Niche construction is the process in which an organism alters its own environment in order to increase its chance of survival. Traditionally, niche construction has been viewed as simply being an aspect of the organism's phenotype, and not having any special role in evolution. However, recently several biologists have argued that niche selection is as important to evolution as natural selection; not only does the environment cause changes in species, but species also cause changes in their environment. The effect of niche construction may be especially pronounced in situations where the alterations persist for several generations, introducing ecological inheritance.

Organisms that exhibit niche construction

• Humans: capital accumulation
• Earthworms: Alter the chemical and mechanical properties of the soil in which they live
• Beavers: Construction of dams

External links

• http://www.nicheconstruction.com/
• Day RL, Laland KN, Odling-Smee FJ Perspect Biol Med. 46:80-95 (2003) Rethinking adaptation: the niche-construction perspective (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12582272)
• Laland K. N., Odling-Smee J. & Feldman M. W. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 96, 10242-10247 (199). Evolutionary consequences of niche construction and their implications for ecology (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/18/10242)