competition for resources

in ecology, the use of the same resource by individuals of the same species (intraspecific competition) or of different species (interspecific competition) when the supply of the resource is insufficient for the combined needs of all individuals. It is a major factor in natural selection. Also called struggle for existence. See also Darwinism; survival of the fittest.

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Psychology term of the day

May 10th 2024

Clérambault’s syndrome

a form of erotic paranoia in which a person has delusions that someone else, who is typically older and of higher social status, is in love with him or her. The person continues to hold this belief despite having little contact with the other person and no reciprocation of feelings. The condition is more common in females than in males. Also called de Clérambault’s syndrome. [first described in 1922 by Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault (1872–1934), French physician]