What type of competition occurs between members of the same species?

Intraspecific competition refers to the competition that happens between individuals of the same species. This type of competition typically arises when members of the same species struggle for limited resources such as food, mates, space, or other necessities for survival and reproduction.

Intraspecific competition can lead to various outcomes, including natural selection, where individuals that are better adapted to their environment may gain an advantage over others, potentially leading to evolutionary changes within the species. The intensity of this competition can affect population dynamics and can influence the structure of ecosystems since it shapes how populations grow and interact with their environment.

Contrast this with interspecific competition, which involves competition between different species for the same resources. Symbiotic competition is not a standard term in ecological studies; rather, the concept usually involves interactions like mutualism or parasitism, which do not focus on competition. Competitive exclusion is a principle that describes how two species competing for the same resources cannot coexist indefinitely, leading to the extinction of one of the competitors or niche differentiation. Intraspecific competition, while fundamental to understanding population dynamics, is distinctly different from these other terms related to ecological interactions.