Ecological niche facts for kids

An ecological niche is the part of the environment into which a species fits, and to which it is adapted. A shorthand definition of niche in biology is how an organism makes a living in a place.

However, the term has been used in different ways. It is not only a place but a way of life. For example, grazers, insectivores, scavengers and predators can all live their different lifestyles in the same forest. A niche can be occupied by different species in different places even though they 'earn their living' in roughly the same way. Thus the 'bird of prey eating small mammals' niche would in grasslands include the kestrel, but in an oak wood it would be filled by the tawny owl.

The idea of a niche in natural history is ancient: many writers noticed that animals and plants live in places where they are well adapted to live. The word niche was first used in biology by naturalist Roswell Johnson, but in 1917 Joseph Grinnell was the first to use it in a research program. Later, he described the niches of a variety of species. Grinnell was the first to offer the "exclusion principle" in which only one species could occupy a particular niche at any one time.

Scientists who study the interactions between animals and their environment are called ecologists, and their branch of science is called ecology. A niche is a term which describes a position or opportunity into which some organism fits well. Thus, an ecological niche is a place in nature that is filled by an animal or plant because it is well suited to do so.

Introduced species, such as the common brushtail possum, are often free from many of their usual parasites

Invasions

When a niche is left open, for example by extinction, other organisms may fill that position.

Also, invasive species of plants and animals in a new land often take over all or part of the niches of native organisms. Sometimes the loss results in the extinction of the natives.

Images for kids

• 

  The flightless dung beetle occupies an ecological niche: exploiting animal droppings as a food source.

• 

  The Grinnellian niche can be described as the "needs" niche, or an area that meets the environmental requirements for an organism's survival. Most succulents are native in dry, arid regions like deserts and require large quantities of sun exposure.

• 

  Beaver dam in Hesse, Germany. By exploiting the resource of available wood, beavers are affecting biotic conditions for other species that live within their habitat.

• 

  The shape of the bill of this purple-throated carib is complementary to the shape of the flower and coevolved with it, enabling it to exploit the nectar as a resource.

• 

  Where three species eat some of the same prey, a statistical picture of each niche shows overlap in resource usage between three species, indicating where competition is strongest.

• 

  As a hemi-parasitic plant, the mistletoe in this tree exploits its host for nutrients and as a place to grow.

See also

In Spanish: Nicho ecológico para niños