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IntraspecificcompetitionWikipedia

Intraspecificcompetition
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Intraspecificcompetitionisaninteractioninpopulation
ecology,wherebymembersofthesamespeciescompetefor
limitedresources.Thisleadstoareductioninfitnessforboth
individuals.[1]Bycontrast,interspecificcompetitionoccurs
whenmembersofdifferentspeciescompeteforashared
resource.Membersofthesamespecieshaveverysimilar
resourcesrequirementswhereasdifferentspecieshavea
smallercontestedresourceoverlap,resultinginintraspecific
competitiongenerallybeingastrongerforcethaninterspecific
competition.[2]
Individualscancompeteforfood,water,space,light,matesor
Malehartebeestlockinghornsandfiercely
anyotherresourcewhichisrequiredforsurvivalor
defendingtheirterritories.Anexampleofdirect
reproduction.Theresourcemustbelimitedforcompetitionto
competition.
occurifeverymemberofthespeciescanobtainasufficient
amountofeveryresourcethenindividualsdonotcompeteand
thepopulationgrowsexponentially.[1]Exponentialgrowthisveryrareinnaturebecauseresourcesarefiniteandso
noteveryindividualinapopulationcansurvive,leadingtointraspecificcompetitionforthescarceresources.
Whenresourcesarelimited,anincreaseinpopulationsizereducesthequantityofresourcesavailableforeach
individual,reducingthepercapitafitnessinthepopulation.Asaresult,thegrowthrateofapopulationslowsas
intraspecificcompetitionbecomesmoreintense,makingitanegativelydensitydependentprocess.Thefalling
populationgrowthrateaspopulationincreasescanbemodeledeffectivelywiththelogisticgrowthmodel.[3]The
rateofchangeofpopulationdensityeventuallyfallstozero,thepointecologistshavetermedthecarryingcapacity
(K).Thecarryingcapacityofapopulationisthemaximumnumberofindividualsthatcanliveinapopulation
stablynumberslargerthanthiswillsufferanegativepopulationgrowthuntileventuallyreachingthecarrying
capacity,whereaspopulationssmallerthanthecarryingcapacitywillgrowuntiltheyreachit.
Intraspecificcompetitiondoesn'tjustinvolvedirectinteractionsbetweenmembersofthesamespecies(suchas
maledeerlockinghornswhencompetingformates)butcanalsoincludeindirectinteractionswhereanindividual
depletesasharedresource(suchasagrizzlybearcatchingasalmonthatcanthennolongerbeeatenbybearsat
differentpointsalongariver).
Thewayinwhichresourcesarepartitionedbyorganismsalsovariesandcanbesplitintoscrambleandcontest
competition.Scramblecompetitioninvolvesarelativelyevendistributionofresourcesamongapopulationasall
individualsexploitacommonresourcepool.Incontrast,contestcompetitionistheunevendistributionofresources
andoccurswhenhierarchiesinapopulationinfluencetheamountofresourceeachindividualreceives.Organisms
inthemostprizedterritoriesoratthetopofthehierarchiesobtainasufficientquantityoftheresources,whereas
individualswithoutaterritorydontobtainanyoftheresource.[1]

Contents
1 Mechanisms
1.1 Direct
1.2 Indirect
2 Resourcepartitioning
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2 Resourcepartitioning
2.1 Contest
2.2 Scramble
3 Consequencesofintraspecificcompetition
3.1 Slowedgrowthrates
4 Seealso
5 References
6 Furtherreading

Mechanisms
Direct
Interferencecompetitionistheprocessbywhichindividualsdirectlycompetewithoneanotherinpursuitofa
resource.Itcaninvolvefighting,stealingorritualisedcombat.Directintraspecificcompetitionalsoincludes
animalsclaimingaterritorywhichthenexcludesotheranimalsfromenteringthearea.Theremaynotbeanactual
conflictbetweenthetwocompetitors,buttheanimalexcludedfromtheterritorysuffersafitnesslossduetoa
reducedforagingareaandisunabletoentertheareaasitrisksconfrontationfromamoredominantmemberofthe
population.Asorganismsareencounteringeachotherduringinterferencecompetition,theyareabletoevolve
behaviouralstrategiesandmorphologiestooutcompeterivalsintheirpopulation.[4]
Forexample,differentpopulationsofthenorthernslimysalamander
(Plethodonglutinosus)haveevolvedvaryinglevelsofaggressiondepending
ontheintensityofintraspecificcompetition.Inpopulationswherethe
resourcesarescarcer,moreaggressivebehavioursarelikelytoevolve.Itisa
moreeffectivestrategytofightrivalswithinthespeciesharderinsteadof
searchingforotheroptionsduetothelackofavailablefood.[5]More
aggressivesalamandersaremorelikelyobtaintheresourcestheyrequireto
reproducewhereastimidsalamandersmaystarvebeforereproducing,so
aggressioncanspreadthroughthepopulation.
Inaddition,astudyonChileanflamingos(Phoenicopteruschilensis)found
thatbirdsinabondweremuchmoreaggressivethansinglebirds.Thepaired
birdsweresignificantlymorelikelytostartanagonisticencounterindefense
oftheirmateoryoungwhereassinglebirdsweretypicallynonbreedingand
lesslikelytofight.[6]Notallflamingoscanmateinthepopulationbecauseof
anunsuitablesexratioorsomedominantflamingosmatingwithmultiple
partners.Matesareafiercelycontestedresourceinmanyspeciesasthe
productionofoffspringisessentialforanindividualtopropagateitsgenes.

Flamingoscompetingvia
interferencecompetition,
potentiallyforterritories,matesor
food.

Indirect
Organismscancompeteindirectly,eitherviaexploitativeorapparentcompetition.Exploitativecompetition
involvesindividualsdepletingasharedresourceandbothsufferingalossinfitnessasaresult.Theorganismsmay
notactuallycomeintocontactandonlyinteractviathesharedresourceindirectly.
Forinstance,exploitativecompetitionhasbeenshownexperimentallybetweenjuvenilewolfspiders(Schizocosa
ocreata).Bothincreasingthedensityofyoungspidersandreducingtheavailablefoodsupplyloweredthegrowth
ofindividualspiders.Foodisclearlyalimitingresourceforthewolfspidersbuttherewasnodirectcompetition
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betweenjuvenilesforfood,justareductioninfitnessduetotheincreasedpopulationdensity.[7]Thenegative
densitydependenceinyoungwolfspidersisevident:asthepopulationdensityincreasesfurther,growthrates
continuestofallandcouldpotentiallyreachzero(aspredictedbythelogisticgrowthmodel).Thisisalsoseenin
Viviparouslizard,orLacertavivipara,wheretheexistenceofcolormorphswithinapopulationdependsonthe
densityandintraspecificcompetition.
Instationaryorganisms,suchasplants,exploitativecompetitionplaysamuchlargerrolethaninterference
competitionbecauseindividualsarerootedtoaspecificareaandutiliseresourcesintheirimmediatesurroundings.
Saplingswillcompeteforlight,mostofwhichwillbeblockedandutilisedbytallertrees.[8]Thesaplingscanbe
easilyoutcompetedbylargermembersoftheirownspecies,whichisoneofthereasonswhyseeddispersal
distancescanbesolarge.Seedsthatgerminateincloseproximitytotheparentsareverylikelytobeoutcompeted
anddie.
Apparentcompetitionoccursinpopulationsthatarepredatedupon.Anincreaseinpopulationofthepreyspecies
willbringmorepredatorstothearea,whichincreasestheriskofanindividualbeingeatenandhencelowersits
survivorship.Likeexploitativecompetition,theindividualsarentinteractingdirectlybutrathersufferareduction
infitnessasaconsequenceoftheincreasingpopulationsize.Apparentcompetitionisgenerallyassociatedwith
interratherthanintraspecificcompetition,wherebytwodifferentspeciesshareacommonpredator.Anadaptation
thatmakesonespecieslesslikelytobeeatenresultsinareductioninfitnessfortheotherpreyspeciesbecausethe
predatorspecieshuntsmoreintenselyasfoodhasbecomemoredifficulttoobtain.Forexample,nativeskinks
(Oligosoma)inNewZealandsufferedalargedeclineinpopulationaftertheintroductionofrabbits(Oryctolagus
cuniculus).[9]Bothspeciesareeatenbyferrets(Mustelafuro)sotheintroductionofrabbitsresultedinimmigration
offerretstothearea,whichthendepletedskinknumbers.

Resourcepartitioning
Contest
Contestcompetitiontakesplacewhenaresourceisassociatedwithaterritoryorhierarchicalstructurewithinthe
population.Forinstance:whitefacedcapuchinmonkeys(Cebuscapucinus)havedifferentenergyintakesbasedon
theirrankingwithinthegroup.[10]Bothmalesandfemalescompeteforterritorieswiththebestaccesstofoodand
themostsuccessfulmonkeysareabletoobtainadisproportionatelylargequantityoffoodandthereforehavea
higherfitnessincomparisontothesubordinatemembersofthegroup.InthecaseofCtenophoruspictuslizards,
malescompeteforterritory.Amongthepolymorphicvariants,redlizardshavearemoreaggressiveindefending
theirterritorycomparedtotheiryellowcounterparts.[11]
Aggressiveencountersarepotentiallycostlyforindividualsastheycangetinjuredandbelessabletoreproduce.
Asaresult,manyspecieshaveevolvedformsofritualisedcombattodeterminewhowinsaccesstoaresource
withouthavingtoundertakeadangerousfight.Maleadders(Viperaberus)undertakecomplexritualised
confrontationswhencourtingfemales.Generally,thelargermalewillwinandfightsrarelyescalatetoinjuryto
eithercombatant.[12]
However,sometimestheresourcemaybesoprizedthatpotentiallyfatalconfrontationscanoccurtoacquirethem.
Maleelephantseals,Miroungaaugustirostris,engageinfiercecompetitivedisplaysinanattempttocontrolalarge
haremoffemaleswithwhichtomate.Thedistributionoffemalesandsubsequentreproductivesuccessisvery
unevenbetweenmales.Thereproductivesuccessofmostmalesiszerotheydiebeforebreedingageorare
preventedfrommatingbyhigherrankedmales.Inaddition,justafewdominantmalesaccountforthemajorityof
copulations.[13]Thepotentialreproductivesuccessformalesissogreatthatmanyarekilledbeforebreedingageas
theyattempttomoveupthehierarchyintheirpopulation.
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Contestcompetitionproducesrelativelystablepopulationdynamics.Theunevendistributionofresourcesresults
insomeindividualsdyingoffbuthelpstoensurethatthemembersofthepopulationthatholdaterritorycan
reproduce.Asthenumberofterritoriesinanareastaysthesameovertime,thebreedingpopulationremains
constantwhichproducesasimilarnumberofnewindividualseverybreedingseason.

Scramble
Scramblecompetitioninvolvesamoreequaldistributionofresourcesthancontestcompetitionandoccurswhen
thereisacommonresourcepoolthatanindividualcannotbeexcludedfrom.Forinstance,grazinganimals
competemorestronglyforgrassastheirpopulationgrowsandfoodbecomesalimitingresource.Eachherbivore
receiveslessfoodasmoreindividualscompeteforthesamequantityoffood.[4]
Scramblecompletioncanleadtounstablepopulationdynamics,theequaldivisionofresourcescanresultinvery
fewoftheorganismsobtainingenoughtosurviveandreproduceandthiscancausepopulationcrashes.This
phenomenoniscalledovercompensation.Forinstance,thecaterpillarsofcinnabarmothsfeedviascramble
competition,andwhentherearetoomanycaterpillarscompetingveryfewareabletopupateandthereisalarge
populationcrash.[14]Subsequently,veryfewcinnabarmothsarecompetingintraspecificallyinthenextgeneration
sothepopulationgrowsrapidlybeforecrashingagain.

Consequencesofintraspecificcompetition
Slowedgrowthrates
Themajorimpactofintraspecificcompetitionisreducedpopulationgrowth
ratesaspopulationdensityincreases.Whenresourcesareinfinite,
intraspecificcompetitiondoesnotoccurandpopulationscangrow
exponentially.Exponentialpopulationgrowthisexceedinglyrare,buthas
beendocumented,mostnotablyinhumanssince1900.Elephant
(Loxodontaafricana)populationsinKrugerNationalPark(SouthAfrica)
alsogrewexponentiallyinthemid1900safterstrictpoachingcontrols
wereputinplace.[15]

Exponentialhumanpopulation
growthinthelast1,000years.

.
dN(t)/dt=rateofchangeofpopulationdensity
N(t)=populationsizeattimet
r=percapitagrowthrate
K=carryingcapacity
Thelogisticgrowthequationisaneffectivetoolformodellingintraspecificcompetitiondespiteitssimplicity,and
hasbeenusedtomodelmanyrealbiologicalsystems.Atlowpopulationdensities,N(t)ismuchsmallerthanKand
sothemaydeterminantforpopulationgrowthisjustthepercapitagrowthrate.However,asN(t)approachesthe
carryingcapacitythesecondterminthelogisticequationbecomessmaller,reducingtherateofchangeof
populationdensity.[16]

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Thelogisticgrowthcurveisinitiallyvery
similartotheexponentialgrowthcurve.
Whenpopulationdensityislow,individuals
arefreefromcompetitionandcangrow
rapidly.However,asthepopulationreaches
itsmaximum(thecarryingcapacity),
intraspecificcompetitionbecomesfiercerand
thepercapitagrowthrateslowsuntilthe
populationreachesastablesize.Atthe
carryingcapacity,therateofchangeof
populationdensityiszerobecausethe
populationisaslargeaspossiblebasedonthe
Populationgrowthagainsttimeinapopulationgrowinglogistically.
resourcesavailable.[4]Experimentson
Thesteepestpartsofthegrapharewherethepopulationgrowthismost
Daphniagrowthratesshowedastriking
rapid.
adherencetothelogisticgrowthcurve.[17]
TheinflexionpointintheDaphnia
populationdensitygraphoccurredathalfthecarryingcapacity,aspredictedbythelogisticgrowthmodel.
Gauses1930slabexperimentsshowedlogisticgrowthinmicroorganisms.Populationsofyeastgrownintesttubes
initiallygrewexponentially.Butasresourcesbecamescarcer,theirgrowthratessloweduntilreachingthecarrying
capacity.[3]Ifthepopulationsweremovedtoalargercontainerwithmoreresourcestheywouldcontinuetogrow
untilreachingtheirnewcarryingcapacity.Theshapeoftheirgrowthcanbemodeledveryeffectivelywiththe
logisticgrowthmodel.

Seealso
Competition(biology)
Populationecology
Interspecificcompetition
Warextremeresultofintraspecificcompetitioninhumans
Logisticmodel
Sexualselection
Sexualdimorphism

References
1.Townsend(2008).EssentialsofEcology.pp.103105.ISBN9781405156585.
2.Connell,Joseph(November1983)."Ontheprevalenceandrelativeimportanceofinterspecificcompetition:evidence
fromfieldexperiments"(PDF).AmericanNaturalist.122(5):661696.doi:10.1086/284165.
3.Gause,Georgy(October1932)."Experimentalstudiesonthestruggleforexistence".JournalofExperimentalBiology:
389402.
4.Keddy,Paul(2001).Competition.Dordrecht.ISBN1402002297.
5.Nishikawa,Kiisa(1985)."Competitionandtheevolutionofaggressivebehaviorintwospeciesofterrestrial
salamanders"(PDF).Evolution.39(6):12821294.doi:10.2307/2408785.
6.Perdue,BonnieM.Gaalema,DiannE.Martin,AllisonL.Dampier,StephanieM.Maple,TerryL.(20100222).
"FactorsaffectingaggressioninacaptiveflockofChileanflamingos(Phoenicopteruschilensis)".ZooBiology.30(1):
5964.doi:10.1002/zoo.20313.
7.Wise,DavidWagner(August1992)."Evidenceofexploitativecompetitionamongyoungstagesofthewolfspider
Schizocosaocreata".Oecologia.91(1):713.doi:10.1007/BF00317234.
8.Connell,Joseph(1990).PerspectivesonPlantCompetition.TheBlackburnPress.pp.923.ISBN1930665857.
9.Norbury,Grant(December2001)."Conservingdrylandlizardsbyreducingpredatormediatedapparentcompetitionand
directcompetitionwithintroducedrabbits".JournalofAppliedEcology.38(6):13501361.doi:10.1046/j.0021
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8901.2001.00685.x.
10.Vogel,Erin(August2005)."Rankdifferencesinenergyintakeratesinwhitefacedcapuchinmonkeys,Cebuscapucinus:
theeffectsofcontestcompetition".BehavioralEcologyandSociobiology.58(4):333344.doi:10.1007/s00265005
09604.
11.Olsson,MatsSchwartz,ToniaUller,TobiasHealey,Mo(February2009)."Effectsofspermstorageandmalecolouron
probabilityofpaternityinapolychromaticlizard".AnimalBehaviour.77(2):419424.
doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.10.017.
12.Madsen,ThomasShine,Richard(1993)."Temporalvariabilityinsexualselectionactingonreproductivetacticsand
bodysizeinmalesnakes".TheAmericanNaturalist.141(1):166171.doi:10.1086/285467.
13.LeBouef,Burney(1974)."MalemaleCompetitionandReproductiveSuccessinElephantSeals".Integrativeand
ComparativeBiology.14(1):163176.doi:10.1093/icb/14.1.163.
14.Crawley,MickGillman(April1990)."Acomparativeevaluationofmodelsofcinnabarmothdynamics".Oecologia.82
(4):437445.doi:10.1007/BF00319783.
15.Young,KimFerreira,VanAarde(March2009)."Theinfluenceofincreasingpopulationsizeandvegetationproductivity
onelephantdistributionintheKrugerNationalPark".AustralEcology.34(3):329342.doi:10.1111/j.1442
9993.2009.01934.x.
16.Hanson,Floyd(1981)."Logisticgrowthwithrandomdensityindependentdisasters".TheoreticalPopulationBiology.19
(1):118.doi:10.1016/00405809(81)900320.
17.Schoener,Thomas(March1973)."Populationgrowthregulatedbyintraspecificcompetitionforenergyortime:Some
simplerepresentations".TheoreticalPopulationBiology.4(1):5684.doi:10.1016/00405809(73)900063.

Furtherreading
Solomon,E.P.,Berg,L.R.,&Martin,D.W.P.(2002).Biology,sixthedition.(N.Rose,Ed.).Stanford,CT:
ThomsonLearning.
Townsend,C.R.,Begon,M.,&Harper,J.L.(2008).EssentialsofEcology.pages=103105.ISBN9781
405156585.
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