Ecology 5th Edition by Manuel Molles

Exercise 12

Researchers have characterized the niches of Galápagos finches by beak size (which correlates with diet) and the niches of salt marsh grasses by position in the intertidal zone. How would you characterize the niches of sympatric canid species such as red fox, coyote, and wolf in North America? Or felids such as ocelots, pumas, and jaguars in South America? What characteristics or environmental features do you think would be useful for representing the niches of desert plants? Or the plants in temperate forest or prairie?