Geese and sheep graze short grass in the UK. Does this ‘role’ imply that they occupy the same ecological niche?
Students often describe an ecological niche in terms of the role of an organism in its environment. This poses the philosophical question of whether organisms genuinely have a ‘role’ or whether they are simply adapted to their environment.
It also raises biological problems. It would imply, for example, that all photosynthetic organisms — primary producers — whether prokaryotes or eukaryotes, occupy the same ecological niche. It would also imply that sheep and geese, which both graze short grass, have the same ecological niche. Both these statements are counterintuitive. So, what is an ecological niche?
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