# Ecological Niche > **Machine-Evolution Nexus:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] places this node within the history and governance of substrate-independent evolution. **Domain:** Ecology / Evolution **Doc Type:** Canonical Wiki Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition An ecological niche is the set of environmental conditions, resources and interactions through which a population persists and affects its surroundings. ## Nexus Context Tierra and Avida show niches can be computational: access to code, memory, processor time and neighboring organisms creates exploitable roles. ## Evidence Boundary A niche is relational rather than a mere location. Designers shape possible niches by setting interfaces, resource flows and permissions. ## Relationships [[wiki/Artificial Ecology|Artificial Ecology]], [[wiki/Niche Construction|Niche Construction]], [[wiki/Resource Constraint|Resource Constraint]], [[wiki/Adaptive Radiation|Adaptive Radiation]] ## Sources / Provenance - Hutchinson’s niche concept; modern ecology.