Competition

Competition happens when organisms use the same limited resource (food, water, space, light, mates). Because resources are finite, not all individuals can get what they need.

• Intraspecific: competition within the same species (e.g., two oak trees competing for sunlight).
• Interspecific: competition between different species (e.g., lions and hyenas competing for prey).

• Reduced growth, reproduction, or survival of one or both groups.
• Competitive exclusion (one species outcompetes the other).
• Resource partitioning (species adapt to use resources differently).

Competition shapes population sizes, community structure, and drives adaptation in ecosystems.