Biological Sciences
Types of Habitats
Habitats are the natural environments where specific organisms live. There are various types of habitats, including terrestrial (land-based), aquatic (water-based), and aerial (air-based) habitats. Terrestrial habitats can further be classified into forests, grasslands, deserts, and tundra, while aquatic habitats include freshwater and marine ecosystems. Each type of habitat supports different communities of plants and animals.
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10 Key excerpts on "Types of Habitats"
eBook - PDF- Andrew S. Pullin(Author)
- 2002(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
The study of the spatial distribution of species and habitats has led to the classification of the environments or ecosystem types we have on our planet in terms of the flora and fauna that prevail in them. This is most developed for terrestrial environments, but applies to aquatic ones as well. In this chapter we briefly review major world ecosystems. Brief descriptions are given of the prevailing environmental factors, the way these shape the communities, and how the organisms that live there have evolved to cope with the prevailing conditions. The descrip-tions given are, as far as is possible, of the natural systems before human influence, although in some cases it is not entirely clear what these would have been (see Chapter 3). Terrestrial environments Terrestrial environments are often divided into biomes, distinguishable on the basis of their prevailing climate and dominant vegetation (Fig. 2.2). Differences in climate are predominantly related to the uneven heating of the earth’s surface by the sun. These differences in turn influence the type of vegetation that develops. The following descriptions are based on the biome concept but no attempt is made to subdivide these zones to the extent that Holdridge (1967) has done (see Box 2.1). We are going to take a imaginary journey from the polar regions to the tropics, considering each major ecosystem in turn and how it contrasts with its neighbours. The polar environment This environment is included for completeness although, in reality, the climate is so extreme that very few terrestrial organisms can persist and no true terrestrial ecosystem exists. The North Pole is not a truly terres-trial environment since it is not a land mass, but frozen seawater. The 20 MAJOR WORLD ECOSYSTEMS Energy input as solar radiation Primary producers Primary consumers Decomposers Secondary consumers Decomposers Tertiary consumers Decomposers Decomposers Energy lost to surroundings as heat Energy lost to surroundings as heat Fig.
eBook - PDF- Jonah, T Z(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Agri Horti Press(Publisher)
Each subregion is as unique as it can be compared with all other subregions. LIFE AND THE ENVIRONMENT Life is adapted to nearly all Earth surface environments: • Places to live • Climatic constraints on living • Other physical constraints on living • Ways of living Individuals, species, and populations, both marine and terrestrial, tend to live in particular places. These places are called habitats. Each habitat is characterized by a specific set of environmental conditions—radiation and light, temperature, moisture, wind, fire frequency and intensity, gravity, salinity, currents, topography, soil, substrate, geomorphology, human disturbance, and so forth. A PLACE TO LIVE: HABITATS Habitats come in all shapes and sizes, occupying the full sweep of geographical scales. They range from small (microhabitats), through medium (mesohabitats) and large (macrohabitats), to very large (megahabitats). Microhabitats are a few square centimetres to a few square metres in area. They include leaves, the soil, lake bottoms, sandy beaches, talus slopes, walls, river banks, and paths. Mesohabitats have areas up to about 10,000 km 2 ; that is, a 100×100 kilometre square, which is about the size of Cheshire, England. Each main mesohabitat is influenced by the same regional climate, by similar features of geomorphology and soils, and by a similar set of disturbance regimes. Deciduous woodland, caves, and streams are examples. Macrohabitats have areas up to about 1,000,000 km 2 , which is about the size of Ireland. Megahabitats are regions more than 1,000,000 km 2 in extent. They include continents and the entire land surface of the Earth. This ebook is exclusively for this university only. Cannot be resold/distributed. Biogeography 267 Landscape ecologists, who have an express interest in the geographical dimension of ecosystems, recognize three levels of ‘habitat’—region, landscape, and landscape element. These correspond to large-scale, medium-scale, and small-scale habitats.
eBook - PDFEcology
Principles and Applications
- J. L. Chapman, M. J. Reiss(Authors)
- 1998(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Whether or not an organism can survive at all stages of its life in a particular environment is therefore of considerable importance in determining the distribution within habitats and the overall global range of individual species. Figure 9.2 summarises the complex interactions between the abiotic and biotic environments of an organism. Investigations of the components of the environ- ment and the responses of organisms play a crucial part in ecological study as they add to our under- standing of both the distribution of species and the structure of communities. 9.2 The physical environment 9.2.1 The composition of the physical environment The physical or abiotic environment experienced by an organism depends on several factors: geology (rock and soil types); topography (landscape); world location (latitudinal light and temperature varia- tions); climate and weather; and catastrophes (fire, earthquakes etc.). Some of these factors such as the geology and topography of an area are relatively sta- ble; they may be different at different places, but at any one site they will remain constant for periods of time much longer than the life of the organisms living there. Other factors, such as atmospheric con- ditions including humidity, wind speed, temperature and sunlight, will be very variable at one locality from one day or year to the next. Such abiotic factors will also change throughout the day and night, so that an organism, however short its life span, will have to live through changes in the environment. 9.2.2 Geology and soil The different rock types which form the geology of an area are the product of many long and complicated processes. These include the effects of the movements of whole continents by a process called plate tecton- ics (see Section 18.2), igneous activity such as volcanos, the accumulation of sediments and erosion of rocks. Figure 9.3 shows how complex the pattern produced by these processes can be.
No longer available |Learn more- James Petersen, Dorothy Sack, Robert Gabler(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
These factors produce varying microenvironments, each suitable for different vegetation species. Tim Rains/NPS Photo Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. C H A P T E R 1 1 • B I O G E O G R A P H Y 290 detailed, early biologists studied plant communities and classified vegetation types for much of the world. As the relationships of animals to these plant communities were recognized, early twentieth century naturalists began dividing Earth’s life forms into biotic associations. Recently, the functional relationships of plants and animals with their physical environment have been a primary focus of attention, and the ecosystem concept has become widely applied. The study of biogeography, ecology, and ecosystems provides excellent opportunities to demonstrate the environmentally integrative nature of physical geography. Relationships and interactions among the different climate types, their associated vegetative biomes, and certain soils were introduced in Chapters 9 and 10. This chapter takes a closer look at biogeography, ecology, and the nature of certain environments. Ecosystems Our definition of an ecosystem is broad and flexible. The term can be used in reference to the Earth system in its entirety or to any group of organisms that occupy a given area and function together with their nonliving environment. An ecosystem may be large or small, marine or terrestrial (on land), short-lived or long lasting (● Fig. 11.1). There are also artificial ecosystems, created by human activities such as an agricultural field.
eBook - PDFEncyclopedia of Environmental Science Vol2
Management of Ecosystems
- Shalinee Naidoo(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Delve Publishing(Publisher)
TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS 3 CHAPTER Ecosystems consist of both living and non-living facets in a given specific natural environment. Some of the major components of ecosystems are plants, animals, microorganisms, rocks, soil, and insects amongst others. Ecosystems can basically be divided into two prominent categories, namely terrestrial and aquatic. Terrestrial relates to anything that is land-based while the later deals with anything that is water-based. The most vital types of ecosystems that are found include forests, deserts, tundra, grasslands, freshwater, and marine sites. Each of these sites has their own unique features and many of these vary widely from one ecosystem to another. The several types of ecosystems are described in Figure 3.1. Figure 3.1: Biomes of the earth. Management of Ecosystems 12 3.1. TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS 3.1.1. Forest Ecosystems These ecosystems are diversified according to the type of climate they grow in, such as tropical, temperate or boreal. Tropical climates usually consist of rainforest ecosystems which contain a wide variety of flora and fauna, more so than any other ecosystem on this planet. The environment of these forest regions is mainly warm and moisture-laden where trees grow tall and dense such that species growing in that region inhabit from the floor of the forest all the way up to the canopy. In temperate zones, the forest cover can be deciduous, coniferous or a blend of both, where some trees shed their leaves during fall and some remain green around the year. In the far north, just opposite to the south of Arctic, there exist boreal forests. These forest ecosystems are also known as Taiga ecosystems and have an abundance of coniferous trees. These ecosystems can be further divided into: 3.1.1.1. Tropical Evergreen Forests These forests receive mean rainfall of 80 to 400 inches annually.
eBook - PDF- Anjanette S. Tadena(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Delve Publishing(Publisher)
Major Natural Habitats of Wildlife and Their Conservation Measures CHAPTER 5 CONTENTS 5.1. Introduction .................................................................................... 110 5.2. Common Wildlife Animals .............................................................. 110 5.3. Important Habitat Component of Terrestrial Wildlife Animals .......... 116 5.4. Factors Which Influence The Habitat ............................................... 116 5.5. Major Wildlife Habitat Types ........................................................... 117 5.6. Conservation And Protection of Wildlife Habitats ........................... 129 Fish and Wildlife Ecology and Biology 110 5.1. INTRODUCTION Habitat, “is the sum total of environmental conditions of a specific place occupied by an organism, a population or a community.” The habitat requirements of various animal species vary according to the diversity of their requirements. In the African terrestrial aspect, habitat is the complex spectrum of the environmental components both biotic and abiotic which taking into account both the anatomical and behavioral adaptations of a given species provide it with food, shelter, and physical well-being thus ensuring the propagation of a viable population of that species. 5.2. COMMON WILDLIFE ANIMALS Most wildlife species are migratory, and the others are resident (Table 5.1). Table 5.1: Key Wildlife Animals Wildlife animals Characteristics Lesser kudu This is a widespread wildlife animal found in most parts of the world. They are seen only occasionally in dense bushland. Coke’s hartebeest They are seen within the woodland. Major Natural Habitats of Wildlife and Their Conservation Measures 111 East African eland The East African eland is the most common race found in East Africa. Its distribution extends from Tana River down to central Tanzania and also in Uganda. The other supposed race is Livingstone’s eland which is confined to Southern Tanzania.
eBook - PDF- Fred D. Singer(Author)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
The branches host many types of plants and animals, including photosynthetic organisms that harvest the sunlight to power their cellular activities. Brilliant butter fl ies fl it through the specks of light, foraging, mating, and creating new generations, as they have done in similar environments for millions of years. Interacting with some species, but unaffected by others, these animals and plants – and a host of organisms less conspicuous to our eyes – are part of a biome found in tropical latitudes. A biome is a large geographical area with characteristic groups of organisms adapted to that particular environment. Terrestrial biomes are most in fl uenced by temperature, moisture, and soils, while aquatic biomes are most in fl uenced by temperature, chemical composition of the water, and water current. The boundaries and species composition of biomes change constantly, through both natural causes and human impact. Our opening case study looks at similarities and differences in how some terrestrial and aquatic biomes are structured and in how they are threatened by human activities. We will then consider the role climate plays in structuring biomes. We will explore the diversity of terrestrial and aquatic biomes, and discover that even though biomes are large geographical areas, researchers continue to fi nd new biomes in unex-pected places. In a world that has been so extensively changed by human actions, some ecologists question whether the traditional biome concept is still useful, or should be replaced by an approach that accounts for the effects of human actions. KEY QUESTIONS 2.1. How do physical principles in fl uence climatic variation across the globe? 2.2. What are terrestrial biomes? 2.3. How do biomes change over time? 2.4. What are aquatic biomes? CASE STUDY: Biomes compared Biomes that appear very different may have striking similarities in form and function.
eBook - PDFEnvironmental Science and Technology
A Sustainable Approach to Green Science and Technology, Second Edition
- Stanley E. Manahan(Author)
- 2006(Publication Date)
- CRC Press(Publisher)
activities. The nature of life is determined by the surroundings in which the life-forms The nature of life is determined by the surroundings in which the life-forms must exist. Much of the environment in which organisms live is described by physi-must exist. Much of the environment in which organisms live is described by physi-cal factors, including whether or not the surroundings are primarily aquatic or ter-cal factors, including whether or not the surroundings are primarily aquatic or ter-restrial. For a terrestrial environment, important physical factors are the nature of restrial. For a terrestrial environment, important physical factors are the nature of accessible soil, availability of water, and availability of nutrients. These are accessible soil, availability of water, and availability of nutrients. These are abiotic abiotic factors factors . There are also important . There are also important biotic factors biotic factors relating to the life-forms present, relating to the life-forms present, their wastes and decomposition products, their availability as food sources, and their their wastes and decomposition products, their availability as food sources, and their tendencies to be predatory or parasitic. tendencies to be predatory or parasitic. This chapter discusses life on Earth. To understand the nature of life on Earth, This chapter discusses life on Earth. To understand the nature of life on Earth, it is important to consider what kinds of life are present, how various species fit into it is important to consider what kinds of life are present, how various species fit into specific habitats, how energy and matter are utilized and cycled, and how various specific habitats, how energy and matter are utilized and cycled, and how various species interact with each other and with their environment. These factors are cov-species interact with each other and with their environment.
eBook - PDF- Judith Rosales(Author)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Society Publishing(Publisher)
In a single continent, more than 20 types of forests have been recognized in the Amazon, South America. Different Forest Types are important for raising diversity as many species are confined to some of the types between habitats or beta diversity, which is frequently studied along hydrological gradients. B. Diversification of niches Individuals of a given species can maintain viable populations only under a certain range of resource conditions, and for two similar species to reside in the same habitat, they must divide resources. If the resource needs of the two species overlap, resources tend to be limited locally, interspecific competition occurs, and one species will move the other. The two species will continue to compete within their tolerance limits. For example, one argument used for the tropics is that while species are more evolved, interspecific competition is more intense and, therefore, species occupy smaller niches than in temperate areas. C Biotic interactions Biogeography and Biodiversity 78 These are interactions among species such as predation, herbivory, parasitism. Herbivory requires that predators, particularly seed-eating insects, be specific to the host and there is some evidence of this. When herbivory is locally prolific, it provides a key mechanism for maintaining a state of equilibrium and preventing rare species from becoming too common. A second important biotic explanation with biogeographic implications considers the theory of recruitment limitation. According to this theory, the local absence of superior young competitors in places favorable for their survival is due to poor dispersal ability, low abundance or fortuitous events. Although there is not a definitive competitive exclusion, the constraint of recruiting competitors works to maintain local populations indefinitely.
eBook - PDFPaleozoology and Paleoenvironments
Fundamentals, Assumptions, Techniques
- J. Tyler Faith, R. Lee Lyman(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
With respect to paleoenvironmental reconstruction, the term environment is usually restricted to the natural envir- onment – climate, weather, flora, fauna, topography, geography, geology, etc., and their types, frequencies, amplitudes, distributions in geographic space and time (or structure), and the like. The paleoenvironment is the natural context of the organism or community of organisms under study. Given how the term is used by paleozoologists who reconstruct paleoenvironments, a (paleo)habitat Wet Moist Dry Very Dry 1 2 3 4 6 5 7 8 9 Abundance 2.7. A model of presences and abundances of nine species along an environmental gradient of moisture illustrating that ecological tolerances are relative between species. Each numbered dia- mond plots the presence of a species along the environmental gradient (horizontal); diamond thickness represents the abundance of the species (vertical). Species 1 and 2 prefer xeric habitats relative to species 3 and 4, but species 1 and 2 prefer mesic habitats relative to species 5, 7, and 8. Species 7 is the most stenotopic and species 9 is the most eurytopic on this environmental gradient. Modified after Whittaker (1975:132). ENVIRONMENTS AND NICHES 27 27 is a description of a kind of a spatio-temporally bounded place where an organism lived; vegetation is usually the emphasized environmental variable. Ecologists and biogeographers today generally agree that three categories of variables influence the distribution of a species. These are (1) the distribu- tion of biotic factors (B) that allow a species to exist, such as the availability of forage and the number and type of competitors, predators, parasites, pathogens, and so on; (2) the abiotic factors (A), such as climate and elevation, to which the species must adapt; and (3) the mobility (M) or dispersal capabilities of the species, including its vagility (Soberón 2007; Soberón and Peterson 2005).
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