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First teaching 2023

First exams 2025

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Populations: Intraspecific Relationships (HL IB Biology)

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Naomi H

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Naomi H

Last updated

Competition & Cooperation

Intraspecific relationships

  • Intraspecific relationships involve interactions between individuals of the same species
    • 'Intra' = within
  • Intraspecific relationships can involve
    • Cooperation
      • Both members of the relationship benefit from the interaction
    • Competition
      • One member of a relationship outcompetes the other and is more successful

Intraspecific cooperation

  • In this type of relationship, members of a species work together to aid survival of a group, e.g.
    • Orcas show cooperative hunting behaviour, working together to catch specific types of prey and then sharing the food that they catch
    • Meerkats divide the roles in their groups between multiple individuals, so some will watch for predators while others watch young or hunt for food
    • Many species of ants work together in large groups to build nests and provide food for developing young
intraspecific-cooperation-orca-hunting-behaviour-photo

CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Orca can cooperate with each other during hunting to create a wave that can wash seals into the water. This particular seal eventually escaped on this occasion, but working together increases the chances of hunting success for the orca.

Intraspecific competition

  • Individuals of the same species have the same needs, and so they are frequently in competition with each other for the same resources, e.g.
    • Plants will compete with members of the same species for:
      • Light
      • Minerals
      • Water
      • Space
    • Animals will compete with members of the same species for:
      • Food
      • Mates
      • Territory (which will increase access to food and mates)
  • Examples of intraspecific competition include
    • Male red deer fight with each other for access to females, and the dominant male will mate with all of the females in the group
    • Robins are aggressive towards other robins in order to defend their territory; they are so fiercely territorial against other robins that they will even attack bunches of red feathers
    • Oak trees growing close to each other in a woodland will be competing for light, water, and minerals
  • Note that not all examples of intraspecific competition involve visible conflict; individuals with overlapping territories will be consuming the same resources, so the food that is eaten by one individual will no longer be available for another; these individuals are in competition with each other
red-deer-intraspecific-competition-photo

Public domain, via pxhere

Red deer males bellow to show their dominance as part of their competition for females

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Naomi H

Author: Naomi H

Expertise: Biology

Naomi graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in Biological Sciences. She has 8 years of classroom experience teaching Key Stage 3 up to A-Level biology, and is currently a tutor and A-Level examiner. Naomi especially enjoys creating resources that enable students to build a solid understanding of subject content, while also connecting their knowledge with biology’s exciting, real-world applications.