Callery - Secrets of Habitats

ANDREW SOLWAY

E-book published in 2012 by Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., in association with Arcturus Publishing Limited, 26/27 Bickels Yard, 151-153 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3HA. Britannica, Encyclopdia Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.

ISBN 978-1-61535-631-7 (e-book)

This edition first published in 2011 in the United States of America

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Copyright 2010 Arcturus Publishing Limited

This publication represents the opinions and views of the author based on Andrew Solways personal experience, knowledge, and research. The information in this book serves as a general guide only. The author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book and disclaim liability rising directly and indirectly from the use and application of this book.

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Picture researcher: Tom Humphrey

Photo acknowledgments: Corbis: pp 7 (Seth Resnick/Science Faction), 15 (Christophe Boisvieux), 18 (Tony Waltham/Robert Harding World Imagery), 27 (Steven Kazlowski/Science Faction), 28 (Martin Harvey); FLPA: p 24 (Nigel Cattlin); Getty Images: pp 11 (Zeb Andrews), 12 (Grambo), 14 (Tom Brakefield), 16 (Michael Fogden), 20 (Masaaki Tanaka / Sebun Photo), 25 (Coke Whitworth); IStockphoto: cover desert (gioadventures), cover cactus (jlvphoto), cover tree frog (Snowleopard1), pp 1 and 8 (Edwin van Wier), 17 (Liz Leyden), 22 (Peter Muckherjee), 26 (David Hills); Shutterstock Images: pp 5 (Chris Curtis), 19 (Danny Warren), 21 (Simone van den Berg), 23 (Vaklav).

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Solway, Andrew.

Secrets of habitats / Andrew Solway.

p. cm. -- (Science secrets)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Habitat (Ecology)--Juvenile literature. I. Title.

QH541.14.S67 2011

577--dc22

2010003940

1 3 6 5 4 2

A habitat is a place where an animal or plant lives. There are many different kinds of habitat. A river is one kind of habitat, while a desert is another kind.

What a habitat is like depends partly on the climatethe average weather in the area over a long period of time. In a desert it rarely rains, while in rain forests it rains a lot of the time.

The kind of rocks and landscape also affect the habitat, and so do living things. A forest would not be a forest without trees.

Some habitats cover large areas. Oceans cover two-thirds of the earths surface, while conifer forests cover a little over one-tenth of the land area. These large habitats are known as biomes.

A map of the worlds biomes. The largest is the water biome that includes rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Monument Valley in Utah is an example of a desert habitat. It is very dry, with little plant life.

Each biome can be split into smaller and smaller habitats. For insects, the forest floor is a very different habitat from a leafy treetop.

In this book, you will discover all kinds of habitats, from rotting logs to the wide oceans. You will also learn how human beings affect habitats and the living things in them.

MEASURING RAINFALL

Measure the rainfall in a local habitat for one month. The amount of rainfall affects what the habitat is like.

You will need:

a small plastic bottle some marbles some water a permanent marker a ruler a pen a notebook

1. Ask an adult to cut the top off the bottle. Put a layer of marbles in the bottom to weight it down.

2. Turn the top upside down and push it into the bottle. This will cut down on water loss through evaporation. Add water to just cover the marbles. Mark the water level with the marker.

3. Put the bottle outside in an open area. After a day, use the ruler to measure from the mark to the level of the water. This is the rainfall for that day. Write it down.

4. Pour out the water (but not the marbles), and then fill up the bottle to the mark again. The next day, measure from the mark to the water level again.

5. Repeat for the rest of the month, then add up your figures. How much rain fell?

Every living thing needs certain things to survive and grow. Plants need light, carbon dioxide (a gas in the air), water, and minerals (chemicals in the soil). Animals need water, food, and shelter