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Community Interactions: Competition (-/-) quiz #2 Flashcards

Community Interactions: Competition (-/-) quiz #2
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  • Why is 'competition' an appropriate description of organisms' struggle for resources?
    Competition is appropriate because organisms vie for limited resources, negatively impacting their fitness as they expend energy and time to secure these resources.
  • Which kind of niche takes competition between organisms into account?
    The realized niche takes competition into account, as it represents the portion of the fundamental niche that a species occupies due to competition.
  • How does competition affect an organism’s population?
    Competition can lead to reduced population growth as organisms expend energy and resources, and in cases of complete niche overlap, it can lead to local extinction of the weaker competitor.
  • Which of the following is an interaction in which both organisms are harmed (-/-)? a) Mutualism b) Commensalism c) Competition d) Predation
    c) Competition
  • What is resource partitioning and how is it an adaptation to competition? Provide an example.
    Resource partitioning is when species differentiate their niches to coexist by utilizing different resources, such as Galapagos finches evolving different beak depths to minimize competition.
  • What can you see that indicates competition for space among these organisms?
    Competition for space is indicated by organisms occupying different areas or niches to avoid direct competition, as seen in resource partitioning.
  • What is the difference between predation and competition?
    Predation involves one organism benefiting at the expense of another, while competition results in both organisms being negatively impacted as they vie for the same resources.
  • Where does competition for reproduction most likely occur? a) Ecosystem b) Community c) Organism d) Population
    d) Population
  • What type of competition is within a single species?
    Intraspecific competition occurs within a single species as individuals compete for the same resources.
  • What is character displacement and how does it relate to competition?
    Character displacement is the evolution of traits to reduce competition between species, allowing them to coexist by minimizing niche overlap.
  • What is competition in ecological communities, and how does it affect the fitness of the organisms involved?
    Competition is an interaction where two or more organisms vie for the same limited resource, resulting in a decrease in fitness for all involved because both winners and losers expend energy or lose access to resources.
  • What is resource partitioning, and how does it enable species with overlapping niches to coexist?
    Resource partitioning is when species with partially overlapping niches differentiate their resource use, allowing them to coexist by reducing direct competition and occupying different realized niches.
  • What is character displacement, and how does it relate to resource partitioning?
    Character displacement is the evolutionary change in species traits that reduces competition, often resulting from resource partitioning, as seen in the differing beak sizes of Galapagos finches.