Habitat and Adaptation

Habitat and Adaptation Livings things exist in most places. Life exists even in open volcanoes.

Livings things exist in most places. Life exists even in open volcanoes. The term habitat refers to the surroundings where organisms live. Every habitat is home for a certain living creature. Habitat includes both living and non-living components. Plants and animals have different features that help them to survive in their own habitat. Habitat can be terrestrial or aquatic. Terrestrial habitat refers to the land where all plants and animals survive. It includes deserts, forests and grasslands, as well as coastal and mountain regions. For example, camels and cactus plants live in deserts only. Aquatic habitat refers to the water where plants and animals survive. Aquatic habitat includes rivers, ponds, lakes, ocean and swamps. For example, fish live in water. Adaptation: Plants and animals develop certain features or certain habits that help them survive in their surroundings, and this is known as adaption. Different living creatures adapt to their habitats in different ways. For example, fish have gills that help them to live in water and use the oxygen dissolve in it. Plants that live in water have special tissues that help to take in dissolved gas from water. For example, the ulva has ribbon-like leaves. It takes thousands of years for a livings being to adapt to its habitat.

Acclimatisation: The small adjustments by the body to overcome small changes in the surrounding atmosphere for a short period of time are called acclimatisation. The components in a habitat are broadly classified into two types. They are biotic and abiotic components. Biotic components include all the livings organisms in a habitat. Abiotic components include all the non-living things in a habitat. These include air, rocks, water, sunlight and heat. All livings things depend on the abiotic components for all their needs. The abiotic components are very useful for the survival of the biotic components in a habitat. For example, sprouting is the first step where a new plant grows from a seed. The sprouting of a seed depends on abiotic components such as air, water, light and heat. The population of some species of turtles has declined due to the change in the earth’s temperature. Some popular theories believe that dinosaurs became extinct because of the changes in the earth’s temperature millions of years ago.