Niches

Question 1

What is a niche?

Answer 1

The environmental conditions in which an organism and survive, grow, and reproduce

Question 2

What is a fundamental niche?

Answer 2

Physical conditions under which a species might live in the in the absence of interactions with other species

Question 3

What is a realized niche?

Answer 3

Environmental conditions under which a species might live when restricted by interactions with other species

Question 4

What is “n’?

Answer 4

The number of environmental factors important to survival and reproduction

Question 5

What is the Hutchinsonian niche?

Answer 5

Describes a species niche as a hypervolume along multiple axes of environmental variables

Question 6

How are niches often calculated?

Answer 6

To predict species potential geographic ranges

Question 7

What is the principle of allocation?

Answer 7

The amount of energy available to each organism is limited
When energy is allocated to one function, it reduces the energy available to other functions

Question 8

What did MacArthur’s Warblers demonstrate?

Answer 8

Realized niches
Different warblers occupy different parts of the tree

Question 9

What is niche partitioning?

Answer 9

When species in a community use limiting factors (resources) in different ways

Question 10

What is the competitive exclusion principle?

Answer 10

No two species can occupy the same realized niche, eventually one will out-compete the other