Habitats and Niches

1
Habitats and Niches

• Notes red

2
Refresh

• Which of the following organisms would you expect
  to obtain the most energy? Why?
• Zebra
• Lion
• Safari grass
• Turkey Vulture

3
Habitats

• Every organism we have discussed comes from a
  region or area. Organisms require certain things
  in order to survive such as food, light, shelter,
  and water. An organisms habitat is the area
  where it can survive because it has these
  requirements in large enough amounts to support
  populations of the organism.
• A habitat is the environment where an organism
  lives.

4
Niche

• Pronounced N-itch
• A niche is an organisms way of life. In
  includes the habitat, the food it eats, and all
  other organisms it interacts with.
• Another way to think about it is the organisms
  job.
• Often a specific niche leads to evolution of
  similar traits.

5
But

• While there are many habitats on the Earth, not
  all organisms can live in one habitat. Each
  habitat has a limiting factor.
• The limiting factor is one or more resources that
  controls the amount of organisms in the habitat.

6
Carrying capacity

• Since every habitat has a limited number of
  resources, scientists are able to establish a
  carrying capacity for each area.
• The carrying capacity is the maximum number of
  organisms that can survive over a long period of
  time in one area.
• Because there are limits like this to any
  habitat, organisms begin to compete for
  resources. We will discuss these interactions
  next class.