What is the difference between an organism's habitat and its niche?
AThey mean the same thing
BA habitat is where it lives; a niche is its role in the ecosystem (what it eats, when it's active, how it interacts)
CA niche is where it lives; a habitat is its role
DA habitat is for animals; a niche is for plants
A habitat is an organism's physical home — the specific environment where it lives (a pond, a forest canopy, a desert burrow). A niche is the organism's ecological role — everything about how it lives, including what it eats, when it is active, what eats it, and how it affects its environment. Two species can share a habitat but occupy different niches.
Question 2 True / False
Two species that occupy the exact same niche can coexist indefinitely in the same ecosystem.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
This is known as the competitive exclusion principle: when two species compete for exactly the same resources in the same way, one will eventually outcompete the other, leading to local extinction of the weaker competitor. In nature, competing species survive by partitioning their niches — using slightly different resources or being active at different times.
Question 3 Short Answer
Give an example of how two species could reduce competition by occupying different niches in the same habitat.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Two bird species living in the same forest might eat different types of insects — one feeding on insects in the canopy and the other feeding on insects near the ground. Even though they share the same habitat (the forest), they occupy different niches (different food sources and feeding locations), which reduces direct competition.
This is niche partitioning — species evolve to exploit different resources or use the same resources at different times or places. It allows more species to coexist in the same habitat than would be possible if they all competed for exactly the same things.