Resource Competition Flashcards
What are trophic interactions?
Relationships that are about feeding
What are reproductive interactions?
Relationships that are about reproduction
What are habitat-related interactions?
Relationships that are about species creating habitat
What are the two types of competition?
Intraspecific and interspecific
What is intraspecific competition?
Between individuals of the same species
What is interspecific competition?
Between individuals of different species
How does intraspecific competition influence population dynamics?
Responsible for a decline in population growth in the logistic growth model
What is interference competition?
Direct aggressive interaction between individuals
Both animals and plants
Most common in animals
What is exploitative competition?
Indirect competition to secure resources first
Both animals and plants
Most common in plants
Two interacting individuals deplete the resource to their own benefit
Resources become limiting, the two start to compete by increasing uptake efficiency and depleting the resource
Is competition more common in plants or animals?
Plants
They exist in higher densities than animals
Plants are sessile and cannot move out of the way
What is Grime’s proposal for competition at high resource availability?
High productivity
High competition
What is Grime’s proposal for competition at low resource availability?
Low productivity
Low competition
What is Tilaman’s proposal for competition at high resource availability?
High productivity
Strong competition
What is Tilman’s proposal for competition at low resource availability?
Low productivity
Low competition above ground, high competition below ground
What is the competitive exclusion principle?
Two species with the same niche cannot co-exist indefinitely
When does competitive exclusion not occur?
When disease and predation are the bigger limiting factors
In extreme or highly variable environments
How does competition act as a selective force in evolution?
Increased frequency of the most competitive individuals and increased frequency of individuals that avoid competition
What is character displacement?
Changes in the characteristics of a species’ population as a consequence of natural selection for reduced competition in regions where species co-occur
What is a species complex?
Set of species that are morphologically similar and can occupy overlapping ranges, but show reproductive isolation
What is a benthic species?
Live at the bottom of a water body, have few, short gill rakers, wider gape
What is a limnetic species?
Occupy the open upper zone of a water body, have many long gill rakers, narrow gape
What criteria must be met to test if character displacement occurred?
Chance should be ruled out
Phenotypic differences must have a genetic basis
Phenotypic differences in sympathy should result from evolutionary shifts
Phenotypic differences should relate to resource use
Sites of sympathy and allopatry should be similar
Should be evidence that similar phenotypes compete for resource
