Resource partitioning among the species is the mechanism to avoid:

The correct answer is Option (1) → Competition

Option (1) Competition — Correct. When species share a resource, they can divide it, by feeding at different times or in different places. This resource partitioning lets them avoid competition, as MacArthur showed in five warblers feeding in different parts of the same tree.

Option (2) Predation — Incorrect. Prey avoid predators by camouflage, poison and other defences, not by sharing resources.

Option (3) Parasitism — Incorrect. Parasitism is one species living on another and harming it.

Option (4) Amensalism — Incorrect. In amensalism one species is harmed and the other unaffected.

NCERT Extract:
Population Interactions – “… 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.”