Intraspecific Competition

Q: Scramble (exploitative) competition

A: The equal sharing of resources, wastes resources, may lead to major oscillations.

Q: Contest (interference) competition

A: The unequal sharing of resources, resources not wasted, interaction among members.

Q: Name some consequences of intraspecific competition.

A: Retarded growth, delayed reproduction, reduced number of births (fertility), reduced plant biomass, self-thinning, and decreased survival probability.

Q: What are ways in which intraspecific competition regulates population growth?

A: It regulates population growth through stress, dispersal, and social interactions. Stress can trigger hormonal changes, reduce growth and reproduction, and increase vulnerability to disease. Dispersal involves organisms leaving an area due to competition. Social interactions include social hierarchies and territoriality.

Q: How can a social hierarchy and territoriality limit the growth of a population?

A: Social hierarchies and territoriality can limit population growth by limiting the number of individuals that can secure a territory and reproduce.

Q: Discuss the relationship between the alpha, beta, and omega individuals within a group.

A: Alphas are the dominant leader, betas are the second in command and omegas represent the submissive members

Q: Territoriality

A: Involves defending an area

Q: Home range

A: The land over which an animal roams during the year or its life, boundaries are not fixed, and may overlap. The territory can be within the home range.

Q: What is the purpose of a key factor analysis?

A: A method of determining which factor has the greatest impact on population growth, specifically by identifying the biotic or abiotic factor causing the greatest mortality.