Which type of competition occurs when species consume shared resources, impacting availability for others?

Exploitative competition is characterized by individuals of different species consuming shared resources, which directly impacts the availability of those resources for others. This type of competition occurs when organisms utilize the same resources, such as food or space, leading to a decrease in resource availability as they exploit it. Since the competing species do not directly interfere with one another but rather compete indirectly through resource consumption, it illustrates how their populations can be affected by the demand for limited resources.

In contrast, interference competition involves direct interactions between species, such as aggressive behaviors, that limit access to resources regardless of the total supply available. Competitive exclusion refers to the principle that two species competing for the same resources cannot coexist if other ecological factors are constant; one will always outcompete the other. Resource partitioning is the process where competing species adapt to utilize different resources or different aspects of the same resource to reduce competition. In this case, since we are looking specifically at the impact on shared resource consumption, the focus on exploitative competition is the most fitting.