Concepts
Ecological Niche
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An organism's ecological niche is its functional role within its community, how it obtains food, what it eats and what eats it, rather than simply the place it lives. Charles Elton gave the term this functional definition in his 1927 textbook Animal Ecology, distinguishing it from the earlier, purely spatial use of niche as a synonym for habitat.
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Sources
1. Charles Elton (Wikipedia)
WikipediaCareer sectionQuote, Career section
In 1927, Elton published his classic Animal Ecology, outlining the principles behind ecological studies of animal behaviour and life history, such as food chains, size of food items, ecological niche, and the concept of a pyramid of numbers.
Animal Ecology
Charles Elton, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1927
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