Question

Resource partitioning is a mechanism which has been used to promote co-existence among closely related species rather than exclusion. In MacArthur's studies, he showed that species of warblers living on the same tree avoided competition due to

• A. behavourial differences in foraging patterns.
• B. timing differences in their feeding patterns.
• C. both behavourial and timing differences in foraging and feeding patterns, respectively.
• D. certain differences in behaviour which had nothing to do with foraging or feeding.

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

More recent studies do not support such gross generalisations about competition. While they do not rule out the occurrence of interspecific competition in nature, they point out that species facing competition might evolve mechanisms that promote co-existence rather than exclusion. One such mechanism is ‘resource partitioning’. If two species compete for the same resource, they could avoid competition by choosing, for instance, different times for feeding or different foraging patterns. MacArthur showed that five closely related species of warblers living on the same tree were able to avoid competition and co-exist due to behavioural differences in their foraging activities.