1.   Ecological theory holds that no two species can occupy exactly the same niche.

2.   The majority were arboreal frugivores occupying much the same niche as equivalent-sized monkeys today.

3.   Several other companies are aimed at the same niche, including General Interactive in Cambridge, Mass., Brightware Inc. in Novato, and Mustang Software in Bakersfield.

4.   The whole reason the talks began is the common feeling there are two companies fighting for the same niche.

5.   Things are much the same in the Hudson River Valley in New York, where hunters and the rusticating well-to-do uneasily share the same ecological niche.

6.   This is the same niche that Gallo is increasingly going after with Gallo Sonoma and other less identifiable brands.