Unit 4 - The Role of Trees in the Forest Ecosystem

Lesson 5: Wildlife Habitat


Habitat is the natural environment of an organism; the area of the ecosystem in which an organism lives.

We have learned that an organism only exists in a certain place when all of the living and non-living elements it needs for survival are met.

Forest use by oil and gas companies has disturbed forest ecosystems, thereby affecting wilflife habitat. 

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Watch the Oil Sands Leadership Initiative video "ALGAR - Disturbance Rehabilitation Pilot."


Algar - Historical Disturbance Rehabilitation Pilot from OSLI on Vimeo.



Trees play an important role in the forest ecosystem by providing habitat and food for many different species.

Trees are also feeding sites for many animal species that hunt and forage.

Various insects, such as the mountain pine beetle, eat the inner bark and sapwood of trees.






The leaves, seeds and fruit of trees are eaten by many species of birds and mammals.

The bark is a source of food for various animals including beavers, porcupines, and hares. Aphids and caterpillars feed on the leaves of trees.

Many birds, such as woodpeckers, sparrows, and chickadees, feed on the insects that use trees for food.
Some species of woodpeckers, such as the yellow-bellied sapsucker, feed on the sap of trees and on insects caught in the sap.






Some of the larger grazing mammals, such as moose, elk, and deer, will eat the leaves and twigs of trees when their preferred food sources are not available.

Many species of birds, squirrels, and bees live and build nests on the branches or in the cavities of trees.

Other animals, such as chipmunks, make their homes in burrows in the soil under trees.







Beavers cut down poplar, birch, and willow trees and use the trunks and branches to build their lodges and dams.

Several species of lichens and fungi grow on the bark of trees.

Snails, sow bugs, and millipedes live in the moist, decaying leaves that litter the forest floor.

Weasels live in hollow trees and logs.