We always hear that we live in a very competitive world, where we are always fighting each other to get what we want. This competitiveness, however, is not exclusive to men and can occur with all living beings.
THE competition it is an ecological relationship that occurs between organisms of the same species or of different species. We say the competition is intraspecific when individuals of the same species are involved, and that is interspecific when it comes to different species.
In the case of a intraspecific competition, individuals can “fight” each other to get water, food, light, shelter or even a partner. There are several species of animals in which males literally fight each other to get to mate. In these cases, the winner of the fight gains the right to reproduce.
It is worth noting that it is not just animals that compete for resources, plants, for example, can also suffer from competition. Some vegetables when they are very close to each other can compete for water or even light. Thus, sometimes, a certain distance is necessary for individuals to survive.
When the competition is interspecific, species are competing for resources such as water and food. In this case, both species have the same eating habits and need the same resource. As we speak of different species, there is no fight over sexual partners.
Imagine the African savannah with its large number of zebras and wildebeests, both species are herbivores and therefore compete for the same resource. The same happens with lions and hyenas, which feed on herbivorous animals. In these two cases, we have examples of an interspecific competition.
Several animals of different species compete for the same resource: water
Another example of interspecific competition occurs between plants, which may have, for example, crowns that prevent the passage of light to smaller individuals, leading to their death. Furthermore, the roots of different species can be at the same depth, causing competition for water and nutrients.
We can see, therefore, that in interspecific competition the consequences can be severe, if the habits of life of one species are very similar to those of another. Competition can lead to the migration of one of the species to another area and even the extinction of one of them.
Take the opportunity to check out our video lesson on the subject:
