According to Gause's Competitive Exclusion Principle, what occurs when two closely related species compete for the exact same limiting resource?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. The competitively inferior species will ultimately be eliminated

  1. Step 1: Interspecific competition arises when two or more distinct species rely on identical, non-renewable or limiting environmental resources.
  2. Step 2: Gause's Competitive Exclusion Principle states that two ecologically identical species occupying the same ecological niche cannot stably coexist under constant resource limitation.
  3. Step 3: The species with even a marginal competitive superiority will outcompete, displace, and ultimately eliminate the inferior competitor from the habitat.
Answer
The competitively inferior species will ultimately be eliminated.
Why not the others: Predation where one species benefits at the expense of another () describes exploitation (including parasitism and herbivory); Amensalism where one species is harmed while the other is unaffected () describes asymmetrical inhibition (e.g., Penicillium mold releasing penicillin against bacteria); Commensalism where one species benefits while the other is unaffected () describes one-sided facilitation (e.g., epiphytic orchids on mango branches).

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