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In an aquarium two herbivorous species of fish are living together and feeding on phytoplanktons. As per the Gause’s Principle, one of the species is to be eliminated in due course of time, but both are surviving well in the aquarium. Give possible reasons.
Solution
$=$ Each species has a specific position or functional role within the community, called niche.
– According to the Gause's principle, no two closely related species competing for the same resources cannot co-exist indefinitely.
In this case, two herbivorous species are living in the same niche and feeding on phytoplanktons.
$\Rightarrow \quad$ It may be because of the availability of sufficient phytoplanktons and or less number of individuals ofthe fish species.
Recently, it has been revealed that species facing intraspecific competition may evolve mechanism to encourage co-existence rather than exclusion. This is called as resource partitioning.
