Interspecific competence: What is, characteristics and examples

In biology, competition is understood, relationship that some living beings with others keep to obtain the greatest amount of foodfor their own benefit, when they share resources present in the same area.

The Interspecific competence It can be defined as the negative interaction between individuals from populations of different speciesmotivated by the exploitation of a resource or the restriction in access to it. The negative nature of the relationship means that at least one of the species is harmed.

Another type of negative interaction between species is interspecific predation. It takes place when individuals of a species (predator) feed on individuals of another species (prey), remaining both alive when the first attack occurs. Examples: polar bears (predator) and seals (dam) or eagles (predator) and fish (dam).

Below are some of the main characteristics of competition between species or Interspecific competence:

• The competition is for exploitation or by interference.
• It only takes place when the resource is limiting.
• Competition by a resource can alter competition for other resources.
• Consequently, the coexistence or extinction of species takes place.
• It is an asymmetric relationship, in which the individuals of one population win and those of the other lose.

Competition between different species can take place in two ways, that is, two types of interaction can be distinguished or Types of interspecific competition:

• Exploitation competition (indirect): in which one of the species exhausts the resource, negatively affecting the other species. It is similar to fighting competition.
• Interference competition (direct): It implies that one of the species directly interferes with the access of another species to the resource. It is similar to the competition for tournament.

Now we mention Examples of competition relationship between animals and plants:

• Interference competition is very common in plants. An example is allelopathy, which consists of the inhibitory effect of metabolic products of some plant species with respect to the growth and development of other species, that is, it is a form of communication between plants and that it is a competition.
• Two species of diatoms, Asterionella Formosa and Ulna Synedra They compete for silica. This competition is for exploitation since, if they are in the same area, Synedra It consumes silica until it exhausts it. This prevents Asterionella I can use the resource and grow.
• Buitres and jackals compete for the carrion, which is competition for interference.
• Other examples of animal competence for food are lions and hyenas and also the Iberian lynx and foxes.

Some Effects of competition between species They are: the decrease in survival, fertility and/or growth of one of the populations involved. This makes this type of interaction very important because it can influence:

• The dynamics and structure of the populations involved.
• The dynamics and structure of the community, which means that other species of the same geographical area can be affected.
• Evolution. Here we talk about the origin and evolution of animals and origin and evolution of plants.

According to the Lotka-Volterra model, the competition for the resource generates the exclusion of one of the species or, in the least probable cases, the coexistence of both species, which would take place when intra-specific competence exceeds the interspecific.

The main difference between both types of competition is that the Intraespecific competition It occurs between individuals belonging to the same species, while the Interspecific competence It takes place among individuals of different species.

It should also be noted that the competition between different species, mainly, occurs due to lack of resources (food or habitat); However, individuals of the same species compete mostly for resources, not because they are scarce, but because the population has increased.

Now that you have already learned all this about the competition between species, we recommend you to learn about the relationships between species and the functioning of ecosystems with these other articles of Ecology Verde:

• How an ecosystem works.
• Energy flow in ecosystems.
• Trophic relationships of ecosystems.
• Trophic levels in ecosystems: what are, what are and examples.
• What are trophic networks and examples.

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