Question

The term niche of a species refers to:
(A) the specific place where an organism lives
(B) the competitive power of an organism
(C) the specific function of an organism
(D) specific and habitual function

Answer 1

Hint: Niche is related to that area where the organism spends most of its time and performs all it’s the day to day activities there only. It is like a home for them where they survive easily.

Complete step by step answer:
The term niche of a species is referred to a specific place where an organism lives. A niche is defined as the habitat in which a species lives and its accompanying behavioral adaptations. The majority of species stay together in a standard ecological niche, sharing behaviors, adaptations, and also the functional traits similar to the other closely related species within the same broad taxonomic class.

So, the correct answer is ‘specific place where an organism lives’.

Additional Information: It is seen that if an organism occupies a very specific niche it can be advantageous for it. In this way, they will encounter less interspecific competition. Such organisms are called niche specialists. But sometimes it is seen that specialist species that occupy a very narrow or highly specialized niche encounter problems when there is a sudden decline or change in biotic or abiotic factors, sometimes the organism is unable to adapt to the sudden change and it becomes highly vulnerable to population decrease or extinction. This is the reason why many species have evolved with the ability to thrive under a range of different environmental conditions, making use of a variety of resources; these are called niche generalists. The examples of a niche are like Giant panda bears. They are niche specialists. They have a very limited diet and the maximum of which consists of the only bamboo. But bamboo does not provide much nutrition, and so the pandas have to spend most of their time eating.

Note: There are two important terms which everyone should know about. They are:
- Realized Niche – It is the actual amount of resources that an organism can utilize within an ecosystem.
- Fundamental Niche – It is the total range of environmental conditions that is suitable for an organism to exist when there are no limiting factors present.