Habitats and Niches Habitat All the biotic and

Habitats and Niches

Habitat • All the biotic and abiotic factors in the area where the organism lives • Where an organism lives This also includes food. This also This includes water or includes watering holes. grass and trees.

Ecological Niche • Physical, chemical, and biological factors that a species needs to survive • Includes food, abiotic conditions, and behavior • How an organism lives • How an organism ‘makes a living’

Quick Write • A Chihuahua and a Great Dane both want to sleep on a cushion that can only fit one of them. Which one of the dogs do you think would win the fight for the cushion? Why do you think it would win?

The Principle of Competitive Exclusion • No two animals can occupy the same niche • WHY? – One of the two species will be better suited – The weaker one will need to change niches or become extinct

Niche Partitioning • Two species naturally divide different resources based on competitive advantages • Birds in the tree to the right have divided the tree. They eat different resources and therefore do not have the same niche. • Do they have the same habitat?

Summary 1. What is the difference between a niche and a habitat? 2. Explain how two different organisms can have the same habitat but not the same niche. 3. Under which level of ecological organization would one find habitat?

Habitat and Niche • Watering hole • Grass • Can be shared • Where an animal lives • Trees • Prey Every animal has one • Air temperature an animal can tolerate • Hunting time • Type of food • No other animal can have the same • What an animal needs to survive • Amount of water an animal needs • How an animal lives