What is an ecological niche?
An ecological niche explains an organisms role in his ecosystem. Roughly speaking it can explain what is the role that the organism plays in his ecosystem, i.e. its job or its contribution to ecosystem. Or it is the mode of existence an organism has on his ecosystem. This term helps in the understanding of how organisms interact with each other in an ecosystem. It can also be phrased as the sum of all activities and relationships a species has while obtaining and using the resources needed to survive and reproduce There were numerous definitions of ecological niche. Grinnell (1917) defined it as all the sites where organisms of a species can live (where conditions are suitable for life). This definition pertains to the address of the species in the ecosystem. Elton (1927) described the niche as the function performed by the species in the community of which it is a member. This definition pertains to the address of the species in the ecosystem. Hutchinson (1957) defined a niche as a re
A plant’s or animal’s niche, or more correctly, ecological niche, is a way of life that is unique to that species. Niche and habitat are not the same. While many species may share a habitat, this is not true of a niche. Each plant and animal species is a member of a community. The niche describes the species’ role or function within this community. For example, the red fox’s habitat might include forest edges, meadows and the bank of a river. The niche of the red fox is that of a predator which feeds on the small mammals, amphibians, insects, and fruit found in this habitat. Red foxes are active at night. They provides blood for blackflies and mosquitoes, and are host to numerous diseases. The scraps, or carrion, left behind after a fox’s meal provide food for many small scavengers and decomposers. This then is the ecological niche of the red fox. Only the red fox occupies this niche in the meadow-forest edge communities. In other plant communities different species of animal may occup
