Meaning & use
niche construction
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnicalbiology
The process by which living things change their surroundings, and so change the pressures that later shape their own evolution.
Grammar: Used as a mass noun: 'Niche construction can affect many generations.' Do not add 'a' or a plural -s.
Patterns
- niche construction by something
- the effects of niche construction
- niche construction in a species
Beavers build dams, a classic example of niche construction that alters the whole wetland.
The course explains how niche construction can feed back into natural selection.
Researchers study niche construction to understand why some traits persist even when they seem costly.
nouncountabletechnicalbiology
A specific case or instance in which an organism modifies its environment in this way.
Grammar: In this countable use it can take 'a' and a plural: 'Earthworm burrows are niche constructions.'
Patterns
- a niche construction
- several niche constructions
Earthworm burrows are niche constructions that change how water moves through the soil.
The paper describes several niche constructions found in coral reef fish.
Each niche construction leaves a physical record that scientists can measure.
Common combinations
- niche construction theory
- Niche construction theory argues that organisms are not just passive products of their environment.
- the concept of niche construction
- The concept of niche construction was developed to explain co-evolution between organisms and their surroundings.
- niche construction in humans
- Farming is often cited as an example of niche construction in humans.
- evidence for niche construction
- There is strong evidence for niche construction in many animal species.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ecosystem engineering
- This is a related but narrower idea: it focuses on physical changes to the environment, while niche construction also includes the evolutionary feedback.
- environmental modification
- A general phrase that means changing surroundings; it does not carry the specific evolutionary meaning of niche construction.
Word family
- niche noun
- The role or position of a species within an ecosystem.
- construct verb
- To build or make something by putting parts together.
- construction noun
- The act or process of building something.
Commonly confused: niche construction or niche market?
niche construction vs niche market
In business, a niche market is a small, specialized group of customers; it has nothing to do with biology.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'niche construction' correctly in its biological sense?
Choose one answer.
Option 1 correctly describes the biological process. Option 0 confuses it with 'niche market', option 2 misreads 'niche' as 'small-scale', and option 3 is wrong because the main sense is uncountable and takes a singular verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “niche construction”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.