DK - Habitats of the World: A Breathtaking Visual Journey Through Earths Incredible Ecosystems

WRITTEN BY JOHN WOODW ARD CONSUL TAN T DR NICK CRU MPTON a brea th ta king visua l journey through earth s incred ible ec osystem s SMITHSON IAN

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DK LONDON Senior E ditor Michelle C rane Project Ar t Editor Ki t La ne Senior U S Edit or Kayla Du gger Editorial As sistant Binta Jallow Design As sistant Katy Jakewa y Product ion E ditor Jacqueline S treet- Elkaya m Senior P roduct ion C ontroller Popp y David Jacket Designer Stephanie Cheng H ui T an Jacket Design Developm ent Man ager Sophia MTT Managing E ditor Fran cesca Baines Managing A rt Editor Philip L etsu Publisher Andrew Macinty re Associat e Publ ishing D irect or Liz W heeler Art Direct or Karen Sel f Publishing Direct or Jonath an Metc alf Illustr ators Andrew Be ckett (Illus tration X), Pe ter Bull , Barr y Croucher (The A rt Agency ), Chr is@KJA , S JC Il lust ration, Soan Mo umene First A merican Edition, 2023 Pub lished in the United States by DK Pu blishing 1745 Broadway , 20 th Floor, New Yo rk, NY 10019 Copyright 2023 Dorling Kindersley Limited DK, a Div ision of P en guin Random House LLC 23 24 25 26 27 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 001331820Mar/2023 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this pu blication may be re produced, stor ed in or intr oduced into a retrieval system, or t ransmitted, in a ny form, or by any means (electronic, mecha nical, photocopying, record ing, o r otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner . Pub lished in Grea t Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited A catalog r ecord for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-0-7440-6972-3 DK books are available at special discounts when purc hased in bulk for sales promotions, pre miums, fund-raising, or e ducational use. For details, contact: DK P ub lishing Special Markets, 1745 Broadway , 2 0th Floor, New Yo rk, NY 10019 SpecialSales@dk.com Printed a nd bound in China For t he cur io us www. dk.com This book was made with F ore st Stewardship Co uncil certied paperone small step in DKs commitment to a sustainable future . For more information go to www.dk.c om/our-green-pledge Established in 1846, the Smithsonian is the worlds largest museum and researc h complex, dedicated to public education, nati onal service, and scholarship in the arts, scie nces, and history. It i ncludes 19 museums and galleries and the National Zool ogical P ar k. T he total number of artifacts, works of art , and specimens in the Smithsonian s collection is estimated at 155.5 million. CONTENTS WORLD BIOMES CORAL REEF MANGROVES TROPICAL RAINFOREST TROPICAL GRASSLAND WETLAND DESERT FRESH WA TE R ARID SHRUBLAND MOUNTA IN TEMPERAT E GRASSLAND DECIDUOUS FOREST BOREAL FOREST TUNDRA POLAR SEA PREDA TOR S AND PREY AND INDEX World b iomes Wildlife h abitats t hat e xtend o ver large a reas a re k nown a s biom es. On land , each biome is define d by geography , c limate, a nd veg etation. This ma p show s the distri bution o f the mai n biom es and pick s out an example o f each one. KEY Ice Tun dra Boreal f orest Deciduous f orest Tem perate ra inforest Tem perate g rassland Desert Arid shr ubland Tro pical g rassland Tro pical ra inforest Mountain Wetland Fresh w ater Mangroves Coral r eef Ice Arctic a nd Ant arctic seas f reeze o ver i n winter . But beneat h the f loating i ce, t he plankton-rich w ater teems with life. Boreal f orest A band of e vergreen, mainly c oniferous forest e xtends a ll around t he Arc tic i n the far north. Desert All b ut t he d riest, most h ostile d eserts support p lants a nd animals a dapted t o cope wi th dro ught. Mountain High mount ains such as the Andes have barren p eaks b ut richer h abitats o n the lower slopes.

Wetland Swamps and marshes like t he Pa ntanal i n South A merica o ffer food an d re fuge f or a wide range of ani mals. Tro pical ra inforest Near th e equa tor, tropical r ain f uels t he growth o f lus h fore sts that a re t he wo rlds richest h abitats. Fresh w ater All ov er th e wor ld, unpolluted s treams, rivers, a nd la kes a re havens f or aqu atic life o f al l ki nds. Tun dra In wint er, the land on the fr inges o f pol ar ice s heets i s ic y an d barren; i n sp ring, i t bursts i nto b loom. Deciduous f orest In coo l re gions l ike Europe, m any t rees lose t heir l eaves i n winter a nd gro w new ones in spring. Tem perate g rassland Regions w ith co ld wint ers and hot, dry summers , like t he As ian s teppes, are n atural g rasslands. Tro pical g rassland Tro pical re gions w ith long dr y seas ons become g rasslands, known i n Afr ica a s savannas. Arid shru bland Land t hat i s alm ost dry enou gh to be desert s upports tough p lants t hat ca n survive w ithout ra in. Mangroves Swampy mangro ve forests g row o n sheltered m uddy seashores t hroughout the t ropics. Coral re ef In sha llow t ropical seas, co rals relatives o f se a anemonesbuild rocky r eefs r ich i n other s ea l ife. Tem perate ra inforest Wet, m ild, u sually c oastal regions w ith f rost-free winters n aturally b ecome temperate r ainfore sts.

The steephead p arrotfish crunch es co ral w ith i ts to ugh b eaklike j aws to get at the soft parts and tiny seaw eeds t hat g row i n the cre vices. The pa rrotfish i s att ended b y sma ll bluestreak c leaner w rasses that do it a favor by pick ing p arasites a nd de ad sk in of f its body and gills . The clownfish is immun e to the sting ing c ells i n a sea anemo nes t entacles, so it can hide among them to stay safe fro m big ger f ish t hat m ight e at it . Armed w ith a pair of clubl ike f orelimbs, t he peacock m antis s hrimp smashes t he sh ells o f cla ms an d cra bs to get at the meat insid e. C l o w n f s h S e a a n e m o n e B o x j e l l y f s h G i a n t t r i t o n C r o w n - o - t h o r n s s t a r f s h B l u e s t r e a k c l e a n e r w r a s s e N u d i b r a n c h C o r a l t r o u t B i g e y e t r e v a l l y S t e e p h e a d p a r r o t f s h The pr ickly crown-of-thorns s tarfish eats cora l, s tripping p arts o f the re ef ba re. B ut it is eaten in turn by the giant trit on se a sna il. s h r i m p P e a c o c k m a n t i s