Video Transcript
Different organisms in the same
environment may fight over resources, like food and shelter. What term is given to this
interaction?
Organisms all require certain
resources for survival. The examples of food and shelter
are given in the question. Members of the same species or
members of two or more different species may fight over a single food source. For example, cheetahs and lions are
two different species which can feed on the same prey. They could both hunt the same
gazelle and fight over who gets to eat it. Squirrels and woodpeckers may fight
over shelter in holes in trees.
Plants also often require the same
resources as each other, for example, light and minerals from the soil. Plants need light energy for
photosynthesis, so they grow towards sunlight to maximize the light energy they
absorb. If one plant grows over another,
shading it from the light, it will not be able to absorb as much light energy. It will therefore be unable to
carry out as much photosynthesis so will grow less. Plants have roots that extend into
the soil to absorb water and minerals necessary for growth and photosynthesis. If one plant is more successful at
gaining minerals and water from the soil than another, there may not be sufficient
minerals left to support the growth of both plants.
Now that we have discussed some
examples of how different organisms in the same environment fight or compete for
resources, let’s take another look at our question. We are asked what term is given to
this interaction. The correct term is
competition.
