Animal Ecology | Biology | Visionlearning

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head>  <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="ie=edge"> <meta charset="utf-8"> <base href="https://www.visionlearning.com"> <title>Animal Ecology | Biology | Visionlearning</title> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283"> <meta name="description" content="This module introduces animal ecology, the study of animals’ relationship to their environment. We’ll explore the concept of a species’ ecological niche, which includes living and nonliving things that a species needs to survive. Every species uses and changes its environment to support its survival. Sometimes this helps other species; other times it’s detrimental."> <meta name="keywords" content="ecological niche, ecology, animal, animals, animal ecology, environment, species, niche"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, shrink-to-fit=no"> <meta name="msvalidate.01" content="D8E20F39AD48052260032E56DE409970"> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "http://schema.org/", "@type": "Article", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://visionlearning.com/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283" }, "name": "Animal Ecology", "headline": "Animal Ecology: Competition, predation, and cooperation", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Devin Reese, PhD." }, "datePublished": "2022-10-06 14:49:56", "dateModified": "2017-02-12T08:30:00+05:00", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "/img/library/moduleImages/featured_image_283-23061209063916.jpg", "width": 696, "height": 464 }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Visionlearning, Inc.", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "http://visionlearning.com/images/logo.png", "width": 278, "height": 60 } }, "description": "This module introduces animal ecology, the study of animals’ relationship to their environment. We’ll explore the concept of a species’ ecological niche, which includes living and nonliving things that a species needs to survive. Every species uses and changes its environment to support its survival. Sometimes this helps other species; other times it’s detrimental.", "keywords": "ecological niche, ecology, animal, animals, animal ecology, environment, species, niche", "inLanguage": { "@type": "Language", "name": "English", "alternateName": "en" }, "copyrightHolder": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Visionlearning, Inc." }, "copyrightYear": "2022"} </script> <meta property="og:url" content="https://visionlearning.com/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283"> <meta property="og:title" content="Animal Ecology | Biology | Visionlearning" /> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Visionlearning"> <meta property="og:description" content="This module introduces animal ecology, the study of animals’ relationship to their environment. We’ll explore the concept of a species’ ecological niche, which includes living and nonliving things that a species needs to survive. Every species uses and changes its environment to support its survival. Sometimes this helps other species; other times it’s detrimental."> <meta property="og:image" content="https://visionlearning.com/images/logo.png"> <meta property="fb:admins" content="100000299664514"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/visionlearning.css">  <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/visionlearning-icons.css">  <link rel="preload" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com"> <link rel="preload" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Open+Sans:ital,wght@0,400;0,700;1,400;1,700&family=Schoolbell&display=swap"> <style> textarea.myEditor { width: 90%; height: 350px; } </style> <script type="text/x-mathjax-config" src="/js/mathjax-config.js"></script> <script id="MathJax-script" async src="/js/mathjax/tex-svg.js"></script> <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-9561344156007092" crossorigin="anonymous"></script> </head> <body>  <header class="box-shadow-1" id="global-header"> <div class="theme-light 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<li><a href="/en/library/environmental-science/61/ecosystem-services/279">Ecosystem Services</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/environmental-science/61/population-biology/287">Population Biology</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-earth-cycles" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-earth-cycles" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Earth Cycles </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-earth-cycles" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-earth-cycles" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/environmental-science/61/the-nitrogen-cycle/98">The Nitrogen Cycle</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/environmental-science/61/the-carbon-cycle/95">The Carbon Cycle</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/environmental-science/61/the-phosphorus-cycle/197">The Phosphorus Cycle</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-scientific-research" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-scientific-research" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Scientific Research </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-scientific-research" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-scientific-research" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/environmental-science/61/collaborative-research-in-the-arctic-towards-understanding-climate-change/183">Collaborative Research in the Arctic Towards Understanding Climate Change</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/environmental-science/61/atmospheric-chemistry-research-that-changed-global-policy/211">Atmospheric Chemistry Research that Changed Global Policy</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-general-science" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-general-science" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> General Science </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-general-science" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-general-science" role="region"> <div class="accordion accordion--secondary"> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-methods" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-methods" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Methods </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-methods" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-methods" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/general-science/3/the-scientific-method/45">The Scientific Method</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-measurement" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-measurement" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Measurement </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-measurement" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-measurement" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/general-science/3/the-metric-system/47">The Metric System</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-physical-properties" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-physical-properties" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Physical Properties </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-physical-properties" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-physical-properties" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/general-science/3/temperature/48">Temperature</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/general-science/3/density-and-buoyancy/37">Density and Buoyancy</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-math-in-science" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-math-in-science" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Math in Science </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-math-in-science" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-math-in-science" role="region"> <div class="accordion accordion--secondary"> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-equations" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-equations" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Equations </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-equations" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-equations" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/unit-conversion/144">Unit Conversion</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/linear-equations/194">Linear Equations</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/exponential-equations-i/206">Exponential Equations I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/exponential-equations-ii/210">Exponential Equations II</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/scientific-notation/250">Scientific Notation</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/measurement/257">Measurement</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-statistics" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-statistics" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Statistics </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-statistics" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-statistics" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/introduction-to-descriptive-statistics/218">Introduction to Descriptive Statistics</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/introduction-to-inferential-statistics/224">Introduction to Inferential Statistics</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/statistical-techniques/239">Statistical Techniques</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-trigonometric-functions" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-trigonometric-functions" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Trigonometric Functions </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-trigonometric-functions" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-trigonometric-functions" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/math-in-science/62/wave-mathematics/131">Wave Mathematics</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-physics" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-physics" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Physics </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-physics" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-physics" role="region"> <div class="accordion accordion--secondary"> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-light-and-optics" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-light-and-optics" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Light and Optics </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-light-and-optics" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-light-and-optics" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/physics/24/the-nature-of-light/132">The Nature of Light</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/physics/24/electromagnetism-and-light/138">Electromagnetism and Light</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-mechanics" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-mechanics" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Mechanics </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-mechanics" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-mechanics" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/physics/24/defining-energy/199">Defining Energy</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/physics/24/waves-and-wave-motion/102">Waves and Wave Motion</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/physics/24/gravity/118">Gravity</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/physics/24/thermodynamics-i/200">Thermodynamics I</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-process-of-science" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-process-of-science" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Process of Science </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-process-of-science" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-process-of-science" role="region"> <div class="accordion accordion--secondary"> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-introduction" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-introduction" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Introduction </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-introduction" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-introduction" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/the-process-of-science/176">The Process of Science</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-the-culture-of-science" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-the-culture-of-science" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> The Culture of Science </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-the-culture-of-science" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-the-culture-of-science" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/the-nature-of-scientific-knowledge/185">The Nature of Scientific Knowledge</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/scientists-and-the-scientific-community/172">Scientists and the Scientific Community</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/scientific-ethics/161">Scientific Ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/scientific-institutions-and-societies/162">Scientific Institutions and Societies</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-ideas-in-science" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-ideas-in-science" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Ideas in Science </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-ideas-in-science" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-ideas-in-science" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/theories-hypotheses-and-laws/177">Theories, Hypotheses, and Laws</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/scientific-controversy/181">Scientific Controversy</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/creativity-in-science/182">Creativity in Science</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-research-methods" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-research-methods" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Research Methods </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-research-methods" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-research-methods" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/the-practice-of-science/148">The Practice of Science</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/experimentation-in-scientific-research/150">Experimentation in Scientific Research</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/description-in-scientific-research/151">Description in Scientific Research</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/comparison-in-scientific-research/152">Comparison in Scientific Research</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/modeling-in-scientific-research/153">Modeling in Scientific Research</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-data" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-data" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Data </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-data" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-data" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/data-analysis-and-interpretation/154">Data Analysis and Interpretation</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/uncertainty-error-and-confidence/157">Uncertainty, Error, and Confidence</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/statistics-in-science/155">Statistics in Science</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/using-graphs-and-visual-data-in-science/156">Using Graphs and Visual Data in Science</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-scientific-communication" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-scientific-communication" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Scientific Communication </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-scientific-communication" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-scientific-communication" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/understanding-scientific-journals-and-articles/158">Understanding Scientific Journals and Articles</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/utilizing-the-scientific-literature/173">Utilizing the Scientific Literature</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/peer-review-in-scientific-publishing/159">Peer Review in Scientific Publishing</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/process-of-science/49/the-how-and-why-of-scientific-meetings/186">The How and Why of Scientific Meetings</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-scientists-and-research" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-scientists-and-research" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Scientists and Research </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-scientists-and-research" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-scientists-and-research" role="region"> <div class="accordion accordion--secondary"> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-scientific-research" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-scientific-research" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Scientific Research </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-scientific-research" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-scientific-research" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/collaborative-research-in-the-arctic-towards-understanding-climate-change/183">Collaborative Research in the Arctic Towards Understanding Climate Change</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/from-stable-chromosomes-to-jumping-genes/184">From Stable Chromosomes to Jumping Genes</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/an-elegant-experiment-to-test-the-process-of-dna-replication/187">An Elegant Experiment to Test the Process of DNA Replication</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/the-founding-of-neuroscience/233">The Founding of Neuroscience</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/tracking-endangered-jaguars-across-the-border/189">Tracking Endangered Jaguars across the Border</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/atmospheric-chemistry-research-that-changed-global-policy/211">Atmospheric Chemistry Research that Changed Global Policy</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/revolutionizing-medicine-with-monoclonal-antibodies/220">Revolutionizing Medicine with Monoclonal Antibodies</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/uncovering-the-mysteries-of-chronic-mountain-sickness/238">Uncovering the Mysteries of Chronic Mountain Sickness</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-profiles-in-science" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-profiles-in-science" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Profiles in Science </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-profiles-in-science" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-profiles-in-science" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/luis-e.-miramontes/232">Luis E. Miramontes</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/bernardo-houssay/237">Bernardo Houssay</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/craig-lee/256">Craig Lee</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/david-ho/241">David Ho</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/louis-tompkins-wright/244">Louis Tompkins Wright</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/carlos-j.-finlay/217">Carlos J. Finlay</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/cecilia-payne/290">Cecilia Payne</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/jazmin-scarlett/291">Jazmin Scarlett</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/ramari-stewart/292">Ramari Stewart</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/johnson-cerda/300">Johnson Cerda</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/ellen-ochoa/201">Ellen Ochoa</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/ruth-benerito/205">Ruth Benerito</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/franklin-chang-díaz/219">Franklin Chang Díaz</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/percy-lavon-julian/221">Percy Lavon Julian</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/luis-walter-alvarez/229">Luis Walter Alvarez</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/scientists-and-research/58/france-anne-dominic-córdova/230">France Anne-Dominic Córdova</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </li> <li>  <button class="button" data-toggle="dropdown">Biology </button> <div class="nav__dropdown box-shadow-1 padding-1"> <div class="accordion accordion--secondary font-size-sm"> <div class="accordion accordion--secondary"> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-sub-button-biological-molecules" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-sub-panel-biological-molecules" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Biological Molecules </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-sub-panel-biological-molecules" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-sub-button-biological-molecules" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/carbohydrates/61">Carbohydrates</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/fats-and-proteins/62">Fats and Proteins</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/biological-proteins/243">Biological Proteins</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/blood-biology-i/242">Blood Biology I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/lipids/207">Lipids</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-sub-button-cell-biology" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-sub-panel-cell-biology" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Cell Biology </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-sub-panel-cell-biology" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-sub-button-cell-biology" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/discovery-and-structure-of-cells/64">Discovery and Structure of Cells</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/respiration/285">Respiration</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/membranes-i/198">Membranes I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/membranes-ii/204">Membranes II</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/cellular-organelles-i/195">Cellular Organelles I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/cell-division-i/196">Cell Division I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/cell-division-ii/212">Cell Division II</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/membranes-and-chemical-transport/106">Membranes and Chemical Transport</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-sub-button-energy-in-living-systems" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-sub-panel-energy-in-living-systems" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Energy in Living Systems </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-sub-panel-energy-in-living-systems" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-sub-button-energy-in-living-systems" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/energy-metabolism-i/215">Energy Metabolism I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/energy-metabolism-ii/225">Energy Metabolism II</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/photosynthesis-i/192">Photosynthesis I</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-sub-button-evolutionary-biology" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-sub-panel-evolutionary-biology" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Evolutionary Biology </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-sub-panel-evolutionary-biology" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-sub-button-evolutionary-biology" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/origins-of-life-i/226">Origins of Life I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/origins-of-life-ii/227">Origins of Life II</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/extinction/295">Extinction</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/mass-extinctions/294">Mass Extinctions</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/charles-darwin-i/110">Charles Darwin I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/charles-darwin-ii/111">Charles Darwin II</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/charles-darwin-iii/112">Charles Darwin III</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/adaptation/68">Adaptation</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/taxonomy-i/70">Taxonomy I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/taxonomy-ii/89">Taxonomy II</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/introduction-to-paleoanthropology/258">Introduction to Paleoanthropology</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/the-piltdown-hoax/263">The Piltdown Hoax</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/future-of-human-evolution/259">Future of Human Evolution</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-sub-button-genetics" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-sub-panel-genetics" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Genetics </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-sub-panel-genetics" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-sub-button-genetics" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/inheritance/129">Inheritance</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/independent-assortment/145">Independent Assortment</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/dna-i/149">DNA I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/dna-ii/160">DNA II</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/dna-iii/180">DNA III</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/tracking-human-ancestry/248">Tracking Human Ancestry</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/gene-expression/214">Gene Expression</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/population-genetics/249">Population Genetics</a></li> </ul> </div> <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-sub-button-ecology" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-sub-panel-ecology" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="accordion__button__label"> Ecology </span> </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-sub-panel-ecology" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-sub-button-ecology" role="region"> <ul class="nav text-color-link"> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/biodiversity-i/276">Biodiversity I</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/ecosystem-services/279">Ecosystem Services</a></li> <li class="current">Animal Ecology</li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/biodiversity-ii/281">Biodiversity II</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-behavior/286">Animal Behavior</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/population-biology/287">Population Biology</a></li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/trophic-ecology/293">Trophic Ecology</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </nav>  <div id="theTop"></div> <main id="skip-header-content"> <div class="margin-bottom-5"> <article class="container wide module"> <header class="grid grid--sidebar-right module__header"> <div class="module__header__title"> <span class="subcategory"> <strong><em>Ecology</em></strong> </span> <h1>Animal Ecology: <sub><em>Competition, predation, and cooperation</em></sub></h1> <p class="byline">by Devin Reese, PhD.</p> <nav class="module__header__tabs"> <ul class="tabs-nav tabs-nav--horizontal library"> <li> <a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283/reading" aria-current="page" >Reading</a> </li> <li> <a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283/quiz">Quiz</a> </li> <li> <a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283/resources">Teach with this</a> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </header> <hr class="divider"/>   <div class="grid grid--sidebar-right grid--divider"> <div class="order-2 order-1--lg module__main"> <div class="narrow margin-x-auto margin-y-5"> <div class="accordion margin-bottom-5">  <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-table-of-contents" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-table-of-contents" aria-expanded="false" tabindex="0"> Key concepts </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-table-of-contents" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-table-of-contents" role="region" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="accordion__panel__content"> <ul class="bulleted"> <li><p>Animal ecology is the study of the relationships between animals and their natural environment, including their specific ecological niche.</p></li> <li><p>An ecological niche is defined by the biotic (living things) and abiotic (nonliving things) factors, such as food, that must be present for an animal to meet its needs for survival and reproduction.</p></li> <li><p>An animal’s realized ecological niche may be smaller or larger than its fundamental (potential) niche, depending on its interactions with other species—or “symbiotic relationships.” </p></li> <li><p>Competition may reduce an animal’s realized niche, while facilitation or cooperation may effectively expand it.</p></li> <li><p>All animals are vulnerable to predation and have evolved various strategies to evade it, which drives adaptations such as camouflage and mimicry.</li></p> <li><p>As habitats continue to change from local and global alterations, animals encounter changing niches that may or may not support continued survival.</li></p> </ul> </div> </div>  <button class="accordion__button" id="acc-button-terms-you-should-know" data-accordion="button" aria-controls="acc-panel-terms-you-should-know" aria-expanded="false" tabindex="0"> Terms you should know </button> <div class="accordion__panel" id="acc-panel-terms-you-should-know" data-accordion="panel" aria-labelledby="acc-button-terms-you-should-know" role="region" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="accordion__panel__content"> <dl> <dt>Niche </dt> <dd> A position or role adopted by a particular organism in its environment </dd> <dt>Ecology </dt> <dd> The study of organisms’ relationship to the environment and one another </dd> <dt><a href="/en/glossary/view/species">Species </a></dt> <dd> The lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy </dd> <dt><a href="/en/glossary/view/environment">Environment </a></dt> <dd> The conditions that surround and affect an organism</dd> </dl> </div> </div> </div> <hr class="border-color-dark" /> <section> <div class="container narrow"> <p>Imagine you’re hiking by the Snake River in Wyoming, enjoying the swishing sound of water riffling by. The river flows past you, carrying <mark class="term" data-term="nutrient" data-term-def="A chemical substance (e.g., minerals, vitamins, proteins) that is needed by an organism to survive and grow. See also: macronutrient and micronutrient." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/nutrient/7058">nutrients</mark> downstream. When you come around a bend, you encounter the scene in the image below (Figure 1). A small, neat dam across the river creates a still, upstream pond. Why do you suppose this river was dammed and who dammed it?</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12645-22092304091107.jpg" alt="Figure 1: Dam on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park. " /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 1:</strong> Dam on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park. </p> <span class="credit">image ©Public Domain</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>The image shows the result of construction <mark class="term" data-term="work" data-term-def="A process that occurs when a force acts over a distance, as when an object is moved. Work equals the multiple&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/work/1502">work</mark> by beavers—a still pool of ponded water in the background above flowing water in the foreground. Beavers use the mud from the bottom of ponded water to build their lodges, with the pond serving as a moat to protect them from predators.</p> <p>Every animal <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark> on Earth uses and changes its <mark class="term" data-term="environment" data-term-def="The conditions that surround and affect an organism." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/environment/8270">environment</mark> to meet its needs, interacting with resources in ways that support survival and reproduction. Humans are the most extreme example, with our capacity to harness <mark class="term" data-term="natural resources" data-term-def="Materials produced through or contained within Earth's natural systems and used by humans and other species. They include minerals and soil,&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/natural+resources/5617">natural resources</mark> and convert them into manmade things, resulting in radical transformations of <mark class="term" data-term="habitat" data-term-def="The place or type of environment where a wild plant, animal, or other organism naturally lives or grows." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/habitat/5593">habitats</mark>. The study of animals in their natural environments reveals a set of guiding <mark class="term" data-term="principle" data-term-def="In the sciences, a principle is a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth. For instance, one of the most basic&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/principle/5289">principles</mark> that apply across the Animal Kingdom.</p> <p><section id="toc_1" class=""> <h2>The ecological niche concept</h2></p> <p>Early 20th-century American naturalist Joseph Grinnell introduced the concept of an ecological niche (or Grinnellian niche) to describe how animals interact with their <mark class="term" data-term="environment" data-term-def="The conditions that surround and affect an organism." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/environment/8270">environments</mark> in ways that allow them to survive (Grinnell 1917). The Grinnellian niche includes everything that allows a <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark> to exist at a particular location—including living resources like food and competitors and nonliving resources like sunlight, water, or rocks.</p> <p>A decade later, British zoologist Charles Elton wrote the first textbook on animal ecology (Elton 1927), which helped popularize the niche concept in describing the place of an <mark class="term" data-term="organism" data-term-def="Any connected living system, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium. Organisms may be composed of a single cell or&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/organism/2171">organism</mark> in its <mark class="term" data-term="ecosystem" data-term-def="The complex of a community of organisms and its environment, functioning as a unit." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/ecosystem/2174">ecosystem</mark>. Elton’s ideas included the notion that animal species occupy parallel niches in different geographic places. In other words, equivalent niches are filled by entirely different animals in different parts of the world.</p> <p>Based on the image below (Figure 2), what could we say about the ecological niche of the North American beaver?</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12649-22092304091433.jpg" alt="Figure 2: North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) in Glacier National Park." /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 2:</strong> North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) in Glacier National Park.</p> <span class="credit">image ©Public Domain</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Figure 2 shows resources that define a beaver’s ecological niche, including fresh water and sticks of various sizes, which beavers harvest from trees to feed on the living tissue layers as well as build lodges and dams. But what happens if other animals are using the same resources in the same area? Interactions between animals that live in close association (or symbiosis) may dramatically affect their ecological niches. In common language, “symbiosis” usually <mark class="term" data-term="mean" data-term-def="In statistics, mean commonly refers to the arithmetic mean, also called the average, which is one measure of the mid-point of&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/mean/4221">means</mark> two things working together cooperatively. However, in biology, symbiotic relationships include competition, predation, parasitism, and cooperative relationships (mutualism).</p></section> <section id="toc_2"> <h2>Competition</h2><p>Now, consider Figure 3. It shows what looks like a North American Beaver, right? Actually, it’s a related “nutria,” native to South America (CABI 2019). Nutrias were cultivated for fur in the 20th century, and many escaped to the wilds of North America, Europe, and Asia, invading <mark class="term" data-term="habitat" data-term-def="The place or type of environment where a wild plant, animal, or other organism naturally lives or grows." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/habitat/5593">habitats</mark> occupied by the native beavers.</p> <p>What do you think happens when two <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark> attempt to live in the same niche at the same place?</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12653-22092304091812.jpg" alt="Figure 3: Nutria (Myocastor coypus)." /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 3:</strong> Nutria (Myocastor coypus).</p> <span class="credit">image ©<a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/myocastor-coypus-animal-rodent-pond-6853382/"> Pixabay</a> </span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Following up on Elton’s ideas, Russian biologist G. F. Gause (1934) proposed that two <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark> with similar resource needs cannot live together in the exact same place. By 1944, scientists were actively debating what would later be called the “Competitive Exclusion <mark class="term" data-term="principle" data-term-def="In the sciences, a principle is a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth. For instance, one of the most basic&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/principle/5289">Principle</mark>.” The Principle states that two types of animals with similar ecological niches cannot coexist for very long without one eventually outcompeting the other.</p> <p>Applying the principle to the beaver and nutria, these animals had originally evolved to occupy similar niches on separate continents, but they now overlap in North America and Europe. Ecologists are concerned that nutria in Texas are competing with <mark class="term" data-term="population" data-term-def="In biology, the population is all individuals of a certain kind of plant or animal that live in a particular habitat.&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/population/8283">populations</mark> of an endangered beaver subspecies, the Mexican beaver (Millholland 2010), because they occupy the same niche. <mark class="term" data-term="evidence" data-term-def="Support for an idea, opinion, or hypothesis." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/evidence/8243">Evidence</mark> includes nutria often found occupying abandoned beaver lodges (Sheffels 2013).</p> <p>In the 1950s, British ecologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson found a way to visualize competitive overlap in niches using graphs. Hutchinson plotted the range of resources used on the X axis and the amount of use by a species on the Y axis. The result yielded a shape whose area represents an ecological niche. (Hutchinson 1957). Since a given species requires multiple types of resources, the shape would actually be multi-dimensional. The area under the curve represents the species’ “fundamental niche,” which includes all the needed resources. Hutchinson’s <mark class="term" data-term="model" data-term-def="A representation, pattern, or mathematical description that can help scientists replicate a system." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/model/8236">model</mark> helps visualize how a species fundamental niche contracts to a smaller “realized niche” because of competition with other species (Figure 4).</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12655-22092304092044.png" alt="Figure 4: Graphical model representing how the fundamental niches of two species overlap, which reduces the realized niche of Species 2. " /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 4:</strong> Graphical model representing how the fundamental niches of two species overlap, which reduces the realized niche of Species 2. </p> <span class="credit">image ©Visionlearning</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>When a <mark class="term" data-term="population" data-term-def="In biology, the population is all individuals of a certain kind of plant or animal that live in a particular habitat.&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/population/8283">population</mark> of animals loses their competitors or is introduced to a new <mark class="term" data-term="environment" data-term-def="The conditions that surround and affect an organism." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/environment/8270">environment</mark> without strong direct competitors, the reverse of the Competitive Exclusion <mark class="term" data-term="principle" data-term-def="In the sciences, a principle is a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth. For instance, one of the most basic&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/principle/5289">Principle</mark> often occurs. This so-called “competitive release” is evidenced by many instances around the world in which humans accidentally or purposefully brought animals with them as they traveled. Portuguese biologist Maria João Verdasca and colleagues studied the niches of yellow-legged hornets that were accidentally introduced to Europe in 2004. In their native <mark class="term" data-term="habitat" data-term-def="The place or type of environment where a wild plant, animal, or other organism naturally lives or grows." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/habitat/5593">habitats</mark> in Asia, these hornets competed with six other hornet <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark> that do not live in Europe. By tracking <mark class="term" data-term="variable" data-term-def="In math, an expression that can be assigned any set of values. Variables are written as symbols, such as x, y&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/variable/3797">variables</mark> like land cover and water availability, the researchers found that without competition from other hornets, the introduced yellow-legged hornets shifted to occupy a wider range of environmental conditions in Europe. (Verdasca 2022).</p> <div class="comprehension-checkpoint margin-y-4"> <h6 class="comprehension-checkpoint__header"> <span> <span class="icon icon-question"></span> </span> Comprehension Checkpoint </h6> <form class="" name="cc12657"> <div class="form-entry"> <div class="form-entry__field"> <span class="form-entry__field__label">When the Asian yellow-legged hornets spread into Europe, what happened to their realized niche?</span> <div class="form-entry__option"> <div class="form-entry__option__radio" data-answer="correct"> <label> <input id="q1-12657-0-option-a" name="quiz-option-12657" type="radio" value="It expanded." > <span class="option__label"> <span class="screen-reader-only">a.</span> It expanded. </span> </label> <span class="quiz__response" id="response-12657-0"> <strong>Correct!</strong> </span> </div> <div class="form-entry__option__radio" data-answer="incorrect"> <label> <input id="q1-12657-1-option-b" name="quiz-option-12657" type="radio" value="It contracted." > <span class="option__label"> <span class="screen-reader-only">b.</span> It contracted. </span> </label> <span class="quiz__response" id="response-12657-1"> <strong>Incorrect.</strong> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </form> </div> </section> <section id="toc_3"> <h2>Food</h2><p>"Food is the burning question in animal <mark class="term" data-term="society" data-term-def="A group of people who belong to an organization that has been formed because of shared interest in a specific field." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/society/8249">society</mark>, and the whole structure and activities of the community are dependent upon questions of food supply."</p> <p style="text-align: right;">- Charles Elton, 1927</p><p>Besides competition for resources like the area of suitable <mark class="term" data-term="habitat" data-term-def="The place or type of environment where a wild plant, animal, or other organism naturally lives or grows." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/habitat/5593">habitat</mark>, animals compete directly for food, a central feature of niches. In contrast to a plant, which can make its own food, how an animal feeds has implications for all other aspects of its biology. Animal ecology can be understood in the context of balancing the tradeoffs animals face in securing food resources to grow and reproduce, while avoiding lethal dangers, such as predators. An animal’s feeding niche supports its “biological fitness” or the chance of it surviving to reproductive age and producing offspring (see our <a href="https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Biology/2/Adaptation/68">Adaptation</a> module).</p> <p>Animals can be categorized by how they ingest food - their feeding modes. If you look at a top-level taxonomic category (see our modules <a href="https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Biology/2/Taxonomy-I/70">Taxonomy I</a> and <a href="https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Biology/2/Taxonomy-II/89">Taxonomy II</a>), such as birds or fish, you’ll find a variety of feeding modes within the <mark class="term" data-term="group" data-term-def="A column of elements in the periodic table." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/group/8566">group</mark>. For example, mammals range from bulk-feeding, meat-eating carnivores, such as lions, to plant-eating constantly grazing herbivores, such as sheep, and everything in between. However, if you zoom in to the Family level, feeding modes are often a shared defining characteristic of the group. Canids (family Canidae, including dogs, wolves and coyotes) are all carnivorous, while Cervids (family Cervidae, including deer, elk and moose) are all herbivorous grazers.</p> <p>Animals with similar diets will run into the problem of competition cited above. In other words, their feeding niches may overlap. Field <mark class="term" data-term="evidence" data-term-def="Support for an idea, opinion, or hypothesis." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/evidence/8243">evidence</mark> suggests that animals with similar diets often avoid competition by dividing the resources in a phenomenon called “resource partitioning.” Canadian biologist Robert H. MacArthur first described this phenomenon in the 1950s during his study of how <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark> of warbler birds divide up resources in conifer forests. He observed that each of the five warbler species specialized on different parts of a tree, showing that “the birds behave in such a way as to be exposed to different kinds of food,” even while feeding on the same trees. (MacArthur 1958). The birds establish a truce of sorts, avoiding direct competition by occupying distinct sub-niches within their shared habitat.</p> <p>Evidence for resource partitioning in nature continues to grow. Italian evolutionary biologist Elisa Torretta and colleagues recently studied how golden jackals and red foxes manage to coexist in the wilds of north-eastern Italy, despite their similar carnivorous diets. By collecting field <mark class="term" data-term="observation" data-term-def="1. The act of noticing something. 2. A record of that which has been noticed." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/observation/8255">observations</mark> and analyzing their waste (feces), Torretta found that the jackals and foxes hunted at the same time in the evening and overnight but selected different prey. The golden jackal preyed mostly on hoofed animals like deer, while the red fox preyed on small mammals, a difference that likely evolved over many <mark class="term" data-term="generation" data-term-def="Offspring at the same step in the line of descent from a common ancestor." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/generation/8293">generations</mark>. “Compromise” was achieved via <mark class="term" data-term="natural selection" data-term-def="The process whereby characteristics that promote survival and reproduction are passed on to future generations, so these characteristics become more frequent&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/natural+selection/11402">natural selection</mark> for behavior that promoted better survival <mark class="term" data-term="outcome" data-term-def="Result." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/outcome/8247">outcomes</mark> for both species. Their distinct diets reduced food competition by dividing up the carnivore feeding niche (Torretta et al. 2021).</p> <p>Think about human behavior. When we designate a natural area to support wildlife, we are also resource partitioning, dividing up the space on Earth to allow for the continued survival of other species. We have shared “our” niche with other species to differing <mark class="term" data-term="degree" data-term-def="[<strong>temperature</strong>] One graduated unit of measure on a Fahrenheit or Celsius temperature scale. On the Kelvin scale, graduations are called Kelvins. <br> <br> [<strong>geometry</strong>]&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/degree/8535">degrees</mark> over time, with <mark class="term" data-term="population" data-term-def="In biology, the population is all individuals of a certain kind of plant or animal that live in a particular habitat.&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/population/8283">population</mark> growth and consumptive practices making it increasingly difficult.</p> <div class="comprehension-checkpoint margin-y-4"> <h6 class="comprehension-checkpoint__header"> <span> <span class="icon icon-question"></span> </span> Comprehension Checkpoint </h6> <form class="" name="cc12661"> <div class="form-entry"> <div class="form-entry__field"> <span class="form-entry__field__label">Animals with the same resource needs cannot live in the same geographic location.</span> <div class="form-entry__option"> <div class="form-entry__option__radio" data-answer="incorrect"> <label> <input id="q1-12661-0-option-a" name="quiz-option-12661" type="radio" value="True" > <span class="option__label"> <span class="screen-reader-only">a.</span> True </span> </label> <span class="quiz__response" id="response-12661-0"> <strong>Incorrect.</strong> </span> </div> <div class="form-entry__option__radio" data-answer="correct"> <label> <input id="q1-12661-1-option-b" name="quiz-option-12661" type="radio" value="False" > <span class="option__label"> <span class="screen-reader-only">b.</span> False </span> </label> <span class="quiz__response" id="response-12661-1"> <strong>Correct!</strong> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </form> </div> </section> <section id="toc_4"> <h2>Predation</h2><p>Regardless of its own feeding mode, every animal is likely to be prey for something else. Only apex predators—those at the very top of the food web—have no natural predators. <mark class="term" data-term="apex predator" data-term-def="(Also known as top-level predator or alpha predator) A carnivorous species at the top of the food chain in a particular&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/apex+predator/5602">Apex predators</mark> include crocodiles, lions, great white sharks, and <mark class="term" data-term="polar" data-term-def="Carrying an electrical charge." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/polar/8730">polar</mark> bears. Still, with humans in the mix, there are arguably no animals that are totally exempt from predation. Additionally, although most <mark class="term" data-term="apex predator" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/apex+predator" data-term-def="(Also known as top-level predator or alpha predator) A carnivorous species at the top of the food chain in a particular&hellip;">apex predators</mark> are unbothered by predators in adulthood, they can be victims of predation in earlier developmental stages, such as eggs, hatchlings or newborns, and juveniles. Therefore, dealing with predators is a central challenge of animal survival. It is also worth noting that apex predators do not necessarily have it easy. They are among the most vulnerable during challenging ecological times because disturbances anywhere in the food web reverberate to the top level. Great White Sharks mitigate this risk by preying on a very wide variety of food sources.</p> <p>What options do you imagine this lizard had to dodge this unfortunate encounter with a bird? (Figure 5)</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12664-22092304093747.jpg" alt="Figure 5: White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) who captured a lizard." /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 5:</strong> White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) who captured a lizard.</p> <span class="credit">image ©<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rathikaramasamy/690266517/"> CC BY 2.0, Rathika Ramasamy</a> </span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </section> <section id="toc2_1"><h3>Avoidance</h3><p>One option for survival is simply to avoid predators by staying away from the areas they frequent. However, animals face tradeoffs when they avoid predators, as their ranges may also be the best areas to feed. UK ornithologist Alex Sansom studied these tradeoffs in Redshanks, birds that live in estuaries in Scotland where they are vulnerable to sparrowhawk and peregrine falcon predators. She observed Redshank feeding behavior, noting how much time they spent in the saltmarshes where prey is more nutritious but predators are common versus in the mudflats where prey is less nutritious, but predators are rarer. She found that the best-case scenario for survival was avoiding the saltmarshes where predators are common. But resource scarcity during cold weather requires feeding in the dangerous saltmarshes. Redshanks that show more vigilant behavior, such as lifting their heads to scan for predators, experience better survival rates. (Sansom 2009).</p></section> <section id="toc2_2"><h3>Hiding and showing</h3><p>“In the animal kingdom, one of the keys to survival is to outwit your enemies. And when you're surrounded by carnivores, one of the best strategies is to fade into the background and disappear.”</p> <p style="text-align: right;">– American Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson</p> <p>Camouflage is rampant in the Animal Kingdom—white Arctic Hares against the snow, warty toads in a carpet of dead leaves, a moth invisible against tree bark. Coloration that matches an animal to its background has been honed by <mark class="term" data-term="natural selection" data-term-def="The process whereby characteristics that promote survival and reproduction are passed on to future generations, so these characteristics become more frequent&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/natural+selection/11402">natural selection</mark> over and over for its life-saving <mark class="term" data-term="outcome" data-term-def="Result." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/outcome/8247">outcomes</mark>. And it <mark class="term" data-term="work" data-term-def="A process that occurs when a force acts over a distance, as when an object is moved. Work equals the multiple&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/work/1502">works</mark> the same for predators as it does for prey. Just as the Arctic Hare is adapted to hide from its predators, the <mark class="term" data-term="polar" data-term-def="Carrying an electrical charge." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/polar/8730">polar</mark> bear has adapted to avoid being spotted by its prey. The bottom line is that there is often a strong advantage for an animal to blend in with its background. How many animals do you see in Figure 6?</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12669-22092304094309.jpeg" alt="Figure 6: Sumu Wildlife Park, Bauchi State, Nigeria." /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 6:</strong> Sumu Wildlife Park, Bauchi State, Nigeria.</p> <span class="credit">image ©<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sumu_wildlife_park_5.jpg"> CC BY-SA 4.0, HajiShehu1</a> </span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </section> <section id="toc2_3"><h3>Warning</h3><p>The flip side of the coin to camouflage is <mark class="term" data-term="adaptation" data-term-def="A change that allows an organism to function better in a particular environment." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/adaptation/8284">adaptations</mark> that make <mark class="term" data-term="organism" data-term-def="Any connected living system, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium. Organisms may be composed of a single cell or&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/organism/2171">organisms</mark> more visible. Why would an animal want to be more visible to predators? Noticing the bright coloration of some butterflies, bees, and tropical frogs, 19th-century naturalists proposed that the coloration served as a warning that these animals were toxic. This is called “aposematic coloration,” typified by the dramatic coloration of tropical poison dart frogs. This adaptation <mark class="term" data-term="work" data-term-def="A process that occurs when a force acts over a distance, as when an object is moved. Work equals the multiple&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/work/1502">works</mark> well because a predator either dies from eating one or is sickened, reducing predation on others of its <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark>. Over time, predators evolve the instinct to avoid the poisonous prey altogether.</p> <p>“To these creatures it is useful to be seen and recognised, the reason being that they have a <mark class="term" data-term="mean" data-term-def="In statistics, mean commonly refers to the arithmetic mean, also called the average, which is one measure of the mid-point of&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/mean/4221">means</mark> of defence which, if known, will prevent their enemies from attacking them, though it is generally not sufficient to save their lives if they are actually attacked.”</p> <p style="text-align: right;">– English Naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace, 1877</p> <p>Imagine that you are a behavioral ecologist. Someone shows you the image below (Figure 7) and asks you to interpret what you see. How would you respond? What is this animal doing?</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12672-22092610095538.jpeg" alt="Figure 7: Cuyaba dwarf frog (Physalaemus nattereri) in Brazil doing a startle display." /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 7:</strong> Cuyaba dwarf frog (Physalaemus nattereri) in Brazil doing a startle display.</p> <span class="credit">image ©<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Physalaemus_nattereri_in_deimatic_behavior.jpg"> CC BY-SA 2.5, Felipe Gomez</a> </span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>This frog (Figure 6) inhabits grassland <mark class="term" data-term="habitat" data-term-def="The place or type of environment where a wild plant, animal, or other organism naturally lives or grows." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/habitat/5593">habitats</mark> in Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay and is hiding in plain sight. On its rear end are black markings that look like eyes and can be flashed at an approaching predator. The frog lifts its rear end to display the eyespots, which, in the best-case scenario, fool a predator into thinking a bigger, potentially dangerous animal is staring at it. Bluffing behavior is one form of what English naturalist Henry Walter Bates dubbed “mimicry” as early as the mid-19th-century after noticing the way harmless butterflies in the Amazon mimicked the appearance of toxic <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark>, seemingly to warn off predators (Bates 1862).</p> <p>Scientists continue to refine our understanding of mimicry and other behaviors as tools for survival. Brazilian biologist Julio M.G. Segovia studies spider behavior. In an ironic twist of roles, some spiders gain protection from predators by mimicking toxic, stinging, or spiny ants. Segovia’s <mark class="term" data-term="work" data-term-def="A process that occurs when a force acts over a distance, as when an object is moved. Work equals the multiple&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/work/1502">work</mark> shows that the more harmful the ant species, the less accurate the spiders mimic them because even a poor copy of a dangerous ant deters predators. Further, Segovia’s work on harvestmen spiders illuminates another survival behavior—faking death—which they use against daytime predators that prefer a live meal (Segovia and Pekár 2021; Segovia et al. 2019).</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12674-22092611090210.png" alt="Figure 8: Which is the ant, and which is the harmless ant-mimicking spider?" /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 8:</strong> Which is the ant, and which is the harmless ant-mimicking spider?</p> <span class="credit">image ©CC BY 2.0, Yogendra Joshi; CC BY-SA 2.0, William Cho</span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> </section> <section id="toc2_4"><h3>Grouping up</h3><p>Imagine you’re a hungry predator and come upon a flock of Murres, like those pictured in Figure 9. It’s a mix of <mark class="term" data-term="parent" data-term-def="The material or source from which something is derived." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/parent/1618">parents</mark> and their offspring. How easy do you think it would be to single out a juvenile and snap it up?</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12677-22092611090419.jpg" alt="Figure 9: Flock of Murres (Uria sp.)." /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 9:</strong> Flock of Murres (Uria sp.).</p> <span class="credit">image ©<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/131972734@N02/28552733561/in/photostream/"> CC BY 2.0, Mark McNestry</a> </span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>A survival tactic that animals employ in situations where they cannot avoid predators is to <mark class="term" data-term="group" data-term-def="A column of elements in the periodic table." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/group/8566">group</mark> up. American Zoologist Warder C. Allee was inspired by <mark class="term" data-term="observation" data-term-def="1. The act of noticing something. 2. A record of that which has been noticed." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/observation/8255">observations</mark> of how little crustaceans found in freshwaters (isopods called Asellus) tended to group up. In his 1931 book, Animal Aggregations: A Study in General Sociology, Allee proposed that grouping up benefited animals, whether flocks of birds, schools of fish, packs of wolves, or prides of lions (Allee 1931). Allee sorted the benefits of grouping into categories like water <mark class="term" data-term="conservation" data-term-def="Careful use of natural resources to minimize waste or damage to the natural world and to maintain natural resources for long-term&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/conservation/5592">conservation</mark>, protection from weather, socialization, and predator vigilance that trade off against downsides of crowding like disease transmission.</p> <p>Animal ecologists continue examining animal grouping behavior using math <mark class="term" data-term="model" data-term-def="A representation, pattern, or mathematical description that can help scientists replicate a system." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/model/8236">models</mark> and other <mark class="term" data-term="data" data-term-def="(plural form of <b>datum</b>) A collection of pieces of information, generally taking the form of numbers, text, bits, or facts, that&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/data/3729">data</mark> science techniques. Mexican <mark class="term" data-term="pH" data-term-def="A symbol representing a measure of the effective concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution, pH = -log [H<sup>+</sup>]. pH&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/pH/1577">Ph</mark>.D. student Ana Sofía Guerra studied whether modern fishing techniques are changing how fish are schooling. Grouping behaviors evolved to make each individual less likely to be picked out by a predator. However, when the predators are humans fishing with large nets, schools of fish are disadvantaged relative to individual fish that are less likely to be targeted. Guerra’s evolutionary model predicts that selection pressure against schools of fish over time may change behavior away from grouping up as the individuals that go it alone will have higher survival rates. (Guerra et al. 2020).</p></section> <section id="toc2_5"><h3>Fighting back</h3><p>The defensive behavior of animals has been observed for centuries, perhaps because it’s one of the most noticeable aspects of animal behavior. One does not forget an encounter with a defensive opossum, a stinging hornet, or a spitting cobra. Active defenses are as varied as the animals that wield them but can be broadly categorized as biting, poking, clawing, stinging, kicking, choking, gooing, regurgitating, and spraying. Consider the lizard in Figure 8. How is it defending itself?</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12681-22092611090648.jpg" alt="Figure 10: Mexican Plateau horned lizard (Phrynosoma orbiculare) in Mexico." /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 10:</strong> Mexican Plateau horned lizard (Phrynosoma orbiculare) in Mexico.</p> <span class="credit">image ©<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_lizard?oldformat=true#/media/File:Phrynosoma_orbiculare_1.jpg"> CC BY-SA 3.0, Waditalipetit</a> </span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>In an 1892 paper, American ichthyologist (a marine biologist who studies fish) Oliver Perry Hay marveled at the defensive <mark class="term" data-term="liquid" data-term-def="The state of matter characterized by its condensed nature and ability to flow. Unlike gases, molecules within a liquid often experience&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/liquid/8727">liquid</mark> squirting from horned lizard eyes. Hay noted, “a discharge of blood into the eyes of some pursuing bird or snake might so seriously interfere with its clearness of vision that the lizard might make its escape while the enemy was wiping its eyes.” (Hay 1892). The blood-squirting behavior had supposedly been known to indigenous people in pre-Colombian times, and modern herpetologists continue to collect <mark class="term" data-term="observation" data-term-def="1. The act of noticing something. 2. A record of that which has been noticed." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/observation/8255">observations</mark> to make sense of this horned lizard’s behavior. Mexican zoologist Aldo Gómez-Benitez reports from an ecological study in Mexico that juveniles also squirt blood from their sinuses, suggesting it might be a lifetime defensive strategy (Gómez-Benitez 2021).</p> <p>More than a century after Hay’s publication, today’s behavioral ecologists are still discovering defensive secretions in other <mark class="term" data-term="organism" data-term-def="Any connected living system, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium. Organisms may be composed of a single cell or&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/organism/2171">organisms</mark>. For example, Japanese researchers reported that the larvae of net-winged insects (Order Neuroptera) spray a clear liquid from their anal openings when approached by predators. The secretions <mark class="term" data-term="repel" data-term-def="To drive away, to force back, to resist, to ward off." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/repel/8531">repel</mark> biting ants and cause frogs to regurgitate net-winged insects that they have swallowed (Iwanami 2021). Given the negative consequences for the predators, they learn to avoid eating these larvae and, if this selective pressure is applied long enough, may evolve to avoid them instinctively.</p> <div class="comprehension-checkpoint margin-y-4"> <h6 class="comprehension-checkpoint__header"> <span> <span class="icon icon-question"></span> </span> Comprehension Checkpoint </h6> <form class="" name="cc12683"> <div class="form-entry"> <div class="form-entry__field"> <span class="form-entry__field__label">Murres flocking together in the event of an approaching predator is an example of __________.</span> <div class="form-entry__option"> <div class="form-entry__option__radio" data-answer="correct"> <label> <input id="q1-12683-0-option-a" name="quiz-option-12683" type="radio" value="grouping up" > <span class="option__label"> <span class="screen-reader-only">a.</span> grouping up </span> </label> <span class="quiz__response" id="response-12683-0"> <strong>Correct!</strong> </span> </div> <div class="form-entry__option__radio" data-answer="incorrect"> <label> <input id="q1-12683-1-option-b" name="quiz-option-12683" type="radio" value="warning" > <span class="option__label"> <span class="screen-reader-only">b.</span> warning </span> </label> <span class="quiz__response" id="response-12683-1"> <strong>Incorrect.</strong> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </form> </div> </section> <section id="toc_5"> <h2>Facilitation and cooperation</h2><p>While competition and predation are widespread in the Animal Kingdom, survival for some <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark> increases in the presence of others. So, in some circumstances, niche overlap may improve the “biological fitness” (chance of surviving to reproduce) of one or both species.</p> <p>“If you're an animal that hangs out with others, then there's clearly an advantage in being smart enough to <mark class="term" data-term="work" data-term-def="A process that occurs when a force acts over a distance, as when an object is moved. Work equals the multiple&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/work/1502">work</mark> out the intentions of the guy sitting next to you (before he takes your mate or your meal).”</p> <p style="text-align: right;">– American Astronomer Seth Shostak</p> <p>In 2003, American marine ecologist John F. Bruno and colleagues proposed that overlapping niches may not always result in niche partitioning or exclusion. There are occasions of niche overlap that benefit biological fitness. For example, on rocky shorelines, <mark class="term" data-term="dense" data-term-def="Compact, packed close together; having a high mass in relation to volume." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/dense/8273">dense</mark> coverings of seaweed provide refuge for animals like snails. The coverage allows the snails to live higher on rocks than they would otherwise, given the risks of drying out at low tides. The realized niche of the snails is expanded through their association with the seaweed using the same <mark class="term" data-term="habitat" data-term-def="The place or type of environment where a wild plant, animal, or other organism naturally lives or grows." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/habitat/5593">habitat</mark> (Bruno 2003). In this “commensal relationship” (where one species benefits and the other is not affected), the snails benefit, and the seaweed appears unaffected.</p> <p>Examples of such close associations between <mark class="term" data-term="organism" data-term-def="Any connected living system, such as an animal, plant, fungus, or bacterium. Organisms may be composed of a single cell or&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/organism/2171">organisms</mark> (also known as “symbioses”) have been noted by naturalists for centuries. They include “parasitic relationships,” where one species benefits at the expense of another. In Aristotle’s book, History of Animals, he noted that cuckoo birds lay eggs in the nests of other birds who are tricked into raising their offspring (Aristotle 350 B.C.E.). Sometime during its <mark class="term" data-term="evolution" data-term-def="Change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/evolution/5284">evolution</mark>, the cuckoo’s niche expanded to include nests of other birds, then further evolved into a parasitic <mark class="term" data-term="symbiosis" data-term-def="The intimate living together of two dissimilar organisms in a mutually beneficial relationship." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/symbiosis/2184">symbiosis</mark> so complete that cuckoos no longer built nests of their own (see our <a href="https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Biology/2/Adaptation/68">Adaptation</a> module). Still, it’s often difficult to classify a relationship as commensal or parasitic. For example, fish lice that hang out inside dolphin mouths to steal their food scraps, a phenomenon also observed by <mark class="term" data-term="Aristotle" data-term-def="A Greek philosopher born in Stagira (384-322 BCE). He joined Plato's Academy in Athens (then being run by Eudoxus) at the&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/Aristotle/4466">Aristotle</mark>.</p> <p>Who benefits in the image below (Figure 9), the bee or the flower?</p> <div class="figure"> <figure> <button class="lightbox-button lightbox-button--icon" data-lightbox=""> <img src="/img/library/modules/mid283/Image/VLObject-12686-22092611091529.jpg" alt="Figure 11: Bee in a bladderpod (Peritoma arborea) flower." /> </button> <figcaption> <p><strong>Figure 11:</strong> Bee in a bladderpod (Peritoma arborea) flower.</p> <span class="credit">image ©<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfsregion5/3721660514"> CC BY 2.0, Carol Underhill</a> </span> </figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>In Figure 9, the bee benefits from the meal of nectar and <mark class="term" data-term="pollen" data-term-def="Gamete of a flowering plant, similar to sperm cells in mammalian organisms." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/pollen/3295">pollen</mark>, while the flower benefits from the bee carrying pollen to other flowers. The downside of the bee consuming some of the plant’s pollen is outweighed by the bee’s valuable role in pollination. This scenario where both parties benefit (also called a “mutualism”) is a cooperative evolutionary arrangement in which the ecological niche of each <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark> includes the other.</p> <p>Cooperative behavior within a species may also evolve to reduce competition and increase individual fitness. In animals, cooperative behavior within a species is coordinated through social behavior. Whether it’s humans sharing food with neighbors or lions hunting in a <mark class="term" data-term="group" data-term-def="A column of elements in the periodic table." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/group/8566">group</mark>, cooperative behavior may convey long-term benefits that outweigh short-term costs. For example, Swiss biologist Ramona Rauber studied the cooperative behavior of meerkats, which live colonially in southern Africa. Individual meerkats take turns as sentinels who watch for predators while the other meerkats feed. The sentinel meerkat gives up feeding opportunities while on duty but benefits from the vigilance of other sentinels when it’s his turn to eat. Rauber’s <mark class="term" data-term="observation" data-term-def="1. The act of noticing something. 2. A record of that which has been noticed." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/observation/8255">observations</mark> showed that meerkat sentinels coordinate with their group through six different sentinel calls. The sentinels adjust the calls depending on dangers to <mark class="term" data-term="reflect" data-term-def="To change direction in response to hitting a surface; to bounce off in a different direction." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/reflect/8276">reflect</mark> the tradeoff between looking for food and guarding against predators (Rauber 2020).</p> <p>Cooperative behavior also shows up in reproduction. Under certain conditions, animals ranging from insects to fish to birds and mammals may breed cooperatively, sharing in the production and raising of offspring. Belgian evolutionary biologist Serge Aron and colleagues examined the dynamics behind ant queens co-founding a new ant colony. They examined how colonies were co-founded by studying the black garden ant and noting that new ant colonies with one queen have a high rate of failure. The researchers gave ant queens the option of having their own nesting chambers. However, they found that sharing promoted faster development of ant workers, boosting the workforce’s size and protecting against raiding by other ant nests (Aron and Deneubourg 2021). In this example, ant queens with identical ecological niches effectively expanded their resource access by cooperating.</p> <div class="comprehension-checkpoint margin-y-4"> <h6 class="comprehension-checkpoint__header"> <span> <span class="icon icon-question"></span> </span> Comprehension Checkpoint </h6> <form class="" name="cc12688"> <div class="form-entry"> <div class="form-entry__field"> <span class="form-entry__field__label">Which relationship is an example of mutualism?</span> <div class="form-entry__option"> <div class="form-entry__option__radio" data-answer="correct"> <label> <input id="q1-12688-0-option-a" name="quiz-option-12688" type="radio" value="When clownfish take shelter in anemones, the anemones benefit from their feces." > <span class="option__label"> <span class="screen-reader-only">a.</span> When clownfish take shelter in anemones, the anemones benefit from their feces. </span> </label> <span class="quiz__response" id="response-12688-0"> <strong>Correct!</strong> </span> </div> <div class="form-entry__option__radio" data-answer="incorrect"> <label> <input id="q1-12688-1-option-b" name="quiz-option-12688" type="radio" value="When worker ants bring food back to their colony, it benefits their ant queen." > <span class="option__label"> <span class="screen-reader-only">b.</span> When worker ants bring food back to their colony, it benefits their ant queen. </span> </label> <span class="quiz__response" id="response-12688-1"> <strong>Incorrect.</strong> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </form> </div> </section> <section id="toc_6"> <h2>Changing <mark class="term" data-term="habitat" data-term-def="The place or type of environment where a wild plant, animal, or other organism naturally lives or grows." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/habitat/5593">habitats</mark>, shifting niches</h2><p>Animals rely on the specific conditions and resources that define their ecological niches. When the resources and conditions in an animal’s <mark class="term" data-term="environment" data-term-def="The conditions that surround and affect an organism." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/environment/8270">environment</mark> change, its ecological niche requirements may no longer be met in its <mark class="term" data-term="habitat" data-term-def="The place or type of environment where a wild plant, animal, or other organism naturally lives or grows." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/habitat/5593">habitat</mark>. Monarch butterflies have a niche that includes summer <mark class="term" data-term="breeding" data-term-def="The production of offspring; the propagation of plants or animals by sexual means." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/breeding/8291">breeding</mark> grounds in the U.S. and Canada and wintering in the high-altitude fir forests of Mexico. Their cycle of migration between <mark class="term" data-term="habitat" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/habitat" data-term-def="The place or type of environment where a wild plant, animal, or other organism naturally lives or grows.">habitats</mark> is closely tied to <mark class="term" data-term="climate" data-term-def="Climate describes the average and patterns of a particular area’s weather over time. Climate includes such elements as temperature, precipitation, humidity,&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/climate/9334">climate</mark>. However, changing climate has altered the monarchs’ ecological niche by affecting their main food source (milkweed plants), the timing of their migrations, and the seasonality of weather. The result is massive declines in Monarch <mark class="term" data-term="population" data-term-def="In biology, the population is all individuals of a certain kind of plant or animal that live in a particular habitat.&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/population/8283">populations</mark> as their ecological niches become misaligned with available resources (Zylstra 2021). Time will tell if the monarchs are able to adapt by adjusting their migratory patterns.</p> <p>Species are increasingly rescued from habitats too degraded to support their needs through captive rearing programs. Ecological niches are also key to reintroducing these animals to the wild. English biologists Jackie Chappell and Susannah Thorpe studied captive-reared orangutans. In the wild, orangutans live in Asian tropical forests where their ecological feeding niche is fruits that suddenly become available all at once, followed by long <mark class="term" data-term="period" data-term-def="A row of elements in the periodic table." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/period/8565">periods</mark> with none. Thus, orangutans are adapted to travel long distances in search of whichever trees are currently fruiting. The researchers found that raising captive orangutans for release carries the risk of not exposing them to this key aspect of their niche—the fruiting cycles. It’s vital that orangutans understand the cycle of feasting and then famine to which they’ve adapted through fat storage and temporary switches to other foods (Chappell and Thorpe 2021).</p> <p>Ecological niches are shaped by millions of years of <mark class="term" data-term="evolution" data-term-def="Change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/evolution/5284">evolution</mark>. As the environments of monarch butterflies, orangutans, and other <mark class="term" data-term="species" data-term-def="1. In biological classifications, it is the lowest and most basic unit of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (although it is also&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/species/893">species</mark> continue to change, mismatches will continue to emerge between their ecological niches and the available resources. Sudden changes to habitats can be catastrophic because <mark class="term" data-term="adaptation" data-term-def="A change that allows an organism to function better in a particular environment." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/adaptation/8284">adaptation</mark> is a slow <mark class="term" data-term="process" data-term-def="Method, procedure; series of actions or steps." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/process/8256">process</mark> that takes many <mark class="term" data-term="generation" data-term-def="Offspring at the same step in the line of descent from a common ancestor." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/generation/8293">generations</mark>. A species’ variation in behaviors determines whether a particular individual survives to reproduce. That individual variation is the raw material for <mark class="term" data-term="natural selection" data-term-def="The process whereby characteristics that promote survival and reproduction are passed on to future generations, so these characteristics become more frequent&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/natural+selection/11402">natural selection</mark> (see our <a href="https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Biology/2/Adaptation/68">Adaptation</a> module). Ultimately, the behaviors determining an individual’s fitness will depend on its <mark class="term" data-term="gene" data-term-def="Material (usually DNA) that is inherited from a parent and which encodes for a cellular component important for some cellular function." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/gene/3294">genes</mark> and its interactions with the environment it encounters.</p> <p>The sum of individual behaviors directs the <mark class="term" data-term="outcome" data-term-def="Result." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/outcome/8247">outcome</mark> for a species. Whether environments change due to human habitat modifications, harvesting, or global climate change, a species’ collective ability to adjust its ecological niche is key to its survival (see our <a href="https://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Earth-Science/6/Factors-that-Control-Earths-Temperature/234">Factors that <mark class="term" data-term="control" data-term-def="In science, a control is a system for which the expected change or outcome is well known and is measured or&hellip;" data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/control/3801">Control</mark> Earth's Temperature</a> module). Scientists and resource managers are using ecological niche <mark class="term" data-term="model" data-term-def="A representation, pattern, or mathematical description that can help scientists replicate a system." data-term-url="/en/glossary/view/model/8236">models</mark> to understand how habitats are changing and to predict how species may or may not be able to adapt to the changes through shifts in their niches.</p> </div> </section> <hr class="border-color-dark" /> <footer class="module__footer"> <p class="citation"> <em> Devin Reese, PhD. “Animal Ecology” Visionlearning Vol. BIO-5 (8), 2022. </em> </p>  <div class="title-list" id="refs" name="refs"> <p class="h6 title-list__title"> References </p> <ul class="title-list__list"> <li><p></li> <li>Allee, W. C. "Animal Aggregations, a Study in General Sociology. Chicago: Univ." (1931).</li> <li>Aristotle (c. 350 BC). Historia Animalium. IX, 621b-622a. http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/history_anim.9.ix.html</li> <li>Aron, Serge, and Jean-Louis Deneubourg. "Colony co-founding in ants is an active process by queens." <em>Scientific reports</em> 10, no. 1 (2020): 1-7.</li> <li>Bates, Henry Walter. "XXXII. Contributions to an insect fauna of the Amazon Valley. Lepidoptera: Heliconidæ." <em>Transactions of the Linnean Society of London</em> 3 (1862): 495-566.</li> <li>Bruno, John F., John J. Stachowicz, and Mark D. Bertness. "Inclusion of facilitation into ecological theory." <em>Trends in ecology & evolution</em> 18, no. 3 (2003): 119-125.</li> <li>Chappell, J & Thorpe, S, "The role of great ape behavioral ecology in One Health: Implications for captive welfare and re‐habilitation success." <em>American journal of primatology</em> 84, no. 4-5 (2021): e23328</li> <li>Gause, G. F., O. K. Nastukova, and W. W. Alpatov. "The Influence of Biologically Conditioned Media on the Growth of a Mixed Population of Paramecium caudatum and P. aureliax." <em>Journal of Animal Ecology</em> 3, no. 2 (1934): 222-230.</li> <li>Gómez-Benitez, Aldo, Wade C. Sherbrooke, Gisela Granados-González, Gabriel Suárez-Varón, Ailed Pérez-Pérez, Ana Esthela López-Moreno, and Oswaldo Hernández-Gallegos. "Blood-squirt occurrence in the mexican plateau horned lizard (phrynosoma orbiculare)." <em>The Southwestern Naturalist</em> 65, no. 1 (2021): 50-52.</li> <li>Grinnell, Joseph. "The niche-relationships of the California Thrasher." <em>The Auk</em> 34, no. 4 (1917): 427-433.</li> <li>Guerra, Ana Sofia, Albert B. Kao, Douglas J. McCauley, and Andrew M. Berdahl. "Fisheries-induced selection against schooling behaviour in marine fishes." <em>Proceedings of the Royal Society B</em> 287, no. 1935 (2020): 20201752.</li> <li>Hay, Oliver Perry. "On the ejection of blood from the eyes of horned toads." <em>Proceedings of the United States National Museum</em> (1892).</li> <li>Hutchinson, G. Evelyn. "Concluding remarks. population studies: animal ecology and demography." In <em>Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology</em>, vol. 22, pp. 415-427. 1957.</li> <li>Iwanami, Tsukuru, Pei Yu, and Fumio Hayashi. "Defensive spray by a semiaquatic osmylid larva (Insecta: Neuroptera) for both aquatic and terrestrial predators." <em>Journal of Ethology</em> 39, no. 3 (2021): 369-377.</li> <li>MacArthur, Robert H. "Population ecology of some warblers of northeastern coniferous forests." <em>Ecology</em> 39, no. 4 (1958): 599-619.</li> <li>Milholland, Matthew T., Jason P. Shumate, Thomas R. Simpson, and Richard W. Manning. "Nutria (Myocastor coypus) in Big Bend National Park; a non-native species in desert wetlands." <em>Texas Journal of Science</em> 62, no. 3 (2010): 205-222.</li> <li>Rauber, Ramona. Cooperative Sentinel Behaviour and its Vocal Coordination in Meerkats. 2020, University of Zurich, Faculty of Science. https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/200691/</li> <li>Sansom, Alex, Johan Lind, and Will Cresswell. "Individual behavior and survival: the roles of predator avoidance, foraging success, and vigilance." <em>Behavioral Ecology</em> 20, no. 6 (2009): 1168-1174.</li> <li>Segovia, Julio MG, and Stano Pekár. "Relationship between model noxiousness and mimetic accuracy in myrmecomorphic spiders." <em>Evolutionary Ecology</em> 35, no. 5 (2021): 657-668.</li> <li>Segovia, Júlio MG, Gabriel P. Murayama, and Nathalia G. Ximenes. "Harvestmen are fearful in the light but not the darkness." <em>The Journal of Arachnology</em> 47, no. 3 (2019): 396-398.</li> <li>Sheffels, Trevor Robert. "Status of Nutria (Myocastor coypus) populations in the pacific northwest and development of associated control and management strategies, with an emphasis on metropolitan habitats." PhD diss., Portland State University, 2013.</li> <li>Torretta, Elisa, Luca Riboldi, Elena Costa, Claudio Delfoco, Erica Frignani, and Alberto Meriggi. "Niche partitioning between sympatric wild canids: the case of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in north-eastern Italy." <em>BMC ecology and evolution</em> 21, no. 1 (2021): 1-15.</li> <li>Verdasca, Maria João, Luisa Carvalheiro, Jesus Aguirre Gutierrez, José Pedro Granadeiro, Quentin Rome, Sebastien J. Puechmaille, Rui Rebelo, and Hugo Rebelo. "Contrasting patterns from two invasion fronts suggest a niche shift of an invasive predator of native bees." <em>PeerJ</em> 10 (2022): e13269.</li> <li>Zylstra, Erin R., Leslie Ries, Naresh Neupane, Sarah P. Saunders, M. Isabel Ramírez, Eduardo Rendón-Salinas, Karen S. Oberhauser, Matthew T. Farr, and Elise F. Zipkin. "Changes in climate drive recent monarch butterfly dynamics." <em>Nature Ecology & Evolution</em> 5, no. 10 (2021): 1441-1452.</li> </ul> </div>  <div class="title-list" name="further"> <p class="h6 title-list__title"> Further Reading </p> <ul class="grid grid--column-2--md grid--column-3--md gap-1"> <li> <a class="no-hover-focus height-100" href="/en/library/Earth-Science/6/Factors-that-Control-Earths-Temperature/234"> <article class="flex-row align-items-center flex-column--md align-items-start--md height-100 theme-light padding-2 gap-2"> <div class="width-30 width-auto--md"> <img class="border-radius box-shadow-1" src="/img/library/moduleImages/featured_image_234-23061209065932.jpeg" alt="Factors that Control Earth's Temperature"> </div> <div class="flex-grow-shrink"> <h2 class="h6 font-weight-normal"> Factors that Control Earth's Temperature: <em>Energy from the sun and greenhouse gases</em> </h2> </div> </article> </a> </li> <li> <a class="no-hover-focus height-100" href="/en/library/Biology/2/Adaptation/68"> <article class="flex-row align-items-center flex-column--md align-items-start--md height-100 theme-light padding-2 gap-2"> <div class="width-30 width-auto--md"> <img class="border-radius box-shadow-1" src="/img/library/moduleImages/featured_image_68-23061209063221.jpeg" alt="Adaptation"> </div> <div class="flex-grow-shrink"> <h2 class="h6 font-weight-normal"> Adaptation: <em>The case of penguins</em> </h2> </div> </article> </a> </li> <li> <a class="no-hover-focus height-100" href="/en/library/Biology/2/Taxonomy-II/89"> <article class="flex-row align-items-center flex-column--md align-items-start--md height-100 theme-light padding-2 gap-2"> <div class="width-30 width-auto--md"> <img class="border-radius box-shadow-1" src="/img/library/moduleImages/featured_image_89-23061209063234.jpg" alt="Taxonomy II"> </div> <div class="flex-grow-shrink"> <h2 class="h6 font-weight-normal"> Taxonomy II: <em>Nomenclature</em> </h2> </div> </article> </a> </li> <li> <a class="no-hover-focus height-100" href="/en/library/Biology/2/Taxonomy-I/70"> <article class="flex-row align-items-center flex-column--md align-items-start--md height-100 theme-light padding-2 gap-2"> <div class="width-30 width-auto--md"> <img class="border-radius box-shadow-1" src="/img/library/moduleImages/featured_image_70-23061209063247.jpg" alt="Taxonomy I"> </div> <div class="flex-grow-shrink"> <h2 class="h6 font-weight-normal"> Taxonomy I: <em>What's in a name?</em> </h2> </div> </article> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </footer> </div>   </div>  <div class="order-1 order-2--lg module__tools"> <div class="narrow margin-x-auto position-sticky-top font-size-md"> <div class="padding-2 border-radius box-shadow-1--lg"> <div class="tabs" role="tablist"> <nav> <button class="button button--icon-label" id="tab-button-in-this-module" aria-label="Table of Contents" aria-controls="tab-panel-module__tools" aria-selected="true" role="tab"> <span class="icon icon-list" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="button__text">Contents</span> </button> <button class="button button--icon-label" id="tab-button-toggle-terms" aria-controls="tab-panel-toggle-terms" aria-selected="false" role="tab"> <span class="icon icon-glossary-highlight"></span> <span class="button__text">Glossary Terms</span> </button> </nav> <hr class="divider" /> <div class="tabs__panel shown" id="tab-panel-module__tools" aria-labelledby="tab-button-module__tools" role="tabpanel"> <p class="font-weight-bold margin-bottom-1"> Table of Contents </p> <div class="table-of-contents" id="module-toc"> <ul> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc_1">The ecological niche concept</a> </li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc_2">Competition</a> </li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc_3">Food</a> </li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc_4">Predation</a> </li> <li> <ul> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc2_1">Avoidance</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <ul> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc2_2">Hiding and showing</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <ul> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc2_3">Warning</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <ul> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc2_4">Grouping up</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <ul> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc2_5">Fighting back</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc_5">Facilitation and cooperation</a> </li> <li><a href="/en/library/biology/2/animal-ecology/283#toc_6">Changing habitats, shifting niches</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div>   <div class="tabs__panel" id="tab-panel-toggle-terms" aria-labelledby="tab-button-toggle-terms" role="tabpanel"> <div class="reading-toggle"> <div class="reading-toggle__switch"> <div class="form-entry__option__switch"> <label> <input type="checkbox" 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Once highlighted, you can click on these terms to view their definitions. </em> </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="tabs__panel" id="tab-panel-toggle-ngss" aria-labelledby="tab-button-toggle-ngss" role="tabpanel"> <div class="reading-toggle"> <div class="reading-toggle__switch"> <div class="form-entry__option__switch"> <label> <input type="checkbox" name="ngssToggleSwitch" id="ngss-toggle-switch" /> <span class="switch__slider"></span> <span class="option__label text-decoration-none font-size-md"> Show NGSS Annotations </span> </label> </div> </div> <div class="reading-toggle__help"> <p> <em> Activate NGSS annotations to easily identify NGSS standards within the module. 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