15 Facts About Intraspecific competition

Intraspecific competition is an interaction in population ecology, whereby members of the same species compete for limited resources.

The resource must be limited for Intraspecific competition to occur; if every member of the species can obtain a sufficient amount of every resource then individuals do not compete and the population grows exponentially.

Scramble Intraspecific competition involves a relatively even distribution of resources among a population as all individuals exploit a common resource pool.

In contrast, contest Intraspecific competition is the uneven distribution of resources and occurs when hierarchies in a population influence the amount of resource each individual receives.

Interference Intraspecific competition is the process by which individuals directly compete with one another in pursuit of a resource.

Direct intraspecific competition includes animals claiming a territory which then excludes other animals from entering the area.

Exploitative Intraspecific competition involves individuals depleting a shared resource and both suffering a loss in fitness as a result.

Instance, exploitative Intraspecific competition has been shown experimentally between juvenile wolf spiders .

In stationary organisms, such as plants, exploitative Intraspecific competition plays a much larger role than interference Intraspecific competition because individuals are rooted to a specific area and utilise resources in their immediate surroundings.

Apparent competition is generally associated with inter rather than intraspecific competition, whereby two different species share a common predator.

Contest Intraspecific competition takes place when a resource is associated with a territory or hierarchical structure within the population.

Scramble Intraspecific competition involves a more equal distribution of resources than contest Intraspecific competition and occurs when there is a common resource pool that an individual cannot be excluded from.

For instance, the caterpillars of cinnabar moths feed via scramble Intraspecific competition, and when there are too many caterpillars competing very few are able to pupate and there is a large population crash.

Major impact of intraspecific competition is reduced population growth rates as population density increases.

However, as the population reaches its maximum, intraspecific competition becomes fiercer and the per capita growth rate slows until the population reaches a stable size.