Niche - The Multidimensional Niche, What Is The Niche Of Humans?
organisms environmental tolerance considers
The niche is an important ecological notion that considers the role that an organism or species plays in its community. Important aspects of the niche are environmental tolerance, use of resources, activities, and interactions with other organisms. Niche is an integrating concept because it considers organisms within the context of their biological tolerance of environmental extremes but is significantly modified by the influence of their interactions with other organisms, particularly through competition.
It must be understood that the niche is an abstract concept. Although niches cannot be seen or felt, ecologists can nevertheless understand their dimensions on the basis of environmental tolerances and opportunities as is discussed below.
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Species have limited abilities to tolerate extremes of environmental conditions. In other words, for all environmental factors there are upper and lower bounds of intensity that organisms can endure. For example, a particular species of plant or animal might be able to survive over an extended period of time within a zone of temperature bounded by certain high and low extremes. Extended exposures …
Humans also have fundamental and realized niches. Like other species, the fundamental niche of humans is bounded by their biological tolerance of extremes of environmental conditions. However, unlike other species humans have developed an extraordinary ability to utilize technology to mitigate extremes of environmental conditions, allowing survival in otherwise inhospitable places. In this sense, …
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