niches?

[nova707]

Is it possible for two organisms of different kingdoms or domains to occupy and compete for the same niche? for example an animal vs plant or a bacteria for a fungus?

[plasmodesmata11]

I would bet that if you looked into it a bit, you could find examples of plants and fungi competing... specifically algae and lower fungi (chytridiomycetes and zygomycetes)

[nova707]

I see. one of the only senarios i could imagine is 2 low level decomposers, one a bacteria and the other a fungi competing for dead organic material on a log lets say. thoughts?

[plasmodesmata11]

that's a very good thought as well. as to specific species, I could not say, but there is definitely something out there. That seems even better to look into, I think, than algae and fungi.

[Endangered]

I'd say yes and it likely happens all the time. When you bring competition into the subject, you open up a very large can of worms. "Competition is a paradigm within Ecology" was beaten into our heads in school.

Think about corals competing for light and space on the reef with sponges, soft corals, bivalves and algae. Different kingdoms, phylums and orders all occupying and competing in the same space for the same or similar resources.