The concept of 'Ecological niche' was first introduced by:

Correct option is A

The concept of the 'Ecological niche' was first introduced by J. Grinnell in 1917. Grinnell defined the ecological niche as the role of an organism within its environment, including its habitat, the resources it uses, and its interactions with other organisms. He emphasized the role of species in relation to their environment, such as the physical space they occupy and their behavior.

This concept is foundational in ecology because it explains how different species occupy specific roles in ecosystems and how they interact with both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components of their environment.

Information Booster:

• Ecological Niche: An ecological niche refers to the specific role or function of an organism or species within its environment. This includes its habitat (where it lives), its resource utilization (what it eats, how it gets food), and how it interacts with other species (such as competitors, predators, or prey). In essence, the niche describes how an organism survives, grows, and reproduces within its environment.

  An important distinction is made between the habitat and the niche:

  • The habitat is simply the physical location where an organism lives.

  • The niche, on the other hand, is a broader concept that includes not just the location but the organism’s interactions with the environment—its role, resource use, and relationships with other species in the ecosystem.

• J. Grinnell first proposed the concept of the ecological niche to describe the functional position of an organism within its environment. Grinnell's view was that the ecological niche was defined by the physical space an organism occupies and its interaction with other organisms. He focused on how species utilize specific resources in their environment (e.g., food, shelter) and how they coexist within an ecosystem. His work laid the foundation for understanding the dynamics of species distribution and how ecological factors influence the survival of species.

Additional Knowledge:

• Haeckel (Option b) was a famous biologist and philosopher, known for coining the term "ecology," but not the ecological niche concept.

• Odum (Option c) was a significant figure in ecology and contributed extensively to the study of ecosystems, but he was not the one who introduced the concept of ecological niche.

• Macfadyen (Option d) was a British ecologist, known for his work in studying energy flow in ecosystems, but again, he did not introduce the ecological niche concept.