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17-2: Competition shaping communities • The competition for common resources, very little resources, in one community determine the nature of that community Niche • The functional role of a species, its activities and relationships, within its ecosystem. • Each organism has its own niche, its own unique way that it interacts with its environment, biotic and abiotic factors Fundamental niche • The total range of environmental conditions in which a species can survive and make use of Example: Fundamental niche Realized Niche • The part of the fundamental niche that a species actually occupies. Example: Realized Niche Character displacement • When competing species become physically different due to its realized niche • Believed to be caused by evolution and the species adaptation Example of Character displacement Why are the beaks different? Competition results • Where two species exist, a species that is a better competitor will drive out the second species • Competitive Exclusion: Elimination of one species in an area Example: Competitive exclusion • Chthamalus stelatus lives in shallow water and is exposed to air during low tide • Its Fundamental Niche is shallow and deep Ocean water Example: Competitive exclusion • Balanus. Normally occupies lower Ocean depths. • Its Fundamental niche is the lower Ocean depths Example: Competitive exclusion • Balarus can out • Chthamalus stelatus can live in both shallow and deeper depths, but cannot out compete Balarus for space. This makes its realized niche in the shallow portion of the ocean compete Chthamalus stelatus for space, but cannot survive when exposed to air during low tide. This makes its fundamental and realized niche the deeper Ocean levels Principle of competitive exclusion • The species that uses the resources more effectively will eventually exclude the other • If both species niches do not overlap too much they can both survive A change of number of Organisms in an ecosystem • Predation lessons the effects of competition. • Predators keep the prey numbers in check. • This is important because some prey can out compete other organisms for available resources. • This would result in less species diversity for an ecosystem Example: Aleutian Isles • The disappearance of the otter, due to being eaten by orcas, allowed sea urchins to thrive. • Sea urchins ate all the kelp which left no food for many fish in this ecosystem • With no food for the fish they left and the number of organisms in the Aleutian Isles shrunk