Resource partitioning among the species is the mechanism to avoid:

Competition

The correct answer is Option (1) → Competition 

Gause’s ‘Competitive Exclusion Principle’ states that two closely related species competing for the same resources cannot co-exist indefinitely and the competitively inferior one will be eliminated eventually. This may be true if resources are limiting, but not otherwise. 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.

By choosing different times for feeding or adopting different foraging patterns, they effectively partitioned the resources and reduced direct competition.These studies emphasize that competition does occur in nature, but its outcomes can be influenced by various factors, including evolutionary adaptations and resource partitioning. Rather than assuming that exclusion is inevitable, these studies highlight the potential for species to evolve strategies that allow for coexistence and reduce competition.