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Habitat

From Tilcayo Cats, the lean encyclopaedia by Tilcayo Knowledge Systems
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A habitat is the place where an organism lives.[1] The word is used widely in ecology, although it is hard to give it a precise definition.[1]

Origin of the word

Habitat is a Latin word meaning "it inhabits" or "it dwells". It was first used in the 18th century in books describing plants and animals, which were written in Latin. There it described the natural place where a species grows or is found. The word was never translated and became a technical term.[1]

Examples

The lowland gorilla lives in lowland tropical secondary forest. The fungus Hericium abietis grows on conifer logs and trees in the north-west of the United States.[1] Some species live in several habitats. The tiger, for example, is found in tropical rainforest, snow-covered conifer and deciduous forest, and mangrove swamp.[1]

Lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and wetlands cover less than 1 per cent of the land, but they are important habitats.[2] Lakes and rivers are also studied as habitats by hydrologists, who look at how water and ecosystems depend on each other.[3]

Microhabitats

Small organisms may live in a very restricted area, such as on one particular plant or animal, or in one part of the soil. Such an area is called a microhabitat. Any one environment may contain thousands of microhabitats.[1] Another living thing can itself be a habitat. A symbiont is an organism that lives in a habitat provided by a host.[4]

Habitat and niche

A habitat is different from a niche. In the words of one ecology textbook, "A habitat is a description of where an organism is found, but its niche is a complete description of how the organism relates to its physical and biological environment."[1] The word niche originally meant a decorative hollow in a wall. In ecology it means the exact way a species fits into its environment.[1] The ecologist Elton suggested that when ecologists see an animal, they should think of its place in its community, just as people think of a vicar's role in theirs.[1]

What shapes habitats

On land, the large-scale types of habitat called biomes are arranged mainly according to temperature and rainfall. In the oceans they depend on light and nutrients.[5] Even if the climate were the same everywhere, the Earth's surface would still be a patchwork of different environments.[6] Mountains, for example, create very different habitats on each side. Rainforest may grow on the slopes facing the wind, while deserts such as Death Valley form in the "rain shadow" behind them.[7]

Habitats also change over time. A landscape may be a patchwork of areas at different stages of development.[8] Some species need a habitat to stay at an early stage. The giant weta lives in a patch of gorse that is kept from developing further by grazing cattle and goats.[9]

Habitat islands

In ecology, an "island" does not have to be land surrounded by sea.[10] Lakes, mountaintops, gaps in a forest canopy and patches of unusual soil can all act as habitat islands. Larger islands usually support more species.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Chapman, J. L.; Reiss, M. J. (1999). Ecology: Principles and Applications (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-521-58802-7. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ↑ Begon, Michael; Howarth, Robert W.; Townsend, Colin R. (2014). Essentials of Ecology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-470-90913-3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ↑ Davie, Tim; Quinn, Nevil Wyndham (2019). Fundamentals of Hydrology. Routledge Fundamentals of Physical Geography (3rd ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-415-85870-0. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ↑ Begon, Michael; Howarth, Robert W.; Townsend, Colin R. (2014). Essentials of Ecology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-470-90913-3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ↑ Begon, Michael; Howarth, Robert W.; Townsend, Colin R. (2014). Essentials of Ecology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-470-90913-3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ↑ Begon, Michael; Howarth, Robert W.; Townsend, Colin R. (2014). Essentials of Ecology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-470-90913-3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ↑ Begon, Michael; Howarth, Robert W.; Townsend, Colin R. (2014). Essentials of Ecology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-470-90913-3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  8. ↑ Begon, Michael; Howarth, Robert W.; Townsend, Colin R. (2014). Essentials of Ecology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-470-90913-3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ↑ Begon, Michael; Howarth, Robert W.; Townsend, Colin R. (2014). Essentials of Ecology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-470-90913-3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Begon, Michael; Howarth, Robert W.; Townsend, Colin R. (2014). Essentials of Ecology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 297. ISBN 978-0-470-90913-3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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