NICHE
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2287 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
- “That part of the actual environment relevant to the unit's survival (i.e. its continued organizational closure without desintegrationR. HARNDEN \term,{ 1990, p.299). He writes: ”… niche has to be separated out from}environment in the sameprocess that structuredmechanisms relevant tosurvival become visible in terms of theobserver … the first step in handling anycomplexity is to reduce the generalnoise of the totalenvironment \term.{ Indeed, that is precisely how perceptual and}cognitive processes function e.g.gestalt “ p.300.
In short, the niche is the specific sector in the general environment wherefrom the basic determinisms of the system do emerge. J.J. GIBSON distinguishes clearly “habitat”, from “niche”: “A niche refers more to how an animal lives than to where it lives. I suggest that a niche is a set of affordances” (1986, p.128).
In a more specific way and, somewhat surprisingly, giving to the term quite an active sense, the Template:Iesc entity — Template:Iesc entity “Glossary of environmental education terms” defines the ecological niche as follows: “The role, status and position of a species in the environment, its activities and relationships to the biotic and abiotic environment” (1983, p.9).
S. MARTINEZ observes: “… what is important is the extent to which any growth niche is linked and in what ways to others by invasion, exchange, or incorporation, perhaps even a random encounter” (1993, p.401).
Niches are not static since its occupants — plants, animals and also human populations, trades, products, techniques or concepts — cross-fertilize, evolve and co-evolve.
Clearly, “niche” is more an ethological than an ecological concept, even if both are interdependent.