A Fundamental Niche

Question

A fundamental niche
A) is always the same as a realized niche.
B) can only be altered if excess food is available to an organism.
C) is often not realized because no one species has exclusive access to all the resources within its fundamental niche.
D) is unrestricted by species-species interactions.

Accepted Answer

A fundamental niche represents the full range of environmental conditions and resources an organism can theoretically use, while the realized niche is the portion of the fundamental niche that the organism actually occupies, often limited by competition and other species interactions.