Competition in Ecosystems: Interspecific and Intraspecific / Resource Partitioning

Limiting resource

• A resource that constrains population size or growth; can be biotic or abiotic.

Competition types: interspecific vs intraspecific

• Interspecific competition: competition between different species for a shared limiting resource (biotic or abiotic).

• Intraspecific competition: competition among members of the same species for a shared resource.

Resource partitioning

• Process by which species use different parts of the resource niche to reduce competition.

• Leads to niche differentiation; reduces negative effects on survival; can increase overall fitness (as stated in the video).

Examples from the video

• Intraspecific: male tigers fighting over territory.

• Interspecific: African watering hole with multiple species using the same resource.

Biotic vs Abiotic resources

• Biotic resources: living resources (e.g., food, prey).

• Abiotic resources: non-living resources (e.g., water, space).

Graphical interpretation

• Classic competition graphs help identify and assess competitive interactions; approach diagrams consistently.

Learning objectives (assessment)

• Identify and describe competition between species and within a species.

• Describe how resource partitioning reduces interspecific competition.

• Identify biotic and abiotic resources and describe how resource availability drives the interactions.