • Symmetric Competition
    A scenario where competing organisms are equally impacted, with no clear winner or loser in the struggle for resources.
  • Asymmetric Competition
    A situation where one organism is more negatively affected than the other, resulting in a clear winner and loser.
  • Fitness
    A measure of an organism's ability to survive and reproduce, which is diminished for all parties during competition.
  • Competitive Exclusion Principle
    A concept stating that two species with identical niches cannot coexist indefinitely; one will be locally eliminated.
  • Niche
    A multidimensional role encompassing resource use, interactions, and environmental tolerances of a species.
  • Local Extinction
    The disappearance of a species from a specific area due to being outcompeted, while persisting elsewhere.
  • Resource Partitioning
    A process where species with overlapping niches reduce competition by utilizing different resources or niche segments.
  • Fundamental Niche
    The full range of environmental conditions and resources a species could theoretically use in the absence of competition.
  • Realized Niche
    The actual portion of the fundamental niche a species occupies when competition restricts its resource use.
  • Partial Niche Overlap
    A condition where species share some, but not all, resources, allowing for coexistence through resource partitioning.
  • Character Displacement
    The evolutionary divergence of traits in competing species, reducing niche overlap and competition over time.
  • Beak Depth
    A trait in Galapagos finches that determines seed size consumption and can evolve due to competition-driven character displacement.
  • Sigmoidal Logistic Growth Curve
    A population growth pattern showing initial rapid increase, slowing as resources become limited, often altered by competition.