In ecology, a niche differs from habitat because a niche refers to

• A. The physical environment where the species lives.
• B. The geographic distribution of a species.
• C. The functional role and resource use of a species.
• D. The evolutionary history of a species.

Answer: (C)

Think about what an organism does in its ecosystem. A niche is its functional role and resource use—what it eats or how it gets energy, how it interacts with other species (competition, predation, symbiosis), and how it fits into the ecosystem’s processes. It’s about how the species lives and makes a living within its community.

The habitat, by contrast, is the physical place where it lives—the environment’s conditions like temperature, moisture, vegetation, and terrain.

So, the statement that a niche refers to the functional role and resource use of a species captures the idea of how it operates in the ecosystem, not just where it lives or where it is found.