Ecological Niche

Ecological Niche Definition

Let's start by looking at the definition of an ecological niche. In the field of ecology, a niche describes an organism's role within its community.

An organism's role in its community can be as a predator, a prey, or even a scavenger. Each organism has a role in its environment, and therefore each organism has an ecological niche.

Niches are determined by both the biotic and abiotic factors of environment. The term ecological niche is mostly used when dealing with living animals since it involves the interactions of the organisms within their ecosystem.

Niches involve the flow of energy between species, which is why it is important to understand the role an organism plays in their ecosystem.

• If a niche is left vacant due to a particular species going extinct or migrating to another ecosystem, another species can take its place.

Some organisms can create unique niches to ensure that their species do not get replaced. This reduces their competition with other species for resources and survival.

Despite being able to create specialized roles for themselves, organisms need to be capable of adapting to the changes in their ecosystem to ensure that they do not go extinct. This is the reason many species usually adapt in order to survive under a wide range of temperatures, climates, and conditions.

Ecological niches come in various types, and contain various combinations of factors and variables that make them unique from other niches.

• Biotic and abiotic factors used by a given species to survive make up the specie's fundamental niche, while factors that limit the species population from thriving are known as limiting factors.

Types of ecological niche

There are three types of ecological niche that you need to be familiar with. These are:

1. Spatial or habitat niche
2. Trophic niche
3. Multidimensional niche

Spatial Niches

Spatial niches refer to the physical area within the habitat that the species lives in.

Different species can exist within the same ecosystem due to spatial niche partitioning. This phenomenon allows different species to occupy their own section within their ecosystem. Figure 1 depicts the concept of spatial niche partitioning.

In additional to spatial partitioning, animals can also form barriers via dietary partitioning. Dietary partitioning can separate different species based on the food that they eat. For instance, an animal's height can allow it to secure its food.

Trophic Niches

Trophic niches refer to the trophic level that the species occupies in the food chain. Animals on the lower end of the food chain are separated from animals on the higher end of the food chain.

According to the food web, organisms can be:

• Producers
• Primary consumers
• Secondary consumers
• Tertiary consumers
• Quaternary consumers
• Decomposers.

Quaternary consumers are animals at the top of the food chain and usually eat tertiary and even secondary consumers. Producers are organisms that generate energy from the sun via photosynthesis.

These organisms do not need to consume other organisms to survive because they create their own energy through a process called photosynthesis! Similarly, decomposers eat dead organisms of all trophic levels.

Figure 2 shows a depiction of the food web.

Multidimensional Niches

The third type of ecological niche is called multidimensional niche.

Species who have similar lifestyles such as rabbits and groundhogs often compete for resources and spatial niches that allow them to maintain their lifestyle.

When two or more different species compete for the same niche, they are said to be engaged in interspecific competition. An organism's fundamental niche in combination with the limiting factors associated with the niche is known as the realized or multidimensional niche.

Ecological Niche Example

Now, let's take a look at some examples of ecological niches below.

There is a wide range of ecological niches found all throughout the world. Ecological niches come in a vast variety of characteristics that make it harder or easier for an organism to survive.

An example of an ecological niche can be seen in desert plants. The desert is known to be a dry and unfruitful ecosystem and only the toughest organisms can survive there.

What is the Importance of Ecological Niches?

Let's now focus our attention on the importance of ecological niches.

Ecologists use ecological niches to help understand how communities and ecosystems relate to environmental conditions, trait evolutions, and predator prey interactions within certain communities.

As climate change becomes a more pressing issue, the study of ecological niches has become more important. Ecological niches allow different species to coexist within a given environment. Without ecological niches, there would be less biodiversity and the ecosystem would not be as balanced!

As previously mentioned, an ecological niche is unique to each species. Competition among species affects the fitness of a species and can lead to evolutionary changes.

Ecologists use the competition exclusion principle to understand how species coexist in the same environment.

Competition among species for an ecological niche leads to evolutionary changes of the losing organisms in order for that species to have a new ecological niche.

• If the losing species does not adapt, they can risk becoming extinct due to the lack of resources needed for its survival.

Another theory related to ecological niches is the R* theory. The R^* Theory indicates that multiple species cannot exist with the same resources unless they grow to have different niches. When there is a low level of resources such as during a drought, the losing species will be competitively excluded unless they adapt to their environmental changes.

Similarly, the P^* Theory states that consumers such as deer, rabbits, and zebras can coexist when the level of resources are high due to having shared predators. When multiple species have the same predator, it is easier for them to coexist in the same ecological niche.

Ecological Niche of Insects

Like animals, insects also have ecological niches. For example, flies function to eat decaying flesh which can alert other animals that food is nearby.

Another ecological niche example can be seen when looking at bees. Bees gather pollen and nectar from flowers in order to make their food, known as honey. When bees leave their hive, they travel to various flowers to gather pollen.

As bees move from flower to flower, they introduce pollen from the previous flower to the new flower, which helps to create new flowers through the process of pollination. Since bees use pollen to make their food, they must compete with other animals for pollen.

The major competitor species for bees are hummingbirds. Hummingbirds and bees both love nectar. Since hummingbirds only feed individually and bees feed in large groups, bees often out compete hummingbirds for flowers.

There are many ecological niches in the earth's ecosystem and each species' niche contributes to a balanced and healthy earth.