Competitive Exclusion Principle: What Is Gause’s Law and Why Is It Significant?

Georgy Frantsevich Gause was a Soviet and Russian biologist and evolutionist. He proposed the competitive exclusion principle, deemed significant in ecological niches.

What Is the Competitive Exclusion Principle?

According to the ecological principle known as the "competitive exclusion principle," there is only one potential result when two competing life forms try to inhabit the same niche - one will drive the other out.

The only reason any of the other group still exists is that they have evolved to occupy a slightly different niche. All types of competitive agents, including genetic and memetic living forms, are covered under the same principle.

Competition comes in two types - intraspecific and interspecific. Interspecific competition is the kind of competition that exists between organisms that belong to different species. Intraspecific competition occurs when organisms belonging to the same species compete with one another.

Additionally, there are two subcategories of competition - exploitation and interference. Interference is what happens when organisms engage in direct conflict with one another over resources. Creatures, for instance, defend their food from others. Exploitation occurs when an organism uses up all its resources, leaving nothing for others to use. They are engaged in an indirect resource battle. The evolution of organisms is caused by a natural phenomenon called competitive exclusion.

A concrete example is the grey squirrels in Britain being replaced with red squirrels. Diseases, competitive exclusion, and the absence of hazelnuts all contributed to the decline in the population of red squirrels. Red squirrels were eventually replaced by gray squirrels, which could easily adapt to their surroundings.

Gause came up with the experiment because he was intrigued by rivalry in nature. He injected Paramecium into a basic, finite culture and gained population growth logistically. There is only so much food in a culture to feed a particular number of Paramecium, and these Paramecium devour bacteria.

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Is the Competitive Exclusion Principle Significant?

The competitive exclusion principle is important because it affects population and evolution. The current struggle for niche succession between the genetically-based modern company and the Homo sapiens is an example of how the competitive exclusion principle comes into play.

The niche is in charge of the biosphere. There could only be one victor. In order to adapt, the loser will turn into the winner's slave or servant.

According to the experts' analysis, the enormous for-profit corporations of today have already prevailed in this titanic struggle worldwide. They become the New Dominant Life Form as a result.

Since for-profit organizations aim to maximize short-term profits, the human system will generally demonstrate short-term behavior as long as these corporations hold a dominating position. This makes it impossible to solve long-term issues like sustainability.

Niche succession occurs when one living form successfully competes with another, forcing it out of the same niche. Superior tactics, superior physical prowess, or both are to blame. At times, chance plays a role.