The issue of what exactly defines a vacant niche and whether they exist in ecosystems is controversial. The subject is intimately tied into a much broader debate on whether ecosystems can reach equilibrium, where they could theoretically become maximally saturated with species. Given that saturation is a measure of the number of species per resource axis per ecosystem, the question becomes: is it useful to define unused resource clusters as niche 'vacancies'?
Read more about Vacant Niche: History of The Concept, Definitions, Potential Causes of Vacant Niches, Demonstration of Vacant Niches, Consequences of The Nonsaturation of Niche Space, Relative Frequency of Vacant Niches in Various Groups of Animals and Plants, Criticisms of The Concept
Famous quotes containing the words vacant and/or niche:
“Wipe your hand across your mouth, and laugh;
The worlds revolve like ancient women
Gathering fuel in vacant lots.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“They sat together halfway up a cliff
In a small niche let into it, the girl
Brightly, as if a star played on the place,
Paul darkly, like her shadow.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)