Habitats SOL 3.6

What is a habitat? The place where an animal or plant lives and grows: a home. Everything around a plant or animal is its habitat.

Water habitats They are animal homes that are in the water such as the ocean, streams, rivers, swamps, ponds. Water related environments( aquatic) include those with fresh water or salt water. Example include ponds, marshes, swamps, streams, rivers, and oceans.

Fresh water It is water that has very little salt in it. Lakes, rivers, ponds, and some marshes are freshwater ecosystems. We drink fresh water.

Salt water It is water that has a lot of salt in it. Oceans and seas contain salt water. The oceans are Earth’s largest ecosystem in size. There are many kinds of animals and plants living in salt water.

Land habitats animal homes that are on the land such as tundra, grassland, desert, tropical rain forest, and forests ( coniferous, and deciduous). They are dry- land environments( terrestrial).

Deserts They are areas that get very little rainfall. Deserts are land communities which can be hot or cold with very little water.  In hot deserts the most often seen plant is the cactus.  A desert plant has: - a thick skin - a thick stem - very shallow roots - and spine like needles Jack rabbits, tortoises, rattlesnakes, lizards, roadrunners, and coyotes are the common types of animals.

Tundra The tundra area has the smallest population of plants and animals on earth because of the short growing season and cold conditions.  Very small plants grow there and little or no trees. Animals such as the reindeer and polar bears live here.

Grasslands The grassland area is a flat area with few trees and lots of tall grass.  Animals that live in herds and are herbivores such as cows, buffaloes, deer, zebras, antelopes and giraffes live in this area.  Predators like the lion live also here.

Forest An area in which the main plants are trees. There are many animals living there, too. Forests need rain and sunshine, and very high temperatures.

Tropical Rain Forest This forest is hot, humid, and rainy with many trees and green plants.  It has the largest population of animals and plants.  All types of animals live there including many insects and amphibians. It has three main layers, where animals and plants make their own homes. They are: - the canopy- or top part, - the understory- below the canopy - the forest floor- the lowest layer. Trees are very tall, and they have pole like trunks.

Coastal Forest They grow where there is a lot of rain. It does not get too warm or too cold in there. It has a lot of very tall thick trees. It has the same layers as in the tropical rain forest.

Deciduous forest Forests that have trees whose leaves - change color and fall off in the fall, - die in the winter, - bloom in the spring, - and stay in the trees in the summer. A forest of trees that lose and re-grow their leaves each year. We live in a deciduous forest. Some of the animals living here are: insects, snakes, birds, deer, and bears. There are ferns, shrubs, and mosses, too.

Coniferous Forest It is a forest of trees that forms seeds in cones. The main type of trees are conifers. Trees are shaped like triangles so that snow falls off. Their leaves are shaped like needles and they stay green all year round. . For that they are called evergreen trees. There are many lakes and streams which provide habitat to squirrels, moose, and wolves. There are some insects, too.

What is an ecosystem? An ecosystem is all the living and non-living things that interact together in a specific environment.

What is Population? A population is a group of the same kind of living things that live in the same place at the same time.

Examples of a population are: - a group of swans in a pond, - a school of fish in a river, - and a herd of cattle in the grassland.

What is a community? A community is all the populations that live together in an ecosystem.

An example of a dry-land community would be a forest made up of trees, squirrels, worms, rabbits, and hawks.

An example of a water-related community would be an ocean made up of fish, crabs, and seaweed.

Who will survive? How can we help? Organisms compete for the limited resources in their specific environment. Humans need to help conserve limited resources. Can you list ways that humans can help conserve limited resources?

stop destroying habitats; We can: stop over harvesting species, such as elephants, rhinos, and tigers, leopards and other big cats; stop destroying habitats; stop polluting and otherwise disturbing habitats; and stop spreading non-native species(plants that originate elsewhere and are brought into a new area) Ice Plant (Carpobrotus edulis) is an extremely invasive species from South Africa.

Let’s see what you’ve learned about ecosystems…

1- everything around a plant or animal is its… A) community B) habitat C) environment

1- everything around a plant or animal is its… C) environment

2. All the squirrels living in an ecosystem make up a ____________ A) population B) group C) class

2. All the squirrels living in an ecosystem make up a ____________ A) population

3. A forest of trees that forms seeds in cones is a ______________. A) coniferous forest B) coastal forest C) deciduous forest

3. A forest of trees that forms seeds in cones is a ______________. A) coniferous forest

4. A forest of tall trees, growing where there is a lot of rain and the weather is not very hot or cold is a _______________________ A) coastal forest B) deciduous forest C) coniferous forest

4. A forest of tall trees, growing where there is a lot of rain and the weather is not very hot or cold is a _______________________ A) coastal forest

5. A large, flat area where tall grasses grow is a __________________ A) forest B) grassland C) desert

5. A large, flat area where tall grasses grow is a __________________ B) grassland

6. Which makes up the Earth’s largest ecosystem? A) lakes B) oceans C) forests

6. Which makes up the Earth’s largest ecosystem? B) oceans

7. Which is the top layer of a tropical rain forest? A) under story B) forest floor C) canopy

7. Which is the top layer of a tropical rain forest? C) canopy

8. A pond is a/n ___________of living and nonliving things that interact and affect each other. A) community B) ecosystem C) habitat

8. A pond is a/n ___________of living and nonliving things that interact and affect each other. B) ecosystem

9. Lakes, rivers, ponds and streams contain________________. A) salt water B) fresh water C) grass

9. Lakes, rivers, ponds and streams contain________________. B) fresh water

You did it!!