Niche of Organisms: Same Species, Different Niches?

  • Thread starter gracy
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As far as i know niche is not any place or geographical location/space (i.e habitat),instead it is a kind of lifestyle which enable an organism to survive in particular habitat,right?Now i want to ask can two members of same species living in same habitat have different niches?if yes then please give example.I don't think so because members of same species would have similar lifestyle so similar niche.Even members of same same species can have different lifestyle or niche if they are in different habitat but members of same species in same habitat having different niches i can't imagine!
 
  • #2
Wikipedia suggests that it may be possible depending on how niche and species are defined: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymorphism_(biology)#Polymorphism_and_niche_diversity.

Googling for "polymorphism niche diversity" led to some other interesting links:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11724955
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15514047

I think the Helicobacter example is something like what you are looking for, with different niches in the same(?) habitat being occupied by a single species. The question is whether the habitats for the different niches are the really the same.

The Borrelia example seems different, but I listed it for comparison.
 
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  • #3
members of same species in same habitat having different niches i can't imagine!
You're not married, are you?:oldeyes:
 
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I've always thought niche was ecological. So a predator and a prey in the same region will have different niches. The prey feeds the predators, the predators keep prey populations stable.
 

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