Intraspecific competition among Tribolium castaneum in response to crowding
Introduction
Competition is an important interaction that occurs between living organisms that co-exist in an environment. All living organisms need certain resources in order to survive and reproduce. These resources include but are not limited to nutrients, food, water, and a space to live in. When these resources become limited in a shared area, organisms are forced to compete with each other for the resources that they need. This competition can occur among individuals belonging to the same species, called intraspecific competition, and also among organisms belonging to different species which is called interspecific competition. At times competition will be direct and obvious but often it can also be subtle and unrecognized without further experimentation.
With this study we intend to achieve a greater understanding of the effects of abiotic factors on intraspecific competition of the flour beetles. The effects of competition on these organisms have often led to interesting discoveries of their behavior. In one study, conducted by Sonleitner and Guthrie (1991), they determined that limited resources in a crowded space effects the ovipostion rate of the flour beetles. When beetle population densities become too high for their area, the female beetles respond by lowering their oviposition rates. These condition changes include nutrition depletion, accumulation of dead beetle skin and feces, and the presence of quinone, an irritating substance secreted by adult beetles (Sonleiitner & Guthrie, 1991). This study also mentions the tendency of females to participate in delayed reproduction, where they increase their egg production at a later date when their living space is less crowded and their offspring will have a better chance of surviving. This decrease in ovipostion rate is an important behavior that displays the effects of intraspecific competition on the flour beetles and may be applied to other insects. In another experiment done by Yan and Stevens
Competition is an important interaction that occurs between living organisms that co-exist in an environment. All living organisms need certain resources in order to survive and reproduce. These resources include but are not limited to nutrients, food, water, and a space to live in. When these resources become limited in a shared area, organisms are forced to compete with each other for the resources that they need. This competition can occur among individuals belonging to the same species, called intraspecific competition, and also among organisms belonging to different species which is called interspecific competition. At times competition will be direct and obvious but often it can also be subtle and unrecognized without further experimentation.
With this study we intend to achieve a greater understanding of the effects of abiotic factors on intraspecific competition of the flour beetles. The effects of competition on these organisms have often led to interesting discoveries of their behavior. In one study, conducted by Sonleitner and Guthrie (1991), they determined that limited resources in a crowded space effects the ovipostion rate of the flour beetles. When beetle population densities become too high for their area, the female beetles respond by lowering their oviposition rates. These condition changes include nutrition depletion, accumulation of dead beetle skin and feces, and the presence of quinone, an irritating substance secreted by adult beetles (Sonleiitner & Guthrie, 1991). This study also mentions the tendency of females to participate in delayed reproduction, where they increase their egg production at a later date when their living space is less crowded and their offspring will have a better chance of surviving. This decrease in ovipostion rate is an important behavior that displays the effects of intraspecific competition on the flour beetles and may be applied to other insects. In another experiment done by Yan and Stevens