What is Ecological niche?
An '''ecological niche''' is the part of the [[environment]] into which a [[species]] fits, and to which it is [[adaptation|adapted]].<ref>In general use ''''niche'''' means a recess in a wall to hold a small statue, a nook or cranny.</ref> A shorthand definition of '''niche''' in [[biology]] is how an [[organism]] makes a living in a place. However, the term has been used in different ways.<ref name=Pocheville2015> Pocheville, Arnaud et al 2015. The ecological niche: history and recent controversies. In Heams, Thomas (ed) ''Handbook of evolutionary thinking in the sciences''. Dordrecht: Springer. pp. 547–586. ISBN 978-94-017-9014-7 </ref><ref name=Levin> Three variants of ecological niche are described by {{cite book |author=Thomas W Schoener |chapter=§I.1 Ecological niche |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4MS-vfT89QMC&pg=PA3 |pages=3 ''ff'' |title=The Princeton guide to ecology |editor=Simon A. Levin | display-authors = etal|isbn=9781400833023 |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2009}} </ref> It is not only a place but a way of life. For example, [[grazer]]s, [[insectivore]]s, [[scavenger]]s and [[predator]]s can all live their different lifestyles in the same forest. A niche can be occupied by different [[species]] in different places even though they 'earn their living' in roughly the same way. Thus the '[[bird of prey]] eating small mammals' niche would in [[grassland]]s include the [[kestrel]], but in an [[oak]] [[wood]] it would be filled by the [[tawny owl]].<ref>McFarland, David 1981. ''The Oxford companion to animal behaviour''. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 411</ref> The idea of a niche in natural history is ancient: many writers noticed that animals and plants live in places where they are well adapted to live. The word ''niche'' was first used in biology by [[naturalist]] Roswell Johnson,<ref>Johnson R.H. 1910. Determinate evolution in the color-pattern of the lady-beetles. Washington WC: Carnegie Institution of Washington.</ref> but in 1917 Joseph Grinnell was the first to