Impact of Specialization and Niche Breadth on Competition
Increased specialization means a species relies on a narrower range of resources or habitats. Decreased niche breadth signifies the same – a reduced variety of resources or environments utilized by a species.
Effect on Intraspecific Competition
When individuals within the same species (intraspecific) rely on a very similar, limited set of resources due to specialization and narrow niches, competition among them intensifies. More individuals are vying for the exact same resources.
Therefore, increased specialization and decreased niche breadth lead to increased intraspecific competition.
Effect on Interspecific Competition
When different species (interspecific) become more specialized and reduce their niche breadth, they tend to utilize different resources or habitats. This reduces the overlap in resource use between species.
Consequently, competition between different species decreases because they are less likely to utilize the same limited resources.
Therefore, increased specialization and decreased niche breadth lead to decreased interspecific competition.
Conclusion
Combining these effects, increased specialization and decreased niche breadth in interacting species result in:
- Increased intraspecific competition
- Decreased interspecific competition
This matches option D.
Important Questions from Competition
- Ecologists have studied the distributions of birds on archipelagos. Some studies found an interesting 'checkerboard' pattern within island groups. Sister species were never present on the same island, even when the islands were very close to each other. Which one of the following processes best explains this checkerboard pattern?
- Two bird species, A and B, are found on a single mountainside. A is a low-elevation species, found between 500 m and 1500 m Above Sea Level (ASL), while B is a high-elevation species, found between 1000 m and 2000 m ASL. At 1250 m ASL, species A and B have very different bill morphologies, but the bill morphology of species A at 500 m is very similar to the bill morphology of species B at 2000 m ASL. Which one or more of the following explain(s) the difference in bill morphology at 1250 m ASL?
The figure panels below show population growth in two species (solid circles and open circles), when they are grown alone, and when they are grown together. The interaction between these species is an example of
- In an assemblage of coexisting wild cat species, the size of canine teeth was found to be strikingly different between these species. Which one or more of the following statements explain(s) this observation?
The barnacle species, Chthamalus stellatus (CS), is found only in the high intertidal zone whereas Balanus glandula (BG) is found only in the low intertidal zone. A researcher transplanted CS from the high to low (T-CS), and BG from the low to high (T-BG) intertidal zones. Additionally, they allowed the species to grow alone or in competition with each other, and quantified survival.
Which one or more of the following inferences is/are consistent with the experimental results shown below?
