Why does competiton between individuals of the same species tend to be greater than competition between individuals of different species?

Answer 1

My take is that a species has slightly different needs for survival, such as the food sources and climate. Individuals from the same species will have the same needs and have to share the same limited resources too, while individuals from another species will not be as interested in the same items. Scarcity of what one needs to survive creates a competitive environment with others who have the same interest.

Answer 2

Individuals of the same species will have virtually identical traits so it would create a fight that never ends. This is why mating "fights" are never fatal. A winner would still die and never procreate the race. Only fights for food are fatal, and only if the traits for fighting are grossly different enough for one species to be better than the other all the time

Answer 3

Animals of a same species sometimes have and enforce their hunting or feeding territories, and actively roam and patrol it to keep others of their species out, which would compete with them. They share their territories with other animals that compete with them for the same food however.

Answer 4

The competition between species is called intraspecific competition. It can lead to populations of organisms dramatically dropping because there may not be enough resources for all members.