What are ANIMAL HABITATS??

Geographers divide the world into ecoregions characterized

by broad habitat types such as forest, grassland, wetland,

desert, or polar zones. These can in turn be subdivided

almost endlessly into more precise habitats, each supporting

A unique community of plant and animals.

Climate exerts a powerful influence over each of the world’s great ecoregions. Energy input from the Sun is greatest in the tropics, and the transfer of this energy via the atmosphere and ocean generates the currents of air and water that drive the world’s weather systems. On land, weathering of rock leads to the formation of soil in which plants grow, forming the basis of ecological communities.

Variety of life

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in a given habitat or ecoregion. As a rule, biodiversity increases toward the equator, with tropical forests and warm coastal seas registering the greatest numbers of species. Both poles are inhabited by comparatively few animal species, but in the Arctic, many animals live on land whereas in Antarctica, most animal life is found in the ocean.

Plants and animals become better adapted to their particular habitat through natural selection—those most suited to the environmental conditions survive in greater numbers and produce more offspring. This is a continuous process as habitats change slowly overtime. Sudden events such as volcanic eruptions, floods, or human development can have catastrophic impacts, especially on species that are specialized to a certain way of life. So-called generalist species cope better with change, such as a fall or rise in temperature, but may be displaced by specialist species when conditions stabilize. Scientists estimate that only14 percent of species have been identified so far, and of those, 91 percent live on land.

CONTINENT

In Southern Europe, the warm waters of the Mediterranean lap the coast and much of the land is covered by Mediterranean woodland and scrub. The soaring mountains of the Alps form a physical barrier, beyond which lies the colder, wetter north.

Ecoregion

The Alps comprise one of the world’s best-known montane ecoregions. They extend into eight European countries, forming a snow-tipped arc that stretches from France and Italy in the southwest to Austria in the east.

HABITATS

MOUNTAINS AND

SCREE SLOPES

Mountains are effectively inland islands, where unique species can live and evolve in isolation. Slope habitats are heavily influenced by latitude, altitude, incline, aspect, and the underlying rock. Conditions above the tree line (beyond which no trees grow) are harsh.

MONTANE

FOREST

Forests on mountains are banded according to altitude, with broadleaf trees dominating the warmer, lower slopes, and conifers thriving on higher ground up to the tree line. Because sloping, rocky ground is difficult to farm, mountain sides often retain more tree cover than flatter ground.

ALPINE

MEADOW

Where flooding or unstable ground prevent trees encroaching, grasses and herbs flourish in spectacular diversity. At high-altitude, there is a sudden burst of growth in spring and summer and the meadows are filled with blooms—an important food source for many animals.

One way all the plants and animals in a habitat interact is via a food chain. Plants convert the Sun’s energy into food for growth and reproduction, and are eaten by herbivorous animals. These in turn become food for predatory or scavenging animals.

The habitats of the Alps are found elsewhere in the world, but here their characteristics are contrasted by large differences in altitude. The grasses and herbs found in a high alpine meadow, for example, are very different from those in a lowland grassland.