Question

What is a fundamental niche?

Answer 1

An environment or a habitat in which an organism lives with respect to the ecosystem is called its niche. It is created by the physical, structural and behavioural modifications induced in the organism due to evolution.

Complete answer
In an ecosystem, every organism has some task that is exhibited by them through their life cycles. Such a role of the organism in an ecosystem is called its niche. Niche is affected by two factors:
Biotic factors: These are the living factors of the ecosystem that is plants, animals, etc.
Abiotic factors: These are the nonliving factors of the ecosystem, that is water, weather, etc.
Hutchinson, a biologist, on the basis of the ecological interactions has classified niches into fundamental and realized niches.
A fundamental niche is an ideal or hypothetical condition in which competition organism is absent. However, this hypothetical condition also includes a set of factors that is, species, population, etc. used by the organism to survive and reproduce that maintain the species population.
Realized niche is the actual environment in which an organism lives along with the competition organism. Here, unlike the latter factors like species, the population are actually involved in designing the niche.
Sparrows in a forest can be considered an example of a fundamental niche such that they feed on the berries. So, they cover the whole of the berry trees and surrounding the ground in order to consume the berries, thereby growing enormously around the berry trees and forming a fundamental niche.

Note:
Fundamental niche is helpful in ranking the organism in a food web and trophic chains as it is an ideal condition. It emphasises on the usage of entire environmental conditions by the species to promote its growth despite the limiting factors.