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Question #45196
The Question
Global temperature shifts severely restrict the available habitat for two closely related stenothermal species, forcing them into the exact same narrowed thermal refuge. Assuming this thermal refuge acts as a strictly limiting resource, which of the following statements correctly predicts the ecological outcome and identifies the underlying interaction matrix?
Options
- A.
The interaction matrix is (+/-); the competitively superior species will act as a predator, expanding its fundamental niche.
- B.
The interaction matrix is (-/-); intense niche overlap will invoke Gause's Competitive Exclusion Principle, eliminating the inferior species.
- C.
The interaction matrix is (-/-); both species will inevitably undergo resource partitioning to coexist, as per MacArthur's observations.
- D.
The interaction matrix is (-/0); the dominant species will restrict the realized niche of the inferior species without suffering any fitness cost itself.
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Correct Answer
Step-by-Step Solution
Explanation
How the Examiner Thinks
Evolutionary_Exception
Tackle problems where standard rules evolve or change based on specific environmental constraints.
Concepts Behind This Question
Primary Succession Facilitation|Ecological Succession Climax|Niche Overlap
Why This Question Is Tricky
Common Mistakes
The 'Conceptual Pivot' is recognizing the condition for Gause's Principle (limiting resources) versus MacArthur's Resource Partitioning.
Students often memorize 'Resource Partitioning' as the default evolutionary outcome of competition, failing to realize that when a critical abiotic factor (like a thermal refuge for stenothermal species) becomes strictly limiting and forces complete niche overlap, competitive exclusion is the inevitable NCERT-aligned outcome.
Quick Facts About This Question
Question Information
| Subject | Biology |
| Chapter | Organisms and Populations - Class 12 |
| Concept | Niche Overlap vs. Resource Partitioning |
| Difficulty | 8 |
| Cognitive Load | 5 |
| Target Solve Time | 120 sec |
| Access | Free |