Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Though many animals build things to provide a better environment for themselves, they are not human, hence beaver dams and the works of mound-building termites are thought of as natural. People cannot find absolutely natural environments on Earth,naturalness usually varies in a continuum, from 100% natural in one extreme to 0% natural in the other.
Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 million are insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million in total. Animals range in size from 8.5 millionths of a metre to 33.6 metres (110 ft) long and have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs .
Some animals, however, have adapted to suburban environments. This includes urban wildlife such as feral cats, dogs, mice, and rats. Some religions declare certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times, concern for the natural environment has provoked activists to protest against the exploitation of wildlife for human benefit or entertainment.
Habitat can be defined as the natural environment of an organism, the type of place in which it is natural for it to live and grow. [4] [5] It is similar in meaning to a biotope; an area of uniform environmental conditions associated with a particular community of plants and animals. [6]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to zoology: . Zoology – study of animals.Zoology, or "animal biology", is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the identification, structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems.
Aquatic animals play an important role for the environment as indicator species, as they are particularly sensitive to deterioration in water quality and climate change. Biodiversity of aquatic animals is also an important factor for the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems as it reflects the food web status and the carrying capacity of the ...
The word animal comes from the Latin noun animal of the same meaning, which is itself derived from Latin animalis 'having breath or soul'. [6] The biological definition includes all members of the kingdom Animalia. [7] In colloquial usage, the term animal is often used to refer only to nonhuman animals.
An ecosystem is composed of biotic communities that are structured by biological interactions and abiotic environmental factors. Some of the important abiotic environmental factors of aquatic ecosystems include substrate type, water depth, nutrient levels, temperature, salinity, and flow.