Difference between Habitat and Niche

In ecology, the term habitat refers to the collection of resources, physical and biological characteristics that exist in a region in order to sustain a species’ survival and reproduction. The habitat of a species can be thought of as the physical expression of its biological niche. Thus, “habitat” is a species-specific term, distinct from concepts such as environment or vegetation assemblages, which are better described by the phrase “habitat-type.”

When ecologists discuss live creatures and their environment, they use the terms habitat and niche. While the two phrases appear to be synonymous, they actually represent significantly different things.

Definition of a Habitat

Take your own home as an example. You most likely awakened this morning in your bed. You may have opened the refrigerator in your kitchen to retrieve milk for your breakfast and then hugged your folks and petted your dog before stepping out the front door. All of these meetings took place within the confines of your environment. A habitat is the natural home or surroundings of a plant, animal, or other life. It provides food, water, shelter, and space necessary for the survival of the species that call it home.

Habitats are made up of both biotic and abiotic components. Biotic factors are organisms. For instance, the biotic elements in your home might include individuals with whom you live: your parents, siblings, and possibly even your cat or dog. Abiotic factors, on the other hand, are nonliving entities. This includes your mattress, refrigerator, milk, and even your breakfast cereal.

A collection of habitats forms an ecosystem, a community of creatures that interact with their environment and with other species.

Habitat Types and Examples

There are numerous habitats found around the earth. Tundra, grassland, mountain ranges, and woods are all examples of land-based ecosystems. Additionally, numerous aquatic environments occur. There are three types of saltwater marshes: saltwater marshes, intertidal zones, and the deep sea.

However, habitats frequently appear to be in opposition to the natural environment. For instance, certain creatures can survive in a parking lot or a farm field. Additionally, some organisms may create multiple habitats over the course of their lives. An excellent illustration of this is when migrating birds migrate to radically diverse habitats and climates to breed or winter.

Habitats are dynamic environments that constantly change. Habitats are tailored to the plants and animals that inhabit there. Thus, quick changes might be problematic for species with unique adaptations to a given ecosystem.

The three aspects of ecological niche:

Ecological niches can be classified into three types: spatial or habitat niches, trophic niches (functional roles assigned to trophic positions), and multidimensional or hypervolume niches (position in the environmental gradient).

Spatial niche

In basic terms, it refers to the physical space that an organism occupies. It has something to do with the concept of habitat. However, it is distinct from it in that, while multiple species may share the same environment, each organism’s activity may be restricted to a small section of the habitat referred to as microhabitat.

Trophic niche

Trophic niche is a term that refers to a species’ trophic position (i.e., food level of an organism). For instance, on South America’s Galapagos Island, birds belonging to three genera are found: Geospiza (ground finches), Camarhynchus (i.e., tree finches), and Certhidea (warbler finches). All of these birds share a same habitat but differ in their trophic status. The beak of one of the tree finches resembles that of a parrot, and it feeds on birds and fruits. The remaining three finches are carnivorous and feed on a variety of insects. Ground finches are seed-eating birds. The beaks of various species vary depending on the seeds they consume.

Hypervolume niche or multi-dimensional niche

The concept of a hypervolume niche is based on the link between a species and its environment. For instance, if we determine the temperature range within which a specific species may survive and reproduce, as well as other environmental gradients such as humidity, and then plot these connections on graphs, we have an enclosed space representing the species’ niche.