HABITAT ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 7 Habitat Habitat

HABITAT ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 7

Habitat • Habitat is where organisms naturally live and grow. • Habitat is the environment in which an organism lives. • Habitat needs vary by species. • All need food, water, cover, and space.

FOOD • Growth – multicellular organisms grow larger by increasing the total number of cells in their body. • Nutrient – any substance needed for a cell to survive, grow, and reproduce. • Food – ingested materials that contain the nutrients. • Nutrients include proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. • and water!

FOOD & ENERGY • A key component of food is energy. • The source of energy for most living organisms is the Sun. • Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria (producers) convert solar energy into bond energy in carbohydrates. • Herbivores (primary consumers) eat producers to obtain their energy. • Secondary consumers include carnivores and omnivores. • Food pyramid / food chain – the series of transfers of food energy form one organism to another.

WATER • Water is a basic need for life. • Water is an important part of habitat. • Water often determines what plants can live in an area which determines what animals can live there.

COVER • Cover is the vegetation or other material that provides safety in a habitat. • Animals use cover for nesting, resting, escaping danger from predators, and protection from adverse weather.

SPACE • Space is the area or territory around an organism. • Home range is the space an animal normally uses for living. • Within a home range, an individual may establish a territory • Dominance is when one or a few species control habitat conditions.

HABITAT LAYERS • Vertical stratification – physical layers of a community. • Grassland/prairie – ground, herbaceous • Forest – ground, herbaceous, low shrub, low tree/high shrub, lower canopy, upper canopy. • Vertical stratification in aquatic habitats is influenced by depth, light, temperature, pressure, salinity, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.

SUCCESSION • Succession – a sequence of growth events a habitat goes through during its life. • Starts with bare rock • Pioneer species (ex. lichens, mosses) • Soil or bare ground • Annual grasses • Perrenial grasses • Shrubs • Young trees • Mature trees – climax stage

POPULATIONS • Population – all the members of one species in a given area at a given time. • Four factors determine population: • Natality (birth) rate • Mortality (death) rate • Emigration rate - organisms moving in • Immigration rate – organisms moving out • Carrying Capacity – maximum number of individuals a habitat can support.

HABITAT MANAGEMENT • Interspersion – maintaining a habitat with various stages of succession (to support a greater variety of wildlife). • Edge – area where two habitats meet (also known as ecotone). • Gradual edge is more desirable than abrupt edge. • Featured species – a species promoted through improved habitat. • Species richness – the number of different species found in an area.

MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS • Loss of natural vegetation • Wetland destruction • Pollution • Diseases • Pesticides • Non-native species • Overharvest • Illegal harvesting