Competitive Exclusion Principle
Who Formulated the Principle of Competitive Exclusion?
G.F. Gause proposed the competitive exclusion principle in 1934. Gause conducted a laboratory experiment using two species of Paramecium and based his theory on the result of the experiment.
What is an Example of Competitive Exclusion?
In lakes and rivers, various species of fish may have similar feeding preferences and therefore compete for limited food resources. Over time, the more efficient predator species of fish might exclude the other species from that specific ecosystem.
What is the Principle of Competitive Exclusion in Bacteria?
Competitive exclusion for bacteria refers to the situation where numerous species of bacteria compete for available nutrients and mucosal adhesion sites. To gain an edge, the superior bacteria species may modify their environment to make it less suitable for other bacteria that are present in their ecological niche.
What is Meant by Competitive Exclusion?
Competitive release is a concept according to which between the two competing species one of them disappears, allowing the remaining species to use the available resource more efficiently.
What is the Difference Between Resource Partitioning and Ecological Niche?
Ecological niche defines a species’ specific role and interactions within its habitat, while resource partitioning is an adaptive strategy used by multiple species to minimize competition by dividing the available resources thus enabling coexistence.
Competitive Exclusion Principle
Competitive Exclusion Principle, also known as Gause’s law, states that two species that compete for the same resource cannot coexist; over time, one species may outcompete the other, leading to the elimination of the inferior species. In ecology, there are two types of competition: Intraspecies and Interspecies competition. Competition is a vital stage in the sequence of ecological succession. It can benefit the broader ecosystem by promoting biodiversity through niche partitioning.
This article discusses the significance of the competitive exclusion principle and the types of competition that exist in nature, competition-minimizing strategies that species use to efficiently enhance the biodiversity of their ecosystem.
Table of Content
- Competitive Exclusion Principle
- Example of Competitive Exclusion Principle
- Types of Competitions in Competitive Exclusion
- Intraspecific Competition
- Strategies Helpful in Minimizing Competition
Contact Us