Size-asymmetric competition

A steam turbine with the case opened. Such turbines produce most of the electricity used today. Electricity consumption and living standards are highly correlated.

Size-asymmetric competition refers to situations in which larger individuals exploit disproportionately greater amounts of resources when competing with smaller individuals.

- Size-asymmetric competition

6 related topics

Relevance

Resource

Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants.

A steam turbine with the case opened. Such turbines produce most of the electricity used today. Electricity consumption and living standards are highly correlated.

Competition for resource varies from complete symmetric (all individuals receive the same amount of resources, irrespective of their size) to perfectly size symmetric (all individuals exploit the same amount of resource per unit biomass) to absolutely size-asymmetric (the largest individuals exploit all the available resource).

Competition (biology)

Interaction between organisms or species in which both require a resource that is in limited supply .

Sea anemones compete for the territory in tide pools
Male-male competition in red deer during rut is an example of interference competition within a species.
1: a smaller (yellow) species of bird forages across whole tree. 2: a larger (red) species competes for resources. 3: red dominates in middle for the more abundant resources. Yellow adapts to new niche, avoiding competition.
Medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis) on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos

Main article: Size-asymmetric competition

Community (ecology)

Group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community, ecological community, or life assemblage.

A bear with a salmon. Interspecific interactions such as predation are a key aspect of community ecology.
a) A trophic pyramid showing the different trophic levels in a community. b) A food web of the same community
A simple trophic cascade diagram. On the right shows when wolves are absent, showing an increase in elks and reduction in vegetation growth. The left one shows when wolves are present and controlling the elk population.
Table visualising size-symmetric competition, using fish as consumers and crabs as resources.
A generalised graph of a predator-prey population density cycle

complete symmetric - all individuals receive the same amount of resources, irrespective of their size

Universal adaptive strategy theory

Evolutionary theory developed by J. Philip Grime in collaboration with Simon Pierce describing the general limits to ecology and evolution based on the trade-off that organisms face when the resources they gain from the environment are allocated between either growth, maintenance or regeneration – known as the universal three-way trade-off.

Plants with an S-strategy: In the foreground Juncus effusus, and behind that Vaccinium uliginosum, Athyrium filix-femina and Betula pubescens. Bog habitat in Tversted Plantation, Denmark.

The different predictions stem from different assumptions on the size asymmetry of the competition.

R* rule (ecology)

Hypothesis in community ecology that attempts to predict which species will become dominant as the result of competition for resources.

A bear with a salmon. Interspecific interactions such as predation are a key aspect of community ecology.

The different predictions stem from different assumptions on the size asymmetry of the competition.

Plant ecology

Subdiscipline of ecology which studies the distribution and abundance of plants, the effects of environmental factors upon the abundance of plants, and the interactions among and between plants and other organisms.

A tropical plant community on Diego Garcia
Rangeland monitoring using Parker 3-step Method, Okanagan Washington 2002
Alexander von Humboldt's work connecting plant distributions with environmental factors played an important role in the genesis of the discipline of plant ecology.
World biomes are based upon the type of dominant plant.
Reindeer in front of herbivore exclosures. Excluding different herbivores (here reindeer, or reindeer and rodents) has different effects on the vegetation.

Competition for resources vary from complete symmetric (all individuals receive the same amount of resources, irrespective of their size) to perfectly size symmetric (all individuals exploit the same amount of resource per unit biomass) to absolutely size-asymmetric (the largest individuals exploit all the available resource).