托福口语 Task 4

Today we're going to talk about a fascinating behavioral adaptation in animals called 'temporal partitioning.' This is when different species that compete for the same resources reduce competition by using those resources at different times. This allows them to coexist in the same habitat without directly fighting over food or space. Let me give you two examples from the wild. First, consider two species of hawks that live in the same forest and both feed on small rodents. The red-tailed hawk hunts mainly during the day, while the great horned owl, which is also a bird of prey but not a hawk, actually hunts at night. By hunting at different times, they avoid competing for the same prey. Second, think about two types of fish in a coral reef: the parrotfish and the damselfish. Both eat algae, but the parrotfish feeds actively during the day, whereas the damselfish hides in crevices during the day and comes out to feed on algae at dawn and dusk. This temporal separation reduces direct competition for algae. So, in both cases, animals that share a habitat and food source can coexist by dividing their activity time.