Characteristics may further be described as being
interspecific,
intraspecific, and
conspecific.
Interspecific Interspecificity (literally
between/among species), or being
interspecific, describes issues between organisms of separate
species. These may include: •
Interspecies communication, communication between different species of animals, plants, fungi or bacteria •
Interspecific competition, when individuals of different species compete for the same resource in an ecosystem •
Interspecific feeding, when adults of one species feed the young of another species •
Interspecific hybridization, when two species within the same genus generate offspring. Offspring may develop into adults but may be sterile. •
Interspecific interaction, the effects organisms in a community have on one another •
Interspecific pregnancy, pregnancy involving an embryo or fetus belonging to another species than the carrier
Intraspecific Intraspecificity (literally
within species), or being
intraspecific, describes behaviors,
biochemical variations and other issues within members of a single
species. These may include: •
Intraspecific antagonism, when members of the same species are hostile to one another •
Intraspecific competition, when members or groups from the same species compete for the same resource in an ecosystem •
Intraspecific hybridization, hybridization between sub-species within a species. •
Intraspecific mimicry Conspecific Two or more
organisms,
populations, or
taxa are
conspecific if they belong to the same
species. Where different species can interbreed and their
gametes compete, the conspecific gametes take precedence over heterospecific gametes. This is known as conspecific
sperm precedence, or conspecific pollen precedence in plants.
Heterospecific The
antonym of conspecificity is the term
heterospecificity: two organisms are heterospecific if they are considered to belong to different biological species. == Related concepts ==