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How can competition between two species lead to local extinction of one species?

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Common wildebeest — population ecology A herd of common wildebeest (*Connochaetes taurinus*) migrating across a dusty savanna in Africa. The animal is a keystone species (i.e., a species with a disproportionately large effect on its biological community) in plains and acacia savanna ecosystems from southeastern Africa to central Kenya.

In population ecology, local extinction occurs when two species compete for the same limited resources within an identical ecological niche. According to the principle of competitive exclusion, two species cannot coexist indefinitely if their requirements are identical; eventually, one species will outcompete the other, leading to the local extinction or displacement of the weaker competitor.123

This process is driven by the scarcity of limiting resources, such as food, water, or nesting sites. Species may compete through:

Exploitation competition: One species captures resources more efficiently or faster than the other.4
Interference competition: One species physically or aggressively prevents the other from accessing a habitat or resource.4

The outcome of this competition is influenced by the physical environment, the genetic traits of the species, and their interactions with other community members. While some species avoid extinction by evolving differences in resource use—a process known as character displacement—others may be driven to local extinction if they cannot adapt or diverge sufficiently to occupy a distinct niche.56