14 1 Habitat And Niche KEY CONCEPT Every

14. 1 Habitat And Niche KEY CONCEPT Every organism has a habitat and a niche.

14. 1 Habitat And Niche • A habitat is all aspects of the area in which an organism lives. – biotic (living) factors – Abiotic (non-living) factors Ex: ALL aspects of The habitat including grass, trees, and watering hole

14. 1 Habitat And Niche • A niche includes all of the physical, chemical, and biological factors that a species needs to survive, stay healthy, and reproduce. – food – Abiotic conditions (temp, water) – Behavior (time of day its active, when it reproduces) You can think of a habitat as where a species lives and a niche as how it lives within its habitat.

14. 1 Habitat And Niche • Species can share habitats and resources, BUT competition occurs when two species use the same resources Ex: Cheetahs and Lions • Competitive exclusion keeps two species from occupying the same niche. NO TWO SPECIES OCCUPY THE SAME NICHE Competitive exclusion has 3 different outcomes

14. 1 Habitat And Niche 1) One species is better suited to the niche and the other will either be pushed out or become extinct. Ex: North American Grey Squirrel and native European Red Squirrel How the Red Squirrel could survive…. 2) If the niche will be divided. Ex: One species eats nuts from the trees, and one eats them from the ground 3)If the two species further diverge. Ex: One species has teeth better suited for seeds, and one has bigger teeth for nuts

14. 1 Habitat And Niche • Ecological equivalents are species that occupy similar niches but live in different geographical regions. Madagascar South America