ecological niche
Americannoun
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Different organisms may compete for the same niche. For example, in a forest there may be a niche for an organism that can fly and eat nectar from blossoms. This niche may be filled by some sort of bird, or an insect, or even a mammal such as a bat.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Did jaws evolve in order to create a new ecological niche, or did our ancestors fill an existing niche first, and then diversify?" asks Prof. Sallan.
From Science Daily • Jan. 11, 2026
"Our ancestors have chosen an ecological niche where the world is slow enough to make survival possible," the authors write.
From Salon • Dec. 30, 2024
The juvenile tyrannosaurs, it seems, had taken over that ecological niche.
From National Geographic • Dec. 8, 2023
Hopefully some possible futures include an ecological niche for humans.
From Scientific American • Nov. 7, 2023
Because there is at least one other ecological niche in such an environment: hunting.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
