Answer:
Two eagles fight over a salmon carcass- DIRECT
All the gray foxes in a habitat prey primarily on penguins- INDIRECT
Two colonies of black ants clash over a wasp- DIRECT
Gray squirrels in an area rely on nuts for food- INDIRECT
Explanation:
Living organisms of same or different species tend to interact with one another in their natural habitat. One of those interactions is competition, which occurs when living organisms share the same limited resources or occupy the same niche in their habitat.
However, competitive interaction between organisms can either be direct or indirect. Direct interaction is that which involves a physical interaction between the organisms i.e. a confrontation. A struggling for the limited resource is evident. For example, two eagles fighting over a salmon carcass and two colonies of black ants clashing over a wasp shows the form of physical confrontation for the limited resource between the organisms involved. Hence, they are examples of direct competition.
On the other hand, indirect competition involves the competition for a limited resource without a physical confrontation or struggle. Organisms make use of the limited resource until it becomes unavailable to competitors. For example, gray foxes in a habitat that prey primarily on penguins and gray squirrels in an area relying on nuts for food shows a competition for a scarce resource without any physical interaction between them. Hence, they are examples of indirect competition.
