Population distributions

what is an organisms niche

the range of abiotic (temperature and altitudes) and biotic factors (against which competitors and predators) in which it can survive

fundamental niche

the environment in which a species can persist in

realized niche

the environment in which population of the species does persist

how are fundamental niches constrained into realized niches

on the basis of:

• competition/predation/disease with other species which overlap in their fundamental niche

  • whether an organism has had a chance to reach a location (dispersal ability) 

T/f: some species’ realized niche is only constrained by dispersal ability

true

how are species that are constrained by dispersal ability able to expand their realized niche into new areas that match their fundamental niche

humans removing the barrier

ecological niche modeling

used to predict where an invasive species may spread to

how does ecological niche modeling predict where and invasive species spreads to 

by comparing the abiotic environment in areas where a species currently persists and nearby areas that have similar abiotic characteristics, where the species could live