Questions on Competition (Ecological Relations)
Multiple-Choice Questions: Competition in Ecological Relations
1. What is competition in ecology?
A) One species benefits, the other is harmed
B) Two species living in different habitats
C) Organisms fighting over the same limited resource
D) One species feeding on another
E) Species cooperating for mutual benefit
2. Which of the following best describes interspecific competition?
A) Competition between individuals of the same species
B) Competition between different species
C) Competition for mates only
D) Competition between plants and animals
E) Competition for space only
3. Intraspecific competition occurs when:
A) Different species compete for food
B) Individuals of the same species compete for resources
C) Animals compete with plants
D) Only predators compete for prey
E) Species compete with parasites
4. Which resource is most commonly competed for in natural ecosystems?
A) Oxygen
B) Space, food, water, or mates
C) Carbon dioxide
D) Salt
E) Light only
5. What happens to species with overlapping niches?
A) They always cooperate
B) They usually compete for resources
C) They never compete because they use different resources
D) One species always becomes extinct immediately
E) They merge into one species
6. What is competitive exclusion principle?
A) Two species can coexist if they use the same resource
B) Two species competing for the same resource cannot coexist indefinitely
C) Species never compete in nature
D) Competition always benefits both species
E) Species compete only in harsh environments
7. Which of the following is a way species reduce competition?
A) Developing different feeding habits
B) Increasing population size
C) Decreasing reproduction
D) Competing aggressively
E) Eliminating weaker species
8. What term describes when species use resources at different times or in different ways to avoid competition?
A) Competitive exclusion
B) Resource partitioning
C) Mutualism
D) Predation
E) Parasitism
9. Which of these is an example of interspecific competition?
A) Two male deer fighting for a mate
B) Two species of birds feeding on the same insects
C) One bird eating insects and another eating seeds
D) Fish cleaning parasites from larger fish
E) Ants farming aphids
10. How does competition affect population size?
A) Always increases population size
B) May decrease population size due to limited resources
C) Has no effect on population
D) Causes unlimited growth
E) Eliminates all predators
11. Which of these organisms is most likely to experience intraspecific competition?
A) A solitary predator
B) A large school of fish of the same species
C) Different species of plants in a forest
D) Parasites on a host
E) Birds and insects competing for flowers
12. What is character displacement?
A) When predators avoid prey
B) Evolutionary changes that reduce competition by altering traits
C) Species merging traits
D) Movement of animals from one place to another
E) Loss of population due to disease
13. Which is NOT a likely outcome of intense competition?
A) Competitive exclusion
B) Niche differentiation
C) Species coexistence with partitioned resources
D) Mutual benefit for competing species
E) Local extinction of one species
14. Which of these would be considered a limited resource leading to competition?
A) Unlimited sunlight
B) Space in a crowded pond
C) Air in the atmosphere
D) Salt in the ocean
E) None of the above
15. Which strategy helps a plant species outcompete others for sunlight?
A) Growing taller
B) Producing bright flowers
C) Producing toxins in roots
D) Producing many seeds
E) Growing underground
16. What is allelopathy?
A) When plants produce chemicals that inhibit the growth of nearby plants
B) When animals fight directly over food
C) Symbiotic relationship between fungi and plants
D) Migration to avoid competition
E) Cooperation between species
17. What usually happens when two species compete for the exact same niche?
A) Both thrive equally
B) One species will exclude the other
C) They become mutualists
D) They both go extinct
E) They hybridize
18. How can competition drive evolution?
A) By causing random mutations only
B) By promoting adaptations that reduce competition
C) By stopping reproduction
D) By increasing resource abundance
E) It has no effect on evolution
19. What role does competition play in shaping community structure?
A) None, competition is rare
B) It helps determine which species can coexist
C) It always eliminates diversity
D) It benefits all species equally
E) It causes species to merge
20. Which of the following is an example of exploitative competition?
A) Two species fighting over territory
B) One species consuming resources faster than the other
C) Species sharing resources equally
D) Predators hunting the same prey
E) Mutualism between species
- Questions on Terrestrial and Aquatic Biomes
- Questions on Aquatic Organisms (Ecology)
- Questions on Predation (Ecological Relations)
Answer Key with Explanations
1. C – Competition occurs when organisms vie for the same limited resource.
2. B – Interspecific competition happens between different species.
3. B – Intraspecific competition is competition within a species.
4. B – Commonly competed resources include food, water, space, and mates.
5. B – Overlapping niches lead to competition for shared resources.
6. B – The competitive exclusion principle states that two species competing for the same niche cannot coexist indefinitely.
7. A – Species reduce competition by differentiating their resource use.
8. B – Resource partitioning allows species to coexist by using resources differently.
9. B – Two species feeding on the same food source is interspecific competition.
10. B – Competition can limit population growth by reducing resource availability.
11. B – Individuals of the same species in a large group often compete among themselves.
12. B – Character displacement is evolutionary change to reduce competition.
13. D – Mutual benefit is not usually an outcome of competition.
14. B – Space in a crowded environment is a limited resource.
15. A – Growing taller helps plants outcompete neighbors for light.
16. A – Allelopathy is chemical inhibition among plants.
17. B – One species tends to exclude the other when niches completely overlap.
18. B – Competition drives evolution by selecting for traits that reduce competition.
19. B – Competition influences community composition by shaping which species survive.
20. B – Exploitative competition involves consuming shared resources faster than others.
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