- "In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition."
An ecological niche is a species’ role in its ecosystem, including its interactions with other organisms and its ecological requirements.
Ecological Niches: The concept of ecological niches is essential to understanding biodiversity, as it describes how organisms interact with one another and their environment to survive and reproduce.
Biodiversity: Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth, including species diversity, genetic diversity, and habitat diversity.
Ecosystems: Ecosystems are dynamic systems that include living organisms and their non-living environment interacting together in a particular area.
Trophic Levels: Trophic levels refer to the different levels of a food chain in an ecosystem, from producers to top predators.
Biomes: Biomes are large ecological regions characterized by the dominant vegetation type and associated fauna, climate, and geographic features.
Habitat Destruction: Habitat destruction is the direct or indirect destruction of a natural habitat, which can lead to the decline or extinction of species.
Species Interactions: Species interactions refer to the ways in which different organisms interact with each other, from competition to mutualism.
Ecological Succession: Ecological succession is the gradual process by which an ecosystem changes over time, from the establishment of new species to the development of a stable community.
Climate Change: Climate change is the long-term alteration of Earth's climate, primarily caused by human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
Conservation Biology: Conservation biology is the study of the preservation and management of biodiversity, with the ultimate goal of stopping the decline of species and ecosystems.
Keystone Species: Keystone species are species that are critical to maintaining the structure and function of an ecosystem, and whose removal can have cascading effects throughout the ecosystem.
Endangered Species: Endangered species are those that are at risk of extinction, often due to habitat loss, overhunting, or climate change.
Ecosystem Services: Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans derive from ecosystems, such as clean water and air, pollination, and climate regulation.
Biogeography: Biogeography is the study of the geographic distribution of species and ecosystems, and the historical and ecological factors that have shaped these patterns over time.
Evolution: Evolution is the process by which species change over time, through genetic variation, natural selection, and other mechanisms.
Fundamental niche: This is the entire range of environmental conditions where a species can potentially survive and reproduce.
Realized niche: This is the actual range of environmental conditions where a species is found in reality, taking into account competition with other species and other limiting factors.
Trophic niche: This refers to the role of a species in the food web, including the types of food it eats and the predators that eat it.
Habitat niche: This refers to the specific type of habitat or ecosystem where a species lives, such as a coral reef or a forest.
Temporal niche: This refers to the specific time of day or season when a species is most active or reproduces.
Behavioral niche: This refers to the behaviors and strategies that a species uses to survive and reproduce, such as burrowing or migrating.
Competitive niche: This refers to the way in which a species competes with other species for resources such as food and space.
Phylogenetic niche: This refers to the unique evolutionary history and adaptations that allow a species to survive in its environment.
- "It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors."
- "It may also change the environment and its behavior as it grows."
- "A Grinnellian niche is determined by the habitat in which a species lives and its accompanying behavioral adaptations."
- "An Eltonian niche emphasizes that a species not only grows in and responds to an environment but may also change the environment and its behavior as it grows."
- "The Hutchinsonian niche uses mathematics and statistics to try to explain how species coexist within a given community."
- "The concept of ecological niche is central to ecological biogeography, which focuses on spatial patterns of ecological communities."
- "Species distributions and their dynamics over time result from properties of the species, environmental variation..., and interactions between the two."
- "Alteration of an ecological niche by its inhabitants is the topic of niche construction."
- "The majority of species exist in a standard ecological niche, sharing behaviors, adaptations, and functional traits similar to the other closely related species."
- "A premier example of a non-standard niche filling species is the flightless, ground-dwelling kiwi bird of New Zealand."
- "which feeds on worms and other ground creatures."
- "Island biogeography can help explain island species and associated unfilled niches."
- "The type and number of variables comprising the dimensions of an environmental niche vary from one species to another."
- "The relative importance of particular environmental variables for a species may vary according to the geographic and biotic contexts."
- "A Grinnellian niche is determined by the habitat in which a species lives and its accompanying behavioral adaptations."
- "An Eltonian niche emphasizes that a species not only grows in and responds to an environment but may also change the environment and its behavior as it grows."
- "The Hutchinsonian niche uses mathematics and statistics to try to explain how species coexist within a given community."
- "Species distributions and their dynamics over time result from properties of the species, environmental variation..., and interactions between the two."
- "Island biogeography can help explain island species and associated unfilled niches."