NEETZoologyOrganisms and Populations
What is ‘resource partitioning’?
Options
- ASpecies changing their physical characteristics to avoid competition
- BSpecies dividing resources to avoid direct competition
- CSpecies avoiding competition by migrating to different habitats
- DSpecies increasing their competition to reduce overlap
Correct answer
B. Species dividing resources to avoid direct competition
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