2. Ecological Niche
Function that a species carries out in its habitat.
Way in which a species uses the available resources and in
which its existence affects the other components of the
community.
If two species occupy the same ecological niche, there will be
competition until one of them takes over.
3. Ecological niche
All species which live the same habitat, no matter how many aspects their
niches have in common, there will ALWAYS be some differences that allow them
to avoid competition.
4. Ecological Niche
Generalists
Species which are able to
survive in a greater variety
of environmental
conditions.
Example:
Columba livia is adapted to most habitats
on the planet. They may be arboreal,
terrestrial or semiterrestial. Inhabit
savannas, grasslands, deserts, temperate
woodland and forests…
According to how broad the ecological niche of a species is, the
species can be: generalists or specialists
Columba livia
Pigeon
5. Ecological Niche
Specialists
They populate and inhabit
niches which are of difficult
access, where there is no
competition.
Their specialization is a risk:
They do not tolerate
changes in the
environment.
According to how broad their ecological niche is, species can be:
specialists of generalists.
Archilochus colubris
Ruby-throated humming bird
Hinweis der Redaktion
Doves and pigeons build relatively flimsy nests – often using sticks and other debris – which may be placed in trees, on ledges, or on the ground, depending on species. They lay one or two eggs at a time, and both parents care for the young, which leave the nest after seven to twenty-eight days.[3] Unlike most birds, both sexes of doves and pigeons produce "crop milk" to feed to their young, secreted by a sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop. Young doves and pigeons are called "squabs".
The family has adapted to most of the habitats available on the planet. These species may be arboreal, terrestrial or semiterrestrial. Various species also inhabit savannas, grasslands, deserts, temperate woodlands and forests, mangrove forests, and even the barren sands and gravels of atolls.
They are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound created by their beating wings which flap at high frequencies audible to humans. They hover in mid-air at rapid wing-flapping rates, typically around 50 times per second,[1] but possibly as high as 200 times per second, allowing them also to fly at speeds exceeding 15 m/s (54 km/h; 34 mph),[2] backwards or upside down.[3][4]
Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of any homeothermic animal.[5] To conserve energy when food is scarce, they have the ability to go into a hibernation-like state (torpor) where their metabolic rate is slowed to 1/15th of its normal rate.
Hummingbirds drink nectar, a sweet liquid inside certain flowers. Like bees, they are able to assess the amount of sugar in the nectar they eat; they normally reject flower types that produce nectar that is less than 10% sugar and prefer those whose sugar content is higher. Nectar is a mixture of glucose, fructose, and sucrose, and is a poor source of nutrients, so hummingbirds meet their needs for protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc. by preying on insects andspiders.[60]
Hummingbird bill shapes vary dramatically, as an adaptation for specialized feeding. Some species, such as hermits (Phaethornis spp.) have bills that are long allowing them to probe deep into flowers that have a long corolla. Thornbills have short, sharp bills adapted for feeding from flowers with short corollas and piercing the bases of longer ones. The sicklebills' extremely decurved bills are adapted to extracting nectar from the curved corollas of flowers in the family Gesneriaceae. The bill of the fiery-tailed awlbill has an upturned tip, as in the avocets. The male tooth-billed hummingbird has barracuda-like spikes at the tip of its long, straight bill.
Broad-billed Hummingbird is incapable of walking or hopping. Weight 3–4 g
