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Ahabitat It is a set of physical and geographical factors that affect the development of an individual, a population, a species or a specific group of species. It is important that the space must offer the right conditions for the species to grow, survive and reproduce in it.
Thus, being within its natural habitat is what gives a species the ability to survive: the only way that it resists in another place is that it replicates the characteristics of the original habitat.
The habitat includes a number of biotic and abiotic factors, and can be modified by the effect of weather or human action. Biology is very interested in the question of habitats, realizing that in the world there are as many types of habitats as ecosystems, which depend a lot on the species and on the interactions that may occur between the different species.
According to the space in which it develops, a first classification between habitats divides them between freshwater aquatic, saltwater aquatic and terrestrial.
- See also: Natural and artificial ecosystems
Modification and destruction of habitats
Both human action and certain natural phenomena (droughts, epidemics, fires, hurricanes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, temporary increases or decreases in rainfall) can modify the habitat of a species, which brings with it a considerable series of changes to adapt to a new environment: the modification of a habitat can even lead to the disappearance of the species.
Most of the extinctions of species that occurred between the years 1000 to 2000 were due to human actions, especially given by the destruction of habitats and loss of biodiversity. To warn of the danger that this implies, a calendar date was created to remember and celebrate the habitat, October 6, where it is sought that the human species becomes aware of the danger that some practices bring with respect to other species with which it shares the planet .
- See:Examples of Biomes
Examples of habitat
- Forest: Area with a high density of trees and some animals in charge of conserving the soil.
- Desert: Surface usually uninhabited, with low rainfall that at most can host species that adapt to low humidity.
- Montana: Elevation higher than 700 meters, where the vegetation is staggered and in the upper floors it becomes more resistant to cold.
- Meadow: Landscape whose constant vegetation is characterized by grasses and bushes, and has rodents and small animals as animals.
- bed sheet: Plains located in tropical climates, where the vegetation forms a herbaceous layer. Some trees or shrubs are found in this type of biome.
- Polar region: Areas around the poles, characterized by huge ice sheets. The animals that are best adapted to this are white-furred mammals like the polar bear, or animals like squirrels or arctic wolves.
- River: Natural freshwater stream, with vegetation that varies depending on the case: the freshwater fish are usually catfish, piranhas, sturgeons or carp.
- Swamp: Region of stagnant and shallow waters, where aquatic vegetation grows, sometimes very dense.
- Coral reef: Developed in tropical waters, it has different kinds of fauna where shrimp, lobsters, squid and octopus stand out.
- Ocean: Huge terrestrial surface of marine water, which contains a great diversity of marine flora and fauna.
- Beach: Usually unstable environment with strong seasonal cyclical patterns, where only crabs, insects and small birds survive.
- Broken: Insects, rodents and birds usually inhabit these low flow streams, where there is no danger of navigation or fishing.
- Lakes: More or less extensive bodies of fresh or salt water. There are usually species such as plankton.
- Follow with: Examples of Habitat and Ecological Niche
