27 - Interspecific Competition
Listen now
Description
Competition among species, or inter-specific competition, can have an even greater effect on selection than competition within species (intra-specific competition). This is often the case in lower density populations. Different species can have positive, neutral, or negative effects on each other's fitness, and the effect species 1 has on species 2 is not necessarily the same that 2 has on 1. The effects that cohabiting species have on each other shapes evolution the same way that selective pressures from within a species or the physical environment shapes it.
More Episodes
Every species on earth has an environmental range in which it can live. Usually it flourishes in the central portion of this range. Organisms contain a host of adaptations that allow them to manipulate their environments to remain within their preferred range. Plants and animals differ in the...
Published 10/14/09
There is a distinct possibility that humans are currently part way through an evolutionary transition between individuals and groups. The conflict between these two units of selection and levels of organization, between biology and culture, may explain some of the tensions in modern human life....
Published 10/12/09
Originally, altruism and self-sacrifice were thought to be incompatible with natural selection, even by Darwin. Now we have several explanations for how altruism can increase an individual's fitness. One is kin selection, or the idea that helping relatives can help increase one's genes in the...
Published 10/06/09