ecological niche

noun

, Ecology.

1. the position or function of an organism in a community of plants and animals.

ecological niche

1. The place or function of a given organism within its ecosystem .

Notes

Different organisms may compete for the same niche. For example, in a forest there may be a niche for an organism that can fly and eat nectar from blossoms. This niche may be filled by some sort of bird , or an insect, or even a mammal such as a bat.

Example Sentences

In modern ecosystems, that process has led closely related birds of paradise to develop different displays while sharing ecological niches.

From New York Times

"Cichlids are known for filling a huge diversity of different ecological niches and being able to adapt to changes in their environment," they said.

From Science Daily

This allows them to inhabit various ecological niches and therefore to engage in less competition with one another.

From Science Daily

And competition with an extremely flexible generalist in almost every ecological niche may be what contributed to the extinction of all other Homo species.

From Science Daily

After analyzing this data, along with information on constant temperatures inside the caves, and by using ecological niche modeling, the researchers concluded that subterranean spider species have a bleak outlook.

From Salon