What is ontogenetic shift?

Ontogeny is the age propagation of an individual in a species. Ontogenetic shift is the space that individual needs as it grows (or gets older). This is related to distribution of individuals. there are three types of distribution: random, clustered (or aggregated) and regular. In ontogenetic shifts, organisms have clustered arrangement while they are juveniles, random distribution as they grow and finally when they are adults they have regular arrangement. This is because of competition with respect to space and resources.