NEET2026BiologyChapterActual
Two species of herbivorous mammals inhabit the same savanna and rely on similar vegetation for food. To avoid competitive exclusion and successfully coexist in the same habitat, these species are most likely to:
Options
- Asynchronize their grazing schedules to feed simultaneously.
- Bpartition their resources by grazing on different parts of the plants.
- Cincrease their reproductive rate to aggressively outnumber the other species.
- Ddevelop a predator-prey relationship with each other.
Correct answer
B. partition their resources by grazing on different parts of the plants.
Step-by-step solution
According to Gause's competitive exclusion principle, two species competing for the exact same resources cannot stably coexist. To avoid competitive exclusion and coexist in the same habitat, competing species often evolve to utilize different aspects of the shared resource, a process known as resource partitioning. By grazing on different parts of the plants (for example, one species eating the tall stems while the other eats the lower leaves), the two herbivorous mammal species reduce direct competition, allowing