Competition in Nature
Competition is intrinsic to life. Every type of life requires resources to survive and reproduce. Every environment has limited resources. Every type of life can reproduce to excess, and so the population of any type of life will grow until it is limited by competition for resources. There are four types of competition in nature: Competition between individuals. Competition between populations. Competition between genes or traits. Competition between social groups. These types of competition are all different. Many errors in biological thought are due to confusing or conflating different types of competition. The competition for resources takes place primarily between individuals. Individuals compete with other individuals of the same or different species. For example, imagine a meadow that contains grass plants and clover plants. Each of the plants competes with adjacent plants for water and sunlight. There is competition between plants of the same species a...