Reconsidering the Hutchinsonian niche
Keywords:
competition, dispersal, interspecific interactions, fundamental niche, mutualism, realized nicheAbstract
The niche is a central concept in ecology. However, it has been difficult to achieve a clear and general definition. One historically important and currently influential definition is the one proposed by G. E. Hutchinson. In spite of its importance, this definition also presents several limitations, particularly its connection to the idea of interspecific competition. This connection between niche and competition has remained until present, hindering the evolution of a more general, less ambiguous concept. In this article I suggest several modifications to Hutchinson’s original concept, which I believe might help to mitigate some of its limitations.
References
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POLIS, GA & RD HOLT. 1992. Intraguild predation: the dynamics of complex trophic interactions. Trends In Ecology & Evolution 7:151-154.
POLIS, GA; CA MYERS & RD HOLT. 1989. The ecology and evolution of intraguild predation: potential competitors that eat each other. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 20:297-330.
PULLIAM, HR. 2000. On the relationship between niche and distribution. Ecology Letters 3:349-361.
RATHCKE, B. 1983. Competition and facilitiation among plants for pollination. Pp. 305-329 en: L Real (ed.). Pollination biology. Academic Press, London.
SCHOENER, TW. 1989. The ecological niche. Pp. 79- 113 en: JM Cherrett (ed.). Ecological concepts: the contribution of ecology to an understanding of the natural world. Blackwell. Oxford, UK.
THOMPSON, JN & BM CUNNINGHAM. 2002. Geographic structure and dynamics of coevolutionary selection. Nature 417:735-738.
VANDERMEER, JH. 1972. Niche theory. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 3:107-132.
WHITTAKER, RH; SA LEVIN & RB ROOT. 1973. Niche, habitat, and ecotope. American Naturalist 107:321- 338.
ARIM, M & PA MARQUET. 2004. Intraguild predation: a widespread interaction related to species biology. Ecology Letters 7:557-564.
AUSTIN, MP. 1999. A silent clash of paradigms: some inconsistencies in community ecology. Oikos 86:170-178.
BERRYMAN, AA. 2003. On principles, laws and theory in population ecology. Oikos 103:695-701.
BOUCHER, DH. 1985. The biology of mutualism: ecology and evolution. Oxford University Press. BRONSTEIN, JL. 1994. Our current understanding of mutualism. Quarterly Review of Biology 69:31-51.
BRUNO, JF; JJ STACHOWICZ & MD BERTNESS. 2003. Inclusion of facilitation into ecological theory. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 18:119-125.
CHASE, JM & MA LEIBOLD. 2003. Ecological niches: linking classical and contemporary approaches. University of Chicago Press.
COLWELL, RK. 1992. The niche: environmental or population attribute? Pp. 241-248 en: E Fox-Keller & EA Lloyd (eds.). Keywords in evolutionary biology. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
ELTON, C. 1927. Animal ecology. Sidgwick & Jackson. London.
FEINSINGER, P. 1987. Effects of plant species on each other’s pollination: is community structure influenced? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 2:123-126.
GRIESEMER, JR. 1992. Niche: historical perspectives. Pp. 231-240 en: E Fox-Keller & EA Lloyd (eds.). Keywords in evolutionary biology. Harvard University Press.
GRINNELL, J. 1917. The niche-relationship of the California Thrasher. Auk 34:427-433.
GRINNELL, J. 1924. Geography and evolution. Ecology 5:225-229.
HASTINGS, A. 1996. Population biology: concepts and models. Springer. New York.
HIXON, MA; SW PACALA & SA SANDIN. 2002. Population regulation: historical context and contemporary challenges of open vs. closed systems. Ecology 83:1490-1508.
HOLT, RD & GA POLIS. 1997. A theoretical framework for intraguild predation. American Naturalist 149:745-764.
HUTCHINSON, GE. 1957. Concluding remarks. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology 22:415-427.
JACKSON, ST & JT OVERPECK. 2000. Responses of plant populations and communities to environmental changes of the late Quaternary. Paleobiology 26:194-220.
LAKATOS, I. 1970. Falsification and the methodology of scientific research programmes. Pp. 91-196 en: I Lakatos & A Musgrave (eds.). Criticism and the growth of knowledge. Cambridge University Press. LEIBOLD, MA. 1995. The niche concept revisited: mechanistic models and community context. Ecology 76:1371-1382.
LEIBOLD, MA & P GEDDES. 2005. El concepto de nicho en las metacomunidades. Ecología Austral 15:117- 129.
LEIBOLD, MA; M HOLYOAK; N MOUQUET; P AMARASEKARE; JM CHASE ET AL. 2004. The meta-community concept: a framework for multi-scale community ecology. Ecology Letters 7:601-613.
LEVINE, JM. 1999. Indirect facilitation: evidence and predictions from a riparian community. Ecology 80:1762-1769.
MACARTHUR, R. 1968. The theory of the niche. Pp 159-176 en: RC Lewontin (ed.). Population biology and evolution. Syracuse University Press. Syracuse, New York.
MACARTHUR, R & R LEVINS. 1967. The limiting similarity, convergence, and divergence of coexisting species. American Naturalist 101:377- 385.
MAGUIRE, B JR. 1973. Niche response structure and the analytical potentials of its relationship to the habitat. American Naturalist 107:213-246.
MAY, RM & R MACARTHUR. 1972. Niche overlap as a function of environmental variability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 69:1109-1113.
MILESI, FA & J LOPEZ DE CASENAVE. 2005. El concepto de nicho en Ecología aplicada: del nicho al hecho hay mucho trecho. Ecología Austral 15:131-148.
MOELLER, DA. 2004. Facilitative interactions among plants via shared pollinators. Ecology 85:3289-3301.
ODLING-SMEE, FJ; KN LALAND & MW FELDMAN. 1996. Niche construction. American Naturalist 147:641- 648.
ODLING-SMEE, FJ; KN LALAND & MW FELDMAN. 2003. Niche construction: the neglected process in evolution. Princeton University Press. Princeton, NJ.
POLIS, GA & RD HOLT. 1992. Intraguild predation: the dynamics of complex trophic interactions. Trends In Ecology & Evolution 7:151-154.
POLIS, GA; CA MYERS & RD HOLT. 1989. The ecology and evolution of intraguild predation: potential competitors that eat each other. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 20:297-330.
PULLIAM, HR. 2000. On the relationship between niche and distribution. Ecology Letters 3:349-361.
RATHCKE, B. 1983. Competition and facilitiation among plants for pollination. Pp. 305-329 en: L Real (ed.). Pollination biology. Academic Press, London.
SCHOENER, TW. 1989. The ecological niche. Pp. 79- 113 en: JM Cherrett (ed.). Ecological concepts: the contribution of ecology to an understanding of the natural world. Blackwell. Oxford, UK.
THOMPSON, JN & BM CUNNINGHAM. 2002. Geographic structure and dynamics of coevolutionary selection. Nature 417:735-738.
VANDERMEER, JH. 1972. Niche theory. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 3:107-132.
WHITTAKER, RH; SA LEVIN & RB ROOT. 1973. Niche, habitat, and ecotope. American Naturalist 107:321- 338.
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Published
2005-12-01
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Vázquez, D. P. (2005). Reconsidering the Hutchinsonian niche. Ecología Austral, 15(2), 149–158. Retrieved from https://ojs.ecologiaaustral.com.ar/index.php/Ecologia_Austral/article/view/1462
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