Two species of bacteria with identical fundamental niches cannot permanently coexist together in a community. This phenomenon is best described as Two species of bacteria with identical fundamental niches cannot permanently coexist together in a community. This phenomenon is best described as: a) exploitative interaction. b) character displacement. c) resource partitioning. d) competitive exclusion. e) mutualistic interaction.

d) competitive exclusion

Explanation:

When two species are similar, their fundamental niches may overlap. No two species indefinitely occupy the same niche in the same community as they cannot coexist for long. This is called the competitive exclusion principle.

According to the competitive exclusion principle, interspecific competition makes one species to exclude the other from its niche. Although interspecific competition occurs for some resources, yet two species with absolutely identical fundamental niches cannot coexist. Therefore, competitive exclusion explains that the two bacterial species with an identical fundamental niche cannot permanently coexist together in a community.