Ecological Niches Occupied by Species Flashcards
What is an ecological niche?
Composed of the organism’s habitat, their activity pattern and the resources they use.
Provide an example of a niche.
The niche of a koala includes the time of day it is most active or sedentary, the number and types of leaves it eats, the types and sizes of trees it lives in, the other species it interacts with.
What is the competitive exclusion principle?
No two species can occupy the same niche.
What is a fundamental niche?
The niche an organism would occupy if there was no predators or competition.
What is a realised niche?
The actual niche an organism occupies due to competition and predators.
Provide an example of a realised niche.
The koala would be able to live all along the east coast of Australia, but this distribution is not realised due to predation by dogs, cats and the impacts of disease, fire and drought.
What is resource partitioning?
The separation of one area into several niches.
Provide an example of resource partitioning.
Different bird species in a forest may hunt for insects at different times of the day, or will hunt at different heights in the canopy. Eg. the miner bird lives in the branches of acacia trees but the galah eats seeds from the ground.
What enables resource partitioning?
A diversity of biotic and abiotic factors in an area.
