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How does character displacement reduce competition between species?

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Diagram showing energy flow in a food chain from a tree to a caterpillar, then to a bird, and finally to microbes, with red arrows illustrating energy transfer and heat loss at each stage. — community ecology Energy transfer and heat loss along a food chain.

In community ecology, character displacement is an evolutionary process that reduces competition between species by driving them to occupy different niches.

When two species compete for the same limited resources, natural selection favors individuals that minimize overlap with the other species. Over evolutionary time, this pressure leads to the divergence of physical or behavioral traits—such as bill size in birds or body size in rodents—allowing the species to utilize resources differently. By evolving these distinct characteristics, the species effectively reduce direct competition, which can facilitate their long-term coexistence within a region.