I have a project due and it asks for the ecological niche of a mallard. What does that mean? I thought it was reasoning for why the animal is so successful, but after reading the bio online definition for ecological niche, I got confused. Please help and examples would help too.
Perhaps it would help to know what definition threw you off, that way someone could help clarify it.
But anyways a niche is the role of a species in an environment that no other species could play.
Some other example of niches are the bee and how it pollinates flowers. How squirrels bury acorns. These animals benefits flower and trees.
Some other examples of niches are wolves reducing the rabbit and deer population. Mallard eat algae and smaller species of fish, keeping their population in check, and they also serve as food for predators, like bears and foxes.