Competition occurs when two different species or organisms living in the same environment or habitat use the same limited resources such as food, water, space, light, oxygen, or minerals.

Limiting Factor- A resource which restricts the growth of a population.

* The more similar the requirements of the organisms involved, the more intense their competition will become.

- If two different species compete for the same food source, reproductive site, water, or other limiting factor, one species may be eliminated. This establishes one species per niche in an ecosystem.

Niche- A niche refers to an organism’s role, especially its feeding role, in a community.

-This allows different species to coexist and helps to contribute to the overall stability of the ecosystem.

Example of the Niche Concept:

Three different species of a kind of bird called a warbler are coexisting in this tree, even though they eat the same kind of food. These birds are feeding in different levels of this tree. In this way, these birds have evolved to occupy different niches.