NEETZoologyOrganisms and Populations
How did MacArthur’s research contribute to the understanding of competition?
Options
- AIt showed that species cannot coexist in the same habitat
- BIt demonstrated that species co-exist due to different feeding times or patterns
- CIt proved that competition always leads to extinction
- DIt showed that species facing competition migrate to new habitats
Correct answer
B. It demonstrated that species co-exist due to different feeding times or patterns
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