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The situation that arises when two or more organisms of the same or different species need the same limited resources. Organisms compete with one another for light, water, nutrients, etc. Competition may be resolved in various ways, namely: certain organisms or species being eliminated completely; migration of the less successful competitors; use of the resources at different times; physiological changes occurring; or the organisms involved living together, but not as successfully as they would at lower densities (i.e. the reproductive rate falls off). When members of different species compete for most or all of the same resources, one species flourishes and the other declines. This is known as the competitive exclusion principle and means that two different species rarely occupy the same ecological niche.
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