50
A
n organism’s niche is
a combination of its
place and its role in the
environment. It encompasses how
the organism meets its needs for
food and shelter, as well as how it
avoids predators, competes with
other species, and reproduces.
All its interactions with other
organisms and the nonliving
environment are also part of what
makes up its niche. A unique niche
is an advantage for any animal or
plant because this reducescompetition with other species.
For ecologists, a full knowledge
of an organism’s niche is vital to
inform interventions to compensate
for the environmental changes
caused by habitat destruction and
climate change.
The pioneer of the niche
concept was Joseph Grinnell, a US
biologist who studied a bird called
the California Thrasher. In 1917, he
published his observations, which
showed how the bird fed and bred
in the underbrush of a scrubbyIN CONTEXT
KEY FIGURE
Joseph Grinnell (1877–1939)BEFORE
1910 In a paper about beetles,
Roswell Hill Johnson, a US
biologist, is the first person
to use the word “niche” in
a biological context.AFTER
1927 British ecologist Charles
Elton stresses the importance
of an organism’s role as well as
its “address” in his definition of
an ecological niche in his book
Animal Ecology.1957 In an academic paper
called “Concluding Remarks,”
British ecologist George
Evelyn Hutchinson expands
the theory of niches to
embrace an organism’s entire
environment.1968 A study by Australian
D.R. Klein of the introduction,
increase, and die-off of reindeer
on St. Matthew Island, Alaska,
identifies the destructive niche.EXISTENCE IS DETERMINED
BY A SLENDER THREAD
OF CIRCUMSTANCES
ECOLOGICAL NICHES
There is constant
competition for food and
resources; better adapted
species outcompete those
less suited to the
environment.Reducing competition
increases the chances
of survival.Finding a unique niche
is the circumstance that
removes competition.Existence of each
species is
determined by a
slender thread
of circumstances.US_050-051_Ecological_Niches.indd 50 12/11/18 6:24 PM