Two different species of blackbird both breed in marshland habitats. Male red-winged blackbirds set up territories in the marshland early in the Spring. As the season progresses, the more aggressive tri-colour blackbirds move in and take over the best territories and force the red-winged blackbirds to choose the leftover habitats.The entire marshland is BEST defined as the red winged blackbird’s:

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The question describes two blackbird species with overlapping habitats, where one species (tri-colour) excludes the other from the best territories. It then asks how the entire marshland is BEST defined for the red-winged blackbird.
Option a: 'realised niche.' A realised niche is the portion of the fundamental niche that a species actually occupies due to interactions like competition and predation. Since the red-winged blackbird is being forced into the leftover habitats by the more aggressive tri-colour blackbirds, the space it actually uses is smaller than its potential full range. This makes option a incorrect in this context.
Option b: 'ecological niche.' An ecological niche is a general term for the role or position of a species within an ecosystem, including its use of resources and interactions. While accurate as a broad concept, it is not the specific term describing the red-winged blackbird’s full potential habitat in this competitive scenario. Therefore, option b is not the best choice here.
Option c: 'fundamental niche.' The fundamental niche represents the entire set of environmental conditions under which a species can survive and reproduce, absent interspecific competition. In the scenario, the marshland as a whole constitutes the red-winged blackbird’s fundamental niche, since it includes all possible habitats the species could utilize if competition were not eliminating some territories. This is the correct interpretation.
Option d: 'niche.' This is a generic term for the role of a species in an ecosystem and lacks the specificity needed here. It does not distinguish between potential and actual space usage, so it’s too broad to be the best answer for defining the marshland in this context.

BIO1022 CL S2 2025 On Campus Test 2

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