In a forest community, a shelf fungus and a slug live on the side of a decaying tree trunk. The fungus digests and absorbs materials from the tree, while the slug eats algae growing on the outside of the trunk. These organisms do not compete with one another because they occupy

A. the same habitat, but different niches
B. the same niche, but different habitats
C. the same niche and the same habitat
D. different habitats and different niches

The shelf fungus and slug in the forest community do not compete with each other as they have the same habitat, but different niches. Thus, option A is correct.

What are habitat and niche?

Habitat is defined as the place where the species resides while the niche is the role of the specific organisms or the species in that particular habitat or environment. The niche includes the impact of the species on the habitat.

The shelf fungus and the slug both live on the side of the tree and hence have the same habitat but the fungus takes minerals from the tree and the slug from the algae making them differ in the niche.

Therefore, the fungus and slug have the same habitat but different niches.

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