Modelling Competition

Question 1

What is competition?

Answer 1

interactions between individuals vying for the same limited resources

Question 2

What is Intraspecific competition?

Answer 2

competition with individuals of the same species
e.g negative density dependence

Question 3

What is Interspecific competition?

Answer 3

competing with individuals of different species
e.g fundamental vs realized niche

Question 4

What is exploitative competition?

Answer 4

• starves the competitor
• in which two organisms that acquires resources as soon as possible before their competitor gets it

Question 5

What is Liebig’s Law of Minimum?

Answer 5

• competition for limited resources
• population increases until limited resources prevents growth

Question 6

What is Competitive exclusion principle?

Answer 6

species that can survive off less of limited resources will outcompete the other

Question 7

What is Interference competition?

Answer 7

direct interaction and not indirectly through resource consumption

Question 8

What is Aggressive competition?

Answer 8

• a type of interference competition
• such as sabotage their competitor

Question 9

What is Allelopathy?

Answer 9

• a type of interference competition by producing chemicals that harms their competitor

Question 10

What are the two types of Interference competition?

Answer 10

Aggressive competition and Allelopathy competition

Question 11

What is Apparent Competition?

Answer 11

it looks like organisms are competing against each other but they actually do not
- shares a common energy
- one species has a negative effect on another through shared enemy

Question 12

What is Alpha Competition Coefficient mean?

Answer 12

• what effect does species 2 have on the population of species 1?
• alpha: on individuals of species 2 = competitive pressure of how many individuals of species 1?

Question 13

What is Beta Competition Coefficient mean?

Answer 13

• what effect does species 1 have on the population of species 2?
• beta: one individual of species 1 = competitive pressure of how many individuals of species 2

Question 14

When alpha/beta is = 1, what does it mean?

Answer 14

the effect of competitor is Equal to an individual of your species

Question 15

When alpha/beta is > 1, what does it mean?

Answer 15

the effect of competitor is greater than an individual of your species

Question 16

When alpha/beta is <1, what does it mean?

Answer 16

the effect of competitor is less than an individual of your species

Question 17

What does K1 in the graph mean?

Answer 17

carrying capacity without competition

Question 18

what does K1/alpha in the graph mean?

Answer 18

carrying capacity after taking into account for its competitor

Question 19

In the competition graph for 2 species, what does
Above the line mean?

Answer 19

the population would decrease

Question 20

In the competition graph for 2 species, what does Below the line mean?

Answer 20

the population would increase

Question 21

Predict the outcome of competition in Scenario 1 [ lower isocline is Species 2 and the upper line is species 1’s isocline]

Answer 21

In the yellow zone: both species population are small and increasing

In the Blue zone: species 2 surpassed their isocline(carrying capacity) so their population is declining but species 1 population is still growing

In the Green zone: Species 2 is extinct and species 1 population is in decline because it surpassed its isocline (carrying capacity). Both species 1 and 2 populations are decreasing.