Habitat

From Includipedia, the inclusionist encyclopedia

For other uses, see Habitat (disambiguation).

Image:African Elephant distribution map.svg

The remaining fragmented habitats of the African Elephant

A habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits") is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species.^[1]^[2] It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds (influences and is utilized by) a species population.^{[citation needed]}

The term "species population" is preferred to "organism" because, while it is possible to describe the habitat of a single black bear, we may not find any particular or individual bear but the grouping of bears that comprise a breeding population and occupy a certain biogeographical area. Further, this habitat could be somewhat different from the habitat of another group or population of black bears living elsewhere. Thus, it is neither the species, nor the individual, for which the term habitat is typically used.

Image:RangeMap Lmarinus.jpg

A distribution map showing the bird Larus marinus's range and breeding grounds

A microhabitat or microenvironment is the immediate surroundings and other physical factors of an individual plant or animal within its habitat.

The term "habitat" can be used more broadly in ecology. It was originally defined as the physical conditions that surround a species, or species population, or assemblage of species, or community (Clements and Shelford, 1939). Thus, it is not just a species population that has a habitat, but an assemblage of many species living together in the same place that essentially share a habitat. In ecology, the habitat shared by many species is called a biotope.

Habitats can provide greater protection from predators, for example, a thick undergrowth where an animal such as the Kudu may hide or go unnoticed.

Habitat destruction is a major factor in causing a species population to decrease, eventually leading to its being endangered, or even to its extinction. Large scale land clearing usually results in the removal of native vegetation and habitat destruction.

A biome is the set of flora and fauna which live in a habitat and occupy a certain geography.

[edit] See also

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[edit] References

^ Dickinson, C.I. 1963. British Seaweeds. The Kew Series
^ Abercrombie, M., Hickman, C.J. and Johnson, M.L. 1966.A Dictionary of Biology. Penguin Reference Books, London