HABITAT

• Habitat is a place where organisms live.
• There are two major habitats:
  • Aquatic habitat.
    

    An Aquatic Habitat (Photo Credit: Toppr.com)

  • Terrestrial habitat.
    

    A Terrestrial Habitat (Photo Credit: Britannica.com)

Aquatic Habitat

• Aquatic habitat refers to a water environment.
• The aquatic habitat contains different kinds of plants and animals, e.g. fish, whales, turtles, crocodiles, tadpoles, water lettuce, and water lilies.
• Aquatic habitat can be subdivided into fresh water and salt water.
• The place where salt and fresh water meet is called an estuarine. Examples of such areas include bays and lagoons. Organisms found here include periwinkles, lobsters, etc.
• The Salt Water Habitat – It comprises of seas and oceans. It is also known as marine habitat. Marine plants and animals include weeds, octopus, fish, whales, and dolphins, etc.
• The Fresh Water Habitat – This includes lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams. Organisms found in fresh water habitat includes fish, crayfish, and crabs.

Terrestrial Habitat

• Terrestrial habitat refers to the land environment.
• Organisms found here include humans, domestic animals, wild animals, and plants.
• The terrestrial habitat can be on the ground, on a tree or under the ground. For example, dogs live on the ground, birds live in trees while earthworms live under the ground.
• Types of terrestrial habitat include:
  • Tropical rain forest.
    

    A Tropical Rain Forest (Photo Credit: BiologyDictionary.net)

  • Savannah.
    

    A Savannah (Photo Credit: HabitatsKFranco)

  • Grassland.
    

    A Grassland (Photo Credit: ConservationInstitute.org)

  • Semi desert.
    

    A Semi Desert (Photo Credit: ColoradoBirdingTrail.com)

  • Desert.
    

    A Desert (Photo Credit: WorldWildLife.org)

ADAPTATION

• Adaptation is a special feature which helps organisms to survive in a particular habitat.
• Examples of plant features:
  • Roots.
  • Leaves.
  • Stem.
• Examples of animal features:
  • Fur.
  • Gills in aquatic animals.
  • Tails.
  • Fins.

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

• These factors are conditions that affect the survival of organisms.
• Biotic factors are living factors, e.g. frogs, snails, spirogyra, water lettuce, etc.
• Abiotic factors are non-living factors, e.g. temperature, light, water, etc.

Population

• Population are groups of organism of the same kind living in the same place.
• Population density is the ratio of the population size to the area covered, i.e. size per unit area.