Niche: Think of it like a job description in nature. It describes where an organism lives and what it does there.

• Fundamental Niche

  • Definition: The full range of conditions (both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic)) under which an organism could potentially survive and reproduce.
  • Real-World Example: Imagine you could eat every flavor of ice cream at the store. That's a huge variety! That's your fundamental niche in the ice cream world.

• Realized Niche

  • Definition: The actual range of conditions under which the organism does survive and reproduce, especially when competitors come into play.
  • Real-World Example: But in reality, your sibling always takes the chocolate and mint flavors before you get to them. So, you end up only eating vanilla and strawberry. That's your realized niche.

Every organism has a limit to what it can tolerate. This range is called its fundamental niche.

• E.g., Goldfish can live in water temperatures between 10°C and 25°C. Too hot or too cold, and they're in trouble!