Competition Between Species

Running Head: COMPETITION 1

Competition between Species

Amy Namer

SCI207: Dependence of Man on the Environment

Instructor: Jennifer Ott

July 1, 2012

Running Head: COMPETITION 2

Competition between species

Competition happens to occur between two or more organisms living in a habitat that uses the same resources. Whether it is for the food, the water, the shelter, or for a mate competition may be harmful or it can be helpful to each species. Competition can occur between the same species or different species. In this paper using the text, "Contemporary environmental issues." (Turk, J., Bensel, T. 2011), and other reliable resources it will explain how competition between different species is important in the shaping of biological populations and the possibility of such competition leading to extinction. This paper will also explain two basic types of competition known as intraspecific competition and interspecific competition.

In ecology, competition is defined as "the interaction between two or more organisms, or groups of organisms, that use a common resource in short supply." (The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia 2010). Competition results in a reduction in the numbers of one or both competitors which contributes to the decline of different species. Basically competition occurs when organisms of the same species or different species are vying for a common resource that happens to appears in a limited supply relative to the demand, therefore the capability of the environment to supply resources is smaller than the potential biological requirements for these resources. According to the text "availability of resources such as light, water, and nutrients, is a key control on growth and reproduction. (Turk, J., Bensel, T. 2011).

Running Head: COMPETITION 3

The first competition that will be discussed in this paper is the intraspecific competition and according to an article "Intraspecific competition is a conflict over resources between members of the same species." (McGinley, 2008). When members that are of the same species are competing for resources that are limited, then each member would receive a few resources when the population size of intraspecific competitors increases, therefore fewer resources will decrease the growth rate and increase the chance that members within the species will die of starvation and also decrease the number of offspring's produce. As the population density increases there will be a resultant decrease in the rate of population growth. Intraspecific competition causes population to stop growing when they reached their carry capacity. According to the text the carry capacity "is the maximum population of a particular species that an environment can support