In
ecology, a
niche (pronounced
/'ni??/ or
/'n?t?/)
[1] is a term describing the relational position of a
species or
population in its
ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different
school if the members of these schools utilize significantly different food resources and foraging methods.
[1] A shorthand definition of niche is how an organism makes a living. The ecological niche describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (e.g., by growing when resources are abundant, and when predators, parasites and pathogens are scarce) and how it in turn alters those same factors (e.g., limiting access to resources by other organisms, acting as a food source for predators and a consumer of prey).
[2]The different dimensions, or plot axes, of a niche represent different biotic and abiotic variables. These factors may include descriptions of the organism's life history, habitat, trophic position (place in the food chain), and geographic range. According to the competitive exclusion principle, no two species can occupy the same niche in the same environment for a long time[3].
The word "niche" is derived from the Middle French word nicher, meaning to nest. The term was coined by the naturalist Joseph Grinnell in 1917, in his paper "The niche relationships of the California Thrasher."[4] However, it was not until 1927 that Charles Sutherland Elton, a British ecologist, gave the first working definition of the niche concept. He is credited with saying "[W]hen an ecologist says 'there goes a badger,' he should include in his thoughts some definite idea of the animal's place in the community to which it belongs, just as if he had said, 'there goes the vicar.'"[5]
The niche concept was popularized by the zoologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson in 1958[6]. Hutchinson wanted to know why there are so many different types of organisms in any one habitat.
