I would like to know what the Komodo Dragon’s Niche is. It’s part of my ecology project and I haven’t found much on what its niche (The ecological role and space that an organism fills in an ecosystem) would be. If you could either go into as much detail as possible or provide a link to a website I would really appreciate it! Thanks!
It’s a large carnivore on fairly small islands. A similarly sized mammal would have problems finding enough to eat, but overgrown monitor lizards have much lower food requirements. Besides, humans kindly introduced goats to the islands, and the Komodo dragons have developed a fondness for goats.
The lizards are diurnal, scavenging, ambush predators. Juveniles are arboreal until growth limits their ability to climb. In consuming carrion the komodo dragons accumulate oral bacteria they in turn use as a weapon in bringing down prey. They ambush an animal and deliver bacteria with a bite. They then wait for infection to begin. They persist in following and delivering further bites so the prey’s immune system is overwhelmed.http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/ac…