Niches

Question 1

What is a fundamental niche?

Answer 1

The entire set of conditions under which an animals can survive and reproduce.

Question 2

What is a realised niche?

Answer 2

The actual set of conditions under which an animal lives

Question 3

What’s Gause’s competitive exclusion principle?

Answer 3

Two species cannot inhabit the same niche, competition will lead to the decline and extinction of a species.

Question 4

What happened with the peppered moth?

Answer 4

During the industrial revolution, peppered moths became black to blend in with dark trees and the lack of lichen due to pollution. 50 years later it became lighter in colour.

Question 5

What is niche packing?

Answer 5

The number of species along a resource gradient as they have niches which overlap.

Question 6

What is resource partitioning?

Answer 6

Animals can divide up reasources to live on. e.g. bees have different proboscis lengths and choose different plants to feed on.

Question 7

What is spatial separation?

Answer 7

Species can forage in the same habitat and eat the same prey but in different spaces e.g. on the ground and in the trees.

Question 8

What is temporal separation?

Answer 8

Species use the same resources but at different times. e.g. anurans may reproduce at different times to reduce competition for food to feed their young.

Question 9

What is conditional separation?

Answer 9

Two species use the same resource but are competitively superior in different environments.