In a certain forest, elephants and deer were feeding on certain types of plants. This plant community was larger than the elephant or deer population. However, due to extensive logging in that area, the number of plants declined. This impacted the availability of food for the elephants and the deer. The elephants started overpowering the deer for food and eventually, the deer started disappearing from the forest. What does the disappearance of deer indicate?
A.
intraspecific competition
B.
resource partitioning
C.
competitive exclusion
D.
competitive inclusion