Name: how limited resources shape competition
Uploaded: 2026-06-01T06:27:42.402Z
Duration: 2 min 34 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

north-carolina-k-12-science-standard-course-of-study

North Carolina K-12 Science Standard Course of Study

9-12

Biology

ecosystems-interactions-energy-and-dynamics

Ecosystems- Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

LS.Bio.5.1

Competition

Ecosystems contain many organisms, but they have a limited amount of the resources needed for survival and reproduction.
 
 Competition is an interaction between individuals that happens when resources like food, water, shelter, and mates are limited.
 
 Competition can be categorized by the identity of the organisms involved&#x2014;either intraspecific, within the same species, or interspecific, between different species. It can also be categorized as direct or indirect competition based on whether the organisms interact directly or indirectly.
 
 Competition is more likely to happen when there is an overlap between ecological niches. Organisms with similar niches need many of the same resources, while those with very different niches may not compete at all.
 
 Interspecific competition happens when individuals of different species, such as coyotes and wolves, compete for a common resource, such as prey or territory. In territories where gray wolf and coyote populations overlap, competition between the two species may limit the number of coyotes within those territories.
 
 One possible consequence of interspecific competition is competitive exclusion. If two species compete for the same limiting resource over time, one species may outcompete the other.
 
 The weaker competitor may need to adjust its behavior to use other resources within its niche. For example, coyotes may move to a new territory away from gray wolves or, over many generations, evolve to occupy a different niche. Otherwise, they may die out.
 
 Intraspecific competition, on the other hand, happens between individuals of the same species. This type of competition is common because individuals occupy the same niche in the ecosystem and require the same resources.
 
 Direct competition happens when individuals of the same or different species interact directly. For example, two male antelopes fight for the opportunity to mate with a female. In this mechanism, one individual prevents others from using a resource, in this case, a mate. Marking territory is another behavior that helps control access to a resource.
 
 Indirect competition happens when individuals use up a shared resource, leaving less available for others. For example, elephants and other animals use a common water source, such as a pond. Elephants may drink more water, leaving less available for other animals.

Bolnick, Daniel I., Travis Ingram, William E. Stutz, Lisa K. Snowberg, On Lee Lau et Jeff S. Paull. « La libération écologique de la compétition interspécifique entraîne des changements découplés de la population et de la largeur de la niche individuelle. » Actes de la Royal Society B : Sciences biologiques 277, n° 1689 (2010) : 1789-1797. [<a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0018">Source</a>]

compétition

Lorsque les organismes ont besoin des m&#xEA;mes ressources limit&#xE9;es dans un environnement, il se peut qu&#x2019;ils doivent rivaliser pour les obtenir. La comp&#xE9;tition est une interaction nette-n&#xE9;gative. M&#xEA;me si deux individus ou populations en comp&#xE9;tition n&#x27;interagissent pas directement, l&#x2019;aptitude globale des deux rivaux est diminu&#xE9;e du fait qu&#x27;ils n&#x27;ont pas un acc&#xE8;s complet &#xE0; la ressource limit&#xE9;e.
 
 La comp&#xE9;tition intrasp&#xE9;cifique, qui se produit entre les individus d&#x2019;une m&#xEA;me esp&#xE8;ce, sert de m&#xE9;canisme naturel pour r&#xE9;guler la taille de la population. Une trop grande croissance d&#xE9;mographique peut entra&#xEE;ner une surpopulation et une diminution des ressources. Les membres plus forts de la population peuvent surpasser les individus plus faibles pour les ressources, ce qui entra&#xEE;ne une r&#xE9;duction de la reproduction ou la mort pour les individus les plus faibles et contr&#xF4;le la taille de la population.
 
 L&#x2019;exclusion comp&#xE9;titive peut r&#xE9;sulter de la rivalit&#xE9; entre les esp&#xE8;ces, o&#xF9; l&#x2019;une est mieux adapt&#xE9;e &#xE0; l&#x2019;utilisation d&#x2019;une ressource et pousse l&#x2019;autre dehors, mais ce n&#x2019;est pas le seul r&#xE9;sultat possible lorsqu&#x2019;une ressource n&#x2019;est pas abondante. Les organismes peuvent &#xE9;galement trouver des moyens de partager des ressources limit&#xE9;es. Les populations rivales peuvent entreprendre de partager des ressources, pour diviser la ressource d&#x2019;une mani&#xE8;re spatiale en restant dans des territoires qui ne se chevauchent pas ou en utilisant la ressource &#xE0; diff&#xE9;rents moments de la journ&#xE9;e. Alternativement, une population pourrait diff&#xE9;rencier sa niche de sorte qu&#x2019;elle n&#x2019;ait plus &#xE0; rivaliser.
 
 De nombreuses esp&#xE8;ces similaires de l&#xE9;zards anoles coexistent sur les &#xEE;les autour de la mer des Cara&#xEF;bes, et les anoles de chaque &#xEE;le &#xE9;vitent la rivalit&#xE9; entre eux en r&#xE9;sidant dans des endroits l&#xE9;g&#xE8;rement diff&#xE9;rents dans leur habitat, un exemple de partitionnement spatial des ressources. Les l&#xE9;zards ne s&#x2019;attaquent alors qu&#x2019;aux insectes qui entrent dans leur territoire pr&#xE9;f&#xE9;r&#xE9;, divisant ainsi les sources de nourriture disponibles. Cela diminue la comp&#xE9;tition pour la nourriture et r&#xE9;duit les conflits directs entre les diff&#xE9;rentes esp&#xE8;ces.
 
 Finalement, la comp&#xE9;tition fournit une pression de s&#xE9;lection &#xE9;volutive chez et entre les esp&#xE8;ces lorsque les ressources ne sont pas abondantes, for&#xE7;ant les organismes &#xE0; s&#x2019;adapter ou ils risquent de s&#x2019;&#xE9;teindre s&#x2019;ils ne peuvent pas rivaliser avec succ&#xE8;s.

Compétition

When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. ...

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Population and Community Ecology

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how limited resources shape competition

Competition happens when organisms need the same limited resources in an environment. It is a net-negative interaction because both competitors lose fitness when neither has full access to the resource. This can happen even without direct contact between the competing individuals or populations.

Competition within a species is called intraspecific competition. It often helps control population size because rapid growth can lead to crowding and fewer available resources. Stronger individuals may outcompete weaker ones for food, space, or other needs. As a result, the weaker members may reproduce less or die, which helps keep the population in check.

Competition between species can lead to competitive exclusion. In this case, one species is better suited to use the resource and pushes the other out. But this is not the only possible outcome when resources are scarce. Organisms may also reduce competition by sharing resources instead of fighting for the same supply.

This sharing is called resource partitioning. Populations can divide a resource by using different spaces or by using it at different times of day. One population may also change its niche, which is the role it plays in its environment, so it no longer overlaps as much with another species. Many similar anole lizards on Caribbean islands show spatial resource partitioning by living in slightly different parts of the habitat. They then eat insects that enter their own territory, which lowers direct conflict and reduces competition for food.

Competition acts as a selection pressure within species and between species when resources are not plentiful. It can force organisms to adapt or risk dying out if they cannot compete successfully. Over time, this pressure can shape which populations survive in a community.

How Limited Resources Shape Competition

what are populations and communities?

Population Size, Density, and Community Roles

Populations, metapopulations, and communities are key parts of ecology. Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment. A population is a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same general area. A community includes multiple populations of different species that coexist and interact in one habitat. Populations are dynamic because they respond to biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors are living influences, and abiotic factors...

distribution and dispersion

Species Range and Spacing Patterns

Ecology looks at how organisms interact with each other and with their environment. It also examines where species live and how individuals are arranged within those areas. The geographic range of a species is the total area where its members are found. Dispersion is the pattern of spacing among individuals inside that range. Within a species’ geographic range, dispersion can follow three main patterns: uniform, random, or clumped. These patterns depend on environmental conditions and on...

life histories

Life History Strategies and Survivorship

Life history strategies show how organisms balance survival and reproduction across a lifetime. An organism’s life history includes birth, growth, sexual maturation, reproduction, and death. These patterns reflect trade-offs in how much energy and resources go to making offspring and caring for them. R-strategists and K-strategists show two common reproductive strategies. R-strategists, with r standing for rate, have high fecundity, or reproductive potential. They produce many offspring that...

energy budgets and reproductive strategies

Reproductive Trade-Offs in Life Cycles

Organisms must divide limited energy between growth, maintenance, and reproduction. These energy budgets create trade-offs. Energy used for reproduction cannot be used for survival or growth, so species follow different reproductive patterns. Semelparity and iteroparity are two main strategies on this continuum. Semelparous species reproduce only once in their lifetime. They usually put most or all available resources into that single reproductive event and then die. This approach often...

population growth

Population Growth Curves and Carrying Capacity

Population growth changes with births, deaths, immigration, and emigration. When birth rates and immigration are higher than death rates and emigration, a population increases. When deaths and emigration are higher, the population decreases. These changes can be shown on a graph of population size over time. Under ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can grow exponentially. This produces a J-shaped growth curve. Such rapid growth is seen in newly introduced invasive species...

ecological niches

How Species Share Ecological Niches

Ecological niches describe how species fit into an ecosystem. A niche includes the living and nonliving factors that shape where an organism can live. Food resources, climate, and terrain are all part of that role. Two species cannot occupy the exact same niche in the same habitat for long. When their niches overlap too much, the competitive exclusion principle applies. One species will outcompete the other, and the weaker species must adapt or disappear. Similar species can still coexist...

symbiosis

Symbiosis and Species Interactions

Symbiosis and other close species interactions shape how organisms live together in a community. These long-term relationships can affect the distribution and abundance of the species involved. They also often lead to co-evolution, where species change in response to one another. Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship that benefits both species. A common example is ants and aphids. Aphids feed on phloem in plant stems with piercing mouthparts and release a sugary fluid. Ants feed on this fluid,...

competition

Competition happens when organisms need the same limited resources in an environment. It is a net-negative interaction because both competitors lose fitness when neither has full access to the resource. This can happen even without direct contact between the competing individuals or populations. Competition within a species is called intraspecific competition. It often helps control population size because rapid growth can lead to crowding and fewer available resources. Stronger individuals...

predator-prey interactions

Predator and Prey Evolution

Predator and prey evolution shapes how animals survive and reproduce. Predators gain energy by eating prey, while prey that avoid being eaten improve their fitness. Over time, both sides develop traits that help them win this struggle. Predators often evolve tools for attack, such as claws, teeth, and speed. Prey evolve defenses that help them escape or stay hidden. These defenses can include crypsis, or blending in with the background, aposematism, or warning coloration, and mimicry, which is...

keystone species

Sea Stars, Wolves, and Ecosystem Balance

Keystone species help keep ecosystems balanced. In ecology, biodiversity is often described by species richness, which is the number of species present, and evenness, which is how evenly those species are represented. Community structure can also be shaped by abiotic factors such as sunlight and nutrients, disturbances such as fire or flood, species interactions such as predation or competition, and chance events such as the invasion of a foreign species. A keystone species has a much larger...

ecological disturbance

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Ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in an environment that can change an ecosystem in a major way. It may come from abiotic, biotic, or human-caused factors. The size of the impact depends on the disturbance’s intensity, how often it happens, and how widely it spreads. Disturbances can be very small or very large. Trampling underbrush is one example of a small disturbance. Forest fires and floods are larger examples. Natural events such as volcanoes and hurricanes can also disturb...

ecological succession

How Succession Shapes Ecosystem Recovery

Ecological succession is shaped by facilitation, inhibition, and toleration. These processes explain how one community changes into the next after a disturbance or a new surface becomes available. Early species can either help, block, or simply coexist with later species. Facilitation happens when pioneer species make conditions better for later species. They may increase nutrients, water, or light. In inhibition, early species make conditions worse by limiting resources. In some cases, later...

key terms and concepts

Learn how limited resources drive competition, intraspecific competition, competitive exclusion, and resource partitioning in ecosystems with real examples.

How Limited Resources Shape Competition | JoVE K12

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Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

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What are Biogeochemical Cycles?

The most common elements in organic molecules, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, are only available in the ecosystem in limited ...

The Water Cycle

The Earth&rsquo;s hydrosphere includes all of the areas where the storage and movement of water occurs. Since water is the basis of all living processes, ...

The Carbon Cycle

Carbon is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and is recycled through the ecosystem in two primary processes: one in which carbon is exchanged among ...

The Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen atoms, present in all proteins and DNA, are recycled between abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem. However, the primary form of ...

The Phosphorus Cycle

Unlike carbon, water, and nitrogen, phosphorus is not present in the atmosphere as a gas. Instead, most phosphorus in the ecosystem exists as compounds, ...

The Sulfur Cycle

Sulfur, an important element in the chemical makeup of proteins, is recycled through the atmosphere and aquatic and terrestrial environments. Found in the ...

Use models to illustrate how processes in organisms contribute to the flow of energy and the cycling of matter within an ecosystem.

LS.Bio.4.1

What are Populations and Communities?

Populations are groups of individuals of the same species that inhabit a shared environment. Communities include multiple co-existing, interacting ...

Distribution and Dispersion

Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environment and with one another. An important aspect of ecology is understanding where species ...

Life Histories

Constrained by limited energy and resources, organisms must compromise between offspring quantity and parental investment. This trade-off is represented ...

Energy Budgets and Reproductive Strategies

Organisms must balance energy intake with the energy required for growth, maintenance, and reproduction. These trade-offs result in a variety of ...

Population Growth

Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with ...

Use models to explain the relationship between the flow of energy and cycling of matter among organisms in an ecosystem.

LS.Bio.4.2

Ecological Niches

All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors&#x2014;including food resources, climate, and ...

Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is influenced by the processes of facilitation, inhibition, and toleration. Facilitation occurs when early successional species ...

Keystone Species

Measures of species biodiversity, such as richness (i.e., the number of species present) and evenness (i.e., their relative abundance), describe an ...

Symbiosis

Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those ...

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction ...

Ecological Disturbance

An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced ...

Use mathematics and computational thinking to explain how interactions between organisms (predator/prey, competition) affect carrying capacity and maintain stability in an ecosystem.

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Biodiversity describes the variety of living things at multiple organizational levels: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Species diversity ...

Threats to Biodiversity

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Biodiversity and Human Values

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What is Conservation Biology?

Conservation biology is a scientific field that focuses on the preservation of biodiversity in order to protect ecosystems while meeting the needs of the ...

Sustainable Development

As the human population continues to grow and use resources, we must be mindful of our planet&rsquo;s natural limits. Sustainable development provides a ...

Conservation of Small Populations

Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens ...

What is Weather?

Overview

Weather refers to the current state of atmospheric conditions at a specific time and place. Weather is temporary and is influenced by the ...

Global Climate Change

Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global ...

Conservation of Declining Populations

Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent ...

Habitat Fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land ...

Engage in argument from evidence to evaluate various solutions to reduce the impact of human activities on biodiversity and ecosystem health.

LS.Bio.5.2

Analyze the relationships between matter and energy within ecosystems.

How Limited Resources Shape Competition

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