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:
“And ladies with their nails prepared for tea
And sunken barques that coast the shores of hell
And old men vacant of propriety
Have faintly rung a next-door neighbor’s bell.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“You’re neither unnatural, nor abominable, nor mad; you’re as much a part of what people call nature as anyone else; only you’re unexplained as yet—you’ve not got your niche in creation.”
—Radclyffe Hall (1883–1943)