Lesson 2 — Activity 2: Habitats and Niches
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Lesson 2 — Activity 2:
Habitats and Niches
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Every organism has a place to live in nature, a functional role in that place, and a complex set of adaptations for reproducing its kind. On the surface, this observation might seem to be obvious. However, in order to understand our biological world, how it operates, and ultimately how to protect it, we need to understand at a deep level how organisms interact with each other and with their physical environment. In this lesson, you will learn more about habitats and niches.
Habitats are the natural environments of plants and animals. Our planet has many habitats such as oceans, tropical rain forests, deserts, prairies, boreal forests, tundra, wetlands, grasslands, forests, rivers, and lakes. Each one is unique because the combination of such aspects as temperature, soil type, amount of rainfall, and location on earth creates a habitat.
Every animal on the planet has basic survival needs, and a suitable habitat provides for these four basic habitat needs:
- food
- water
- shelter from weather and predators
- a place to raise young
Some
animals can be found in only one habitat. This is because they have very
specific needs and cannot adapt well to new areas. An example is a
bobcat.
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Some animals can be found in only one habitat. This is because they have very specific needs and cannot adapt well to new areas. An example is a bobcat.
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Other
species can find what they need to survive in various habitats. An
example of this is a squirrel. They seem to be everywhere — in the city
or the mountains and many other places!
Habitats can be changed in major ways by natural forces such as volcanoes, hurricanes, or earthquakes. Humans also can change habitats. In Lesson 1, you learned about one habitat on the prairies that humans are changing or eliminating all together. Do you remember what it was?
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Other species can find what they need to survive in various habitats. An example of this is a squirrel. They seem to be everywhere — in the city or the mountains and many other places!
Click on the box to the right to see if you remember what habitat humans are changing on the prairies.
A prairie slough (or wetland)
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Humans have eliminated many wetland habitats. This has changed the
look of the prairies. However, people are now starting to construct
wetland habitats because they see that such habitats are necessary to
the overall health of the prairies. Ducks Unlimited is one group that
does work such as this.
Another important thing to look at when you are talking about biological diversity is a niche, which is the role an organism has within the ecosystem. An organism's niche includes what it eats, its habitat, its nesting site, and its effect on the populations around it and on its environment.
An
animal may change its niche as it goes through its life cycle. For
example, a very young wolf pup will start its life in an underground
environment and not go anywhere else, but after awhile, it will live
both above and below the ground.
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An
animal may change its niche as it goes through its life cycle. For
example, a very young wolf pup will start its life in an underground
environment and not go anywhere else, but after awhile, it will live
both above and below the ground.
@creativecommons
Click on the Play button to watch a video that further explains a habitat and how it relates to food webs and the ecosystems that support them.
Click on the Play button to watch a video that further explains a habitat and how it relates to food webs and the ecosystems that support them.