The ‘Competitive Exclusion Principle’ was stated by which of the following ecologists?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Gause
The Competitive Exclusion Principle was put forward by Gause. It states that two closely related species competing for the same resources cannot co-exist indefinitely, and the competitively inferior one is eliminated in the end. Gause and other experimental ecologists showed this in laboratory experiments with limited resources. The principle may hold when resources are limiting, but not otherwise.
The other names also appear in the chapter, for other work. MacArthur studied warblers that avoid competition, Connell did field experiments on barnacles on the coasts of Scotland, and Darwin saw interspecific competition as a potent force in organic evolution.
NCERT Extract:
Population Interactions – “… 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.”