Q43 - Competitive Exclusion and Pitcher Plant Coexistence

Theoretical 1 Real exam question - full text reproduced under IBO's CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license

The competitive exclusion principle states that whenever two or more species compete for same set of limiting resources the superior competitors can drive inferior competitors extinct. On the other hand, some species coexist in naturally nutrient-poor systems while they need same limited resources. For example, pitcher plants (carnivorous plants) are considered inferior competitors. Brewer (2003) investigated an example of interaction between pitcher plants and another species.

Figure 1. Figure 1.

Using the information and data, determine which of the statements are true or which are false.

A. When using the same resources, inferior competitors fail to coexist with superior competitors.

B. Inferior competitors can coexist with superior competitors if periodic disturbance remove or reduce population of superior competitors.

C. Intense competition can result in competing species to diversify so they can coexist while reducing the intensity of competitions.

D. When pitcher plants are starved, their ability to coexist with their superior competitor is significantly decreased.

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Question reproduced from IBO 2018, Theoretical Paper 1, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 - attributed to the International Biology Olympiad. Open the full exam PDF · Community solutions (unofficial)