Introduction

Ecology discusses the habitat of organisms in a specific environment and their relationship to the environment. The word ecology comes from two Greek words oikos and logos. The word ‘oikos’ means habitat and the word ‘logos’ means knowledge. That is, ecology means the study or acquisition of knowledge about the habitat of living things. The two most important common words in this ecology are habitat and niche. Ecology describes different types of ecosystems. Habitat and ecological niche are an important part of the ecosystem. Although these two parts play important roles in the ecosystem, they differ from each other (2) & (5).

Habitat

The word habitat is a Latin word that means to live. Describe the natural accommodation of a species of plant or animal in the 18^th century, t(1).

Definition

An environment in which one or more species of organisms survive on the basis of natural, chemical, and relative conditions is called a habitat. A habitat is an ecological zone where certain species of animals, plants, or other species live. Such natural habitats are formed by the earth’s soil, temperature, humidity, light, etc. (1) & (2).

Example

Tropical rainforests are the natural habitat of snakes, termites, bees, chameleons, various types of orchids, etc on the other hand, white bears, white foxes, lemming dogs, tiny algae, etc. form the natural habitat of the polar region (1).

Characteristics

1. The size of the habitat can range from a few square centimeters to several million square kilometers.
2. There are some organisms in the environment that have multiple habitats. For example, cheetahs, foxes, deer, etc. live in tropical rainforests, temperate rainforests, and Polar Regions.
3. A habitat is a place where creatures make their own home.
4. Habitat fulfills the conditions necessary for the survival of the organism.
5. The creation of organisms requires a suitable environment such as soil, temperature, light, humidity, etc.
6. Water, food, shelter, and space are the four main elements of habitat (1) & (2).

Classification of habitat

Mainly divided into two types. These are as follows

1. Based on nature and location

There are four types of habitats based on nature and location. Such as-

• Terrestrial habitat
• Freshwater habitat
• Estuary habitat
• Ocean habitat (1) & (2).

2. Based on size and volume

There are four types of habitats based on size and volume. Such as

• Micro habitat
• Macro habitat
• Meso habitat
• Mega habitat (1) & (2).

Ecological niche

The word niche is a French word that means to nest. The ecological niche is the address and profession of the organism. Its address is where the organism lives and its profession is the location of this organism in the food chain (2).

Definition

The location of an organism in an ecosystem or the area where an organism collects nutrients is called the ecological niche of that organism. So the role that the living community plays in the ecosystem is called an ecological niche. The ecological niche involves all the interactions with the biotic and abiotic components of its environment (4).

Example

The address of the royal Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans is in the interior of the forest and its profession is to prey on deer or other herbivores that live on the edge of the forest. Similarly, the address of the heron is wetland and their main profession is fishing (4).

Characteristics

1. The niche is the role that organisms play in the ecosystem.
2. Similar ecological niches are found in similar habitats.
3. If for some reason two different species live in the same niche then there is competition between the species. The competition between the two species continues until one species becomes extinct in that ecological niche.
4. It is the description of the full role of the organism in relation to its natural and biological environment.
5. The ecological niche is a very difficult process of finding information.
6. Each living species has its own ecological niche.
7. The ecological niche is smaller at the lower level of the trophic level. For example, bees only collect honey from flowers. The ecological niche is large at the upper level of the trophic level. For example, lions collect nutrients from herbivores such as deer and zebras in the ecosystem.
8. The ecological niche indicates a functional unit.
9. It indicates the habitat address of the animals (2) & (4).

Types of ecological niche

There are three types of ecological niches. These are

1. Spatial or habitat niche

This niche is a type of ecological niche that is considered to be a physical space occupied by an organism. Although some species occupy a specific habitat, each species may be confined to its own spatial niche. This is because two species in the same habitat cannot occupy the same ecological niche for a long time. The best example of this ecological niche is the location of seven species of millipedes at the bottom of the maple-oak forest. These seven species have the same habitat but each species has a different ecological niche (4).

2. Trophic niche

A trophic niche is a type of niche that is described based on the trophic level of an organism. An example of this niche is that two aquatic insects Notonecta and Corixa live in the same habitat but occupy different trophic niches (4).

3. Multifactor or hypervolume niche

Hutchinson was the first to give the concept of this ecological niche. The concept of this ecological niche is quite complex. In this case, the basics and perceptions are explained using niches. This concept similarly refers to the totality of abiotic and biotic elements where a species is adapted in many ways (4).

Difference between habitat and ecological niche

Habitat and niche are deeply involved with the ecosystem. Although habitat and ecological niche are considered to be the main parts of the ecosystem, there are some differences between them.

Similarities

Although there are differences between habitat and ecological niche, there are some similarities between them. These are-

1. Habitat and ecological niche are intimately involved with the ecosystem. Both play an important role in the ecosystem.
2. Habitat is a physical environment where species live and a niche is an area where an organism collects nutrients within the group that belongs to that habitat.
3. Ecological niches depend on the habitat.
4. The role of the niche is just as important as the role of habitat in an ecosystem.
5. Ecological niches of the same type or of two different species are sometimes found in the same habitat.
6. Both habitat and ecological niches play an important role in learning about the basic elements of biodiversity and the basics of biodiversity (5) & (6).

Finally, habitat and ecological niche are the complement of each other. In an ecosystem, the address of a species refers to habitat and the profession of a species refers to the ecological niche. Habitat and ecological niche provide information about an organism’s shelter, amount of nutrients, food, space, etc. So both habitat and ecological niche are very important in an ecosystem (5).