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Habitat

Habitat can be defined as: 1. the natural environment of an organism; place that is natural for the life and growth of an organism. 2. the place where a person or thing is usually found. 3. a special environment for living in over an extended period. A habitat is the area or natural environment in which an organism or population normally lives. A habitat is made up of physical factors such as soil, moisture, range of temperature, and availability of light as well as biotic factors such as the availability of food and the presence of predators. A habitat is not necessarily a geographic area—for a parasitic organism it is the body of its host or even a cell within the host's body.

Freshwater Aquatic Habitat

Freshwater habitat Rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams are examples of freshwater habitat. Fish, frog, duck, lotus, and water lily are found in freshwater.

Coral Reef Habitat

Coral reefs are rock-like structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. They are also called ‘rainforests of the sea’ as they provide shelter to a large number of marine organisms. Besides corals, sea anemones, starfish, octopus, sea urchins, and a variety of fish are found in coral reefs. Examples of coral reefs are the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and those of the Andaman and Nicobar islands in India.

Coastal Aquatic Habitat

Coastal habitat Coastal habitat refers to the region where the land meets the sea.

Aquatic Habitat

Aquatic Habitat

The aquatic habitat comprises all the water bodies on the planet. It is mainly of three kinds: freshwater, marine, and coastal.

Rainforest plays critical role in hydropower generation

Belo Monte Bridge and proposed dam site Brazil

Belo monte - The proposed Belo Monte dam will be one of the biggest in the world, but deforestation could limit the amount of energy generated Deforestation in the Amazon region could significantly reduce the amount of electricity produced from hydropower, says a new study. Scientists say the rainforest is critical in generating the streams and rivers that ultimately turn turbines. If trees continue to be felled, the energy produced by one of the world's biggest dams could be cut by a third. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Many countries in tropical regions are turning to hydropower as an untapped source of energy. In Brazil around 45 new hydro plants are in the planning stage. “We now have very strong evidence that Brazil's ability to generate electricity depends on forest conservation” Dr Daniel Nepstad Rainforests, by their very name, are prime locations for the dams that are usually required to create the force of water needed to generate electric power. Until now the presumption has been that cutting down the trees near a dam actually increased the amount of water flowing into the dams. Trees of life But in this new study the researchers took a broader look at the climate projections for the Amazon basin and not just at the rivers on which the dams were built. They found that rainforests are more critical than previously thought as they produce the rain that fills the streams that ultimately drives the rivers and the turbines.

Reptiles are going extinct

World's reptiles at risk of extinction

 

A mountain horned agama lizard

 

Many lizards are under threat, including the mountain horned agama of Sri Lanka

 

Almost a fifth of the world's reptile species are at risk of extinction, according to scientists.

Research led by the Zoological Society of London found that the future of 19% of the world's reptiles are threatened. Conservation experts also confirmed that 47% are vulnerable and highlighted the possible extinction of three species. The figures are based on a random sample of 1,500 of the world's reptile species. "It's essentially an election poll set up - using this sample to give an example of how reptiles are doing as a whole," explained Dr Monika Bohm, lead author of the study published in the journal Biological Conservation. The study was made in conjunction with 200 experts from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission.

 

Lava lizard basks on the head of a marine iguana

Conservation targets need billions in funding

Scientists say billions required to meet conservation targets

 

Ethiopian bush crow

 

The most threatened species tend to be relatively cheap to save because of small range sizes.

 

Reducing the risk of extinction for threatened species and establishing protected areas for nature will cost the world over $76bn dollars annually. Researchers say it is needed to meet globally agreed conservation targets by 2020. The scientists say the daunting number is just a fifth of what the world spends on soft drinks annually. And it amounts to just 1% of the value of ecosystems being lost every year, they report in the journal Science.

“Nature just doesn't do recessions, we're talking about the irreversible loss of unique species and millions of years of evolutionary history” Donal McCarthy RSPB

Marine Protected Areas Increase in last decade

Marine Protected Areas increase 10-fold in a decade

 

Diego Garcia atoll

 

The reserve around the Chagos islands is the world's largest, protecting a notoriously rich ecosystem.

 

A 10-fold rise in Marine Protected Areas has been recorded over a decade.

Measuring habitat divesity loss audibly

A landscape may look healthy, but how does it sound, and what does that say about how its wildlife is doing?

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