The competitive exclusion principle states that
- A
Every species in a community must occupy a completely unique and non-overlapping habitat type
- Bcheck_circle
Two species with identical niches cannot coexist long-term — one will exclude the other
- C
Predator and prey species cannot coexist in the same ecosystem under any environmental conditions
- D
Two species with identical niches always coexist indefinitely through resource sharing alone
Explanation
Gause's principle. If two species fully overlap in resource use, one will outcompete the other unless they diverge (resource partitioning).