Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
A well-known example of a specialist animal is the monophagous koala, which subsists almost entirely on eucalyptus leaves. The raccoon is a generalist, because it has a natural range that includes most of North and Central America, and it is omnivorous, eating berries, insects such as butterflies, eggs, and various small animals.
In animals, ecotypes owe their differing characteristics to the effects of a very local environment which has been hypothesized to lead to speciation through the emergence of reproductive barriers. [12] [13] [14] Therefore, ecotypes have no taxonomic rank. [15]
Habitat types are environmental categorizations of different environments based on the characteristics of a given geographical area, particularly vegetation and climate. [2] Thus habitat types do not refer to a single species but to multiple species living in the same area.
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative. Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems.
An example of ecological diversity on a global scale would be the variation in ecosystems, such as deserts, forests, grasslands, wetlands and oceans. Ecological diversity is the largest scale of biodiversity, and within each ecosystem, there is a great deal of both species and genetic diversity .
A bear with a salmon. Interspecific interactions such as predation are a key aspect of community ecology.. In ecology, a community is a group or association of populations of two or more different species occupying the same geographical area at the same time, also known as a biocoenosis, biotic community, biological community, ecological community, or life assemblage.
This additional level of variety in the environment is beneficial to many types of coral reef animals, which for example may feed in the sea grass and use the reefs for protection or breeding. [32] Coastal habitats are the most visible marine habitats, but they are not the only important marine habitats.
Other types of estuaries also exist and have similar characteristics as traditional brackish estuaries. The Great Lakes are a prime example. There, river water mixes with lake water and creates freshwater estuaries. [16] Estuaries are extremely productive ecosystems that many humans and animal species rely on for various activities. [17]