ecological niches
Organisms' environmental roles
Ecological niches are the specific roles organisms occupy within their environments—including what they eat, where they live, and how they interact with other species.
Each niche represents a unique combination of conditions and resources that allows a species to survive: The woodpecker fills an ecological niche that few other birds can exploit.
In figurative use, niche extends to any specialized position or market segment.
- competitionStruggle for supremacy
- symbiosisInterspecies biological interdependence
- refugiaIsolated survival zones
- keystone speciesOutsized ecological impact organism
- biodiversity hotspotsEndemic-rich areas under threat
coexistence · endemic species · speciation · microhabitat · consumer · producer · habitat fragmentation · scavenger · decomposer · food webs · predator · mutualism · commensalism · prey · resources · carrying capacity · mimicry · survival
- invertebrate ecologyfood webs, predator-prey, mutualism, parasitism, commensalism
- plantstree, plants, leaves, bluebonnet, trees
- ecosystemsrainforest, forest, desert, jungle, ocean
- mollusksclams, mollusk, mollusks, snail, snails
- biodiversityspecies diversity, endemism, genetic diversity, biodiversity hotspots, biota
- aquatic zonescoastal zones, marine habitats, aquatic habitats, continental shelf, deep sea
ecological nichesbiome
Major ecological community
ecosystem · biosphere · ecosphere · macrohabitat · ecoregion