Question

It is known that two species competing for the same resource cannot coexist indefinitely; therefore, one of them has to either adapt or become extinct. ______________

• A. Gause hypothesis
• B. Hora's hypothesis
• C. Competitive exclusion principle
• D. Both 1 & 3

Hint:

Gause = "Go Away." If two species want the same thing, one has to "go away" (die out or move).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the name of the ecological theory that describes the inevitable outcome of intense competition between two species with identical needs.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

• The Theory: The principle states that two species competing for the exact same limiting resource cannot coexist at constant population values. If one has even a slight advantage, it will eventually outcompete the other.

• Competitive Exclusion Principle (C): This is the formal name of the principle in ecology. It implies that for species to coexist in the long term, they must differentiate their "niches."

• Gause Hypothesis (A): The principle is also widely known as Gause's Law or Gause's Hypothesis, after the Russian biologist Georgy Gause who experimentally demonstrated this using *Paramecium* in the 1930s.

• Foresters' Context: This is why "mixed forests" often consist of species with different root depths (water) or different canopy levels (light). They occupy different sub-niches to avoid exclusion.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The principle is known as both the Gause hypothesis and the Competitive exclusion principle.