The concept of competition is increasingly covered in the field of economics, but its origins still come from biology. What does this concept mean? What is the role of competition in wildlife? Read more about the types and mechanisms of competition in the article.
Different effects on organisms
No living organism exists in isolation. It is surrounded by many factors of animate and inanimate nature. Therefore, in one way or another, it constantly interacts with the environment, other organisms. First of all, the biosphere affects a living being, its components include the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and also the atmosphere. The life of plants and animals is directly related to the amount of sunlight, access to water resources, etc.
Organisms also experience significant influence from interaction with each other. Such influences are called biotic factors, which manifest themselves as the impact of living organisms on plants, which, in turn, affects the habitat. In biology, they are divided into trophic (according to nutritional relationships among organisms), topical (relative to changes in the environment), factory (depending onfrom the place of residence), phoric (possibility or impossibility of transportation by one organism to another) factors.
Interaction of living organisms
Carrying out their vital activity, living organisms certainly affect the "personal space" of other organisms. This can occur both between representatives of the same species, and different ones. Depending on whether the interaction harms organisms or not, there are neutral, positive and negative types of relationships.
A relationship in which both organisms get nothing is called neutralism. Positive interaction is mutualism - mutually beneficial cohabitation of individuals. Allelopathy can be called a completely negative relationship, when cohabitation harms both participants. This also includes intraspecific and interspecific competition.
Some relationships affect organisms differently. For example, in parasitism and predation, one organism survives at the expense of another or feeds on it. With commensalism, only one participant in the relationship benefits, for the other they are neutral. In amensalism, one organism harms another, but does not benefit or harm itself.
Competition
Important factors for the normal life of animals, plants, microorganisms is the resource of the environment and space. With their shortage between living organisms, competition appears. This is a kind of antibiosis - an antagonistic relationship where different individuals are forced to fight for their existence.
Rivalry inwildlife often occurs when individuals have similar needs. If the struggle occurs among individuals of the same species, this is intraspecific competition, if to different ones, it is interspecific.
Living organisms can compete openly, directly interfering with the opponent's life. For example, when the roots of some plants oppress others, or some animals drive others away from a hot spot. Competition can also be indirect. It manifests itself when the opponent more actively destroys the necessary resource.
Intraspecific competition
Examples of intraspecific struggle can be found quite often. This type of competition is observed between individuals of one or more populations. The main reason for this is the same structure of organisms, and therefore the same needs for environmental factors and food.
Intraspecific competition is tougher than interspecific competition. The manifestation of such a struggle can be observed in the delimitation of the territory between individuals. So, bears leave claw marks on tree trunks, warning of their presence. To separate the space, smell is often used, a loud signal cry. Sometimes individuals simply attack each other.
If the competition is for resources, then sometimes it is asymmetric. In this case, one side suffers more than the other. As a result of intraspecific competition, eventually one of the populations may disappear orchange.
Why is there competition?
One of the most important tasks of living organisms is to survive, while passing on the best genetic material to the offspring. In ideal conditions, an ecological vacuum, there are no obstacles for this, and therefore there is no rivalry.
Intraspecific competition occurs under adverse environmental conditions, when organisms are forced to compete for light, water or food. Severe conditions can lead to a change in the life cycle of the species, accelerate its development. However, this is not required. Sometimes rivalry occurs when individuals compete for dominance in a herd, pack, or pride. This behavior is observed in animals that have a developed social hierarchy.
An important role is played by population density. Excessive growth of the population of one species over time leads to a shortage of the resource, which can lead to the extinction of the species. To avoid this, some species, such as rodents, even develop shock sickness. The ability of animals to reproduce is sharply reduced, but the susceptibility to various diseases increases.
The role and mechanisms of competition
Competition is nature's most important tool. First of all, it is designed to regulate the number of individuals. Each species has its own allowable density values, and when there are too many individuals within one population, control mechanisms are activated. To fulfill this role, nature uses various methods: an increase in mortality, divisionterritory.
In conditions of high abundance and limited space, some individuals may leave their usual habitat and develop another. So two different ones stand out from one population. This ensures the wide distribution of the species and high survival. In certain species, this process is temporary, such as in migratory birds.
As a result of intraspecific competition, the more resistant and viable individuals ultimately survive. Their physiological qualities are transmitted genetically, which means they contribute to the improvement of the species.
Examples of intraspecific and interspecific competition
Distinguishing between the two main types of competition is not always easy. It is better to understand this visually. An example of interspecific competition is the "victory" of a gray rat over a black one. They belong to the same genus, but are different species. The gray rat is more aggressive and predominate in size, so it could easily force the black rat out of human homes. But the black one was a frequent guest on the ships of sailors.
As a model of intraspecific competition, we can mention cannibalism, which is observed in about 1300 species of animals. The female praying mantis will eat the male immediately after mating. The same behavior is observed in pak-karakurts. Scorpions and salamanders eat part of their offspring. In many beetles, the larvae eat their fellows.
Territoriality is a type of internal competition. It is seen in fish, penguins, and most other birds. During the breeding season, they do not allow members of their species into their own territory, which they carefully guard.
Competition in plants
Plants, although they cannot openly attack an opponent and scare him away, also have their own methods of rivalry. They fight mainly for light, water and free space. In harsh conditions of existence, intraspecific competition of plants manifests itself in the form of self-thinning.
This process begins with the spread of seeds and the capture of territory by the plant. Sprouted seedlings cannot develop in the same way, some grow more actively, others more slowly. Tall trees with spreading crowns shade other trees, taking all the solar energy for themselves, and their powerful roots block the path to nutrients. This is how small and weak plants wither and die.
Competition is displayed on the appearance of plants. Representatives of one species can vary significantly, depending on the degree of their isolation from other individuals. You can observe this phenomenon in oak. Separately growing, it has a wide, spreading crown. The lower branches are strong and well developed, no different from the upper ones. In the forest, among other trees, the lower branches cannot receive enough light and die off. Oak takes on a narrow, elongated crown shape instead of a spherical one.
Conclusion
Competition is one kind of relationship. It occurs in all living organismswithout exception. The main objective of competition is to regulate the density of individuals, as well as increase their ability to survive. Often the competition is due to the struggle for food, water, light or territory. It may result from a severe shortage of one of these resources.
Competition tends to occur between species that have similar needs. The more similarities in living organisms, the stronger and more aggressive the fight. Individuals of the same or different species can compete for a resource. Intraspecific competition often occurs to establish a dominant individual and also to keep the population from overgrowing.
