NEETZoologyOrganisms and Populations
How might species facing competition evolve?
Options
- ATo become more similar to each other
- BTo promote coexistence rather than exclusion
- CTo migrate to different habitats
- DTo increase their competitive interactions
Correct answer
B. To promote coexistence rather than exclusion
Step-by-step solution
Gause’s ‘Competitive Exclusion Principle’ states that two closely related species competing for the same resources cannot coexist indefinitely and the competitively inferior one will be eliminated eventually. This may be true if resources are limited, but not otherwise. More recent studies do not support such gross generalizations about competition. While they do not rule out the occurrence of interspecific competition in nature, they point out that species facing competition might evolve mechanisms that promote co