Question

The niche of a species is meant for
A. The specific place where an organism lives
B. The specific function of species and it's competitive power
C. The habitat and specific function of species
D. None of these

Answer 1

Hint:- In an ecosystem, all the biotic and abiotic components interact with each other. The interactions are interrelated, interdependent, and mutually reactive in a balanced and healthy ecosystem. Thus the ecosystem is a self-regulatory, self-sustaining, functional, and structural unit of nature. All the organisms present in an ecosystem have a definite role to play in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem.

Complete answer:
The physical area occupied by an organism in its environment is called its habitat. A habitat is composed of both biotic and abiotic components.
In an ecosystem, each organism performs its own specific function. It also competes with other organisms to ensure its survival. In this competitive process, the fitness or survival of one species is significantly lower in the presence of another species.
The functional role of any species in an ecosystem or community is referred to as the niche. Niche describes how the species interact with the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem.
Thus, each organism has an invariably defined range of conditions that it can tolerate. The diversity in the resources that it utilizes and its distinct functional role in the ecological system together comprise the niche.
In other words, the niche is the occupational address or profession of a species. It is the functional position or status of a species in an ecosystem.
In a habitat, there is more than one niche each specific for one species.
Niche is usually generalized during the starting phase of the establishment of a community. As the succession progresses, the niche of the organism becomes narrow.

Thus, the correct answer is option C.

Additional information:
The interaction of the species, whether interspecific or intraspecific, has both positive and negative effects.
These may include the competitive exclusion of the inferior species or the beneficial interaction of one or both of the species or it may be detrimental for one or both of the species.

Note: Two different species can never have the same niche. A process known as niche overlapping occurs in which two species compete for the same limiting resources and develop similar traits. Thus the major difference between a habitat and a niche is that the habitat is the organism's address while the niche is its profession.