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Interaction
of
Living Things
This is a pond lily in its niche.
An organism’s role in an ecosystem
[everything it does and needs]
Niche
 The role an organism plays in its
community.
 More than a place in a food chain.
 Includes where it lives, the food it
eats, the organisms that feed on it, the
organisms that interact with it in other
ways.
Ecological Niche
 A plant's or animal's ecological niche is a
way of life that is unique to that species.
 Niche and habitat are not the same. While
many species may share a habitat, this is
not true of a niche. Each plant and animal
species is a member of a community.
 The niche describes the species' role or
function within this community.
For example, the red fox's habitat,
which might include forest edges,
meadows and the bank of a river, is
shared with many animals .
The niche of the red fox is that of a predator which feeds
on the small mammals, amphibians, insects, and fruit
found in this habitat. Red foxes are active at night. They
provide blood for blackflies and mosquitoes, and are
host to numerous diseases. The scraps, or carrion, left
behind after a fox's meal provide food for many small
scavengers and decomposers. This, then, is the
ecological niche of the red fox.
Only the red fox occupies
this niche in the meadowforest edge communities. In
other plant communities
different species of animal
may occupy a similar niche
to that of the red fox.
 The struggle of organisms to get the
things they need to survive.
 They compete for: food, water, light,
and/or shelter.
 This can occur between or within
species.
Example: Competition Between
Barnacle Species
Example: A male lion will
fight with another male lion
for control over a group of
female lions.
 Predator – An organism that kills and
eats another organism.
 Prey – Organisms that are eaten by
predators.
(Prey)
Notice the relationship in the graph below!
(Predator)
 A close relationship between two
organisms in which one organism
lives near, on or even inside another
organism and in which at least one
organism benefits.
 One organism
benefits and the
other is harmed.
Examples:
Athlete’s Foot Fungus
Heartworms
Corn smut fungus
Sheep tick