A habitat, in its simplest form, is a place where something lives. All living things need a habitat, but for the sake of simplification, we will focus strictly on wildlife. The places in which wildlife live and flourish must include the same things humans need for survival: food, water, shelter, space and clean air. These are the simplest requirements of habitat, but different species (kinds of animals) have their own needs and preferences. Usually we describe habitat for terrestrial animals (live on land) in terms of the kinds of plants that occur, their arrangement over the landscape, the amount of water and the topography, or the "lay of the land." Fish and aquatic life, on the other hand, relate to the water's size, depth, clarity, rate of flow, type of bottom, and the presence of the proper food and structure, or "cover."

TO EAT OR BE EATEN

All animals are designed with tools on their body to meet their particular food needs. These tools are called adaptations. Their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, feet, tail, etc, etc. are all designed to not only eat, but to prevent from being eaten. For example, most predators, be they bird, mammal, snake, or fish, often have eyes that are close together and in front of their face. This is so that when they hunt they can keep their prey within their field of view. Most prey animals (animals that are usually eaten) have eyes on the sides of their head to broaden their field of view to see potential predators that may be lurking.

Animals also utilize camouflage as both a tool for hunting (if you are a predator), or hiding (if you are a prey). The spider in the pictures on the left (top) is mimicking the flower of the Common Wingstem (below). This allows the spider to hunt in this location with no danger of being eaten himself.

Water is an important part of wildlife habitat. Some animals can get all the water they need from the food they eat and rarely need to take a drink, but most animals are like people in that they need a reliable source of clean drinking water. Different species of animals have different preferences for the kind of water they inhabit. Most terrestrial species of animals will drink from any semi-clean body of water. Howver, aquatic creaturs like the Smallmouth Bass like deep, clear lakes with rocky bottoms, but channel catfish can survive in shallow, muddy water.

MY KINGDOM FOR A SHELTER

While the first two components of a habitat, food and water, can be provided with relative ease, the third, shelter, sometimes takes a while. All animals need a place to shelter them from the elements. This can be as complicated as an excavated cavity dwelling of a woodpecker, or as simple as taking refuge under a log as in the case of many salamanders. For many species in the Eastern Deciduous Forest habitat, their need for shelter is often two-fold. Many cold-blooded animals such as the Eastern Box Turtle require a spring, summer, and fall shelter where they can seek refuge from predators and the extreme elements (heat, cold, rain, etc.), but for the rest of the year they require a shelter where they can hibernate. This special shelter has to be not only secluded from predators, but deep enough in the soil as to maintain a proper ambient temperature to where the cold-blooded creature won't freeze. Most "true" hibernators, which also includes bats and groundhogs in the class Mammalia will hibernate from three to five months out of the year.

Plants are important to all wildlife because they manufacture food by using the energy from the sun in a process called photosynthesis. Whether an animal eats a plant or eats an animal that eats a plant, it depends on the plants in its environment for food. For example, a squirrel's food chain starts with the seed from a plant. Plants and trees are also important as a source of shelter for animals. And the shelter they afford is as varied as wildlife itself. A mighty oak harbors a nest of squirrels, a tangled blackberry thicket shelters a warren of rabbits, and tiny minnows inhabit a clump of aquatic plants. The kinds of plants in a n area will depend on the land features found there. Trees and shrubs that grow on mountaintops are different from those that grow in cypress swamps. And while these two areas may have several species of wildlife in common, each will have some species of animals not found in the other due to their different habitat requirements.

The need for space is an often overlooked component of a habitat. Overpopulation in many species such as the White-Tailed Deer are a true concern throughout the United States. In the case of the White-Tailed Deer, their carrying capacity (amount a specific habitat can manage) is so full that they are eating themselves out of "house and home." The lack of food for all individuals of that species leave them open to starvation and malnutrition, which has the secondary reaction of leaving them susceptible to various types of diseases. Alot of times these diseases can be communicated to others within that species and sometimes, as the case with some dystemper, can be communicated to other species.

HABITATS ARE ALL INTERCONNECTED

Some different types of habitats:

Meadows and Openings: Meadows and openings are alike in that they are basically open spaces within forests. But meadows, strictly speaking, are naturally occuring habitats that usually do not favor tree growth. Openings is a more general term; it might refer to an area created by humans, as in the case of farm fields. Many birds feed on insects and seeds from the abundant plants found in meadows and openings. Birds also hide or nest in the tall grass here. Meadows and openings often draw nature's hunters as well; animals such as red fox, which prey on meadow mice and other rodents. These and many other animals also favor the edges where two or more kinds of habitats come together. One example of an edge might be where an opening turns into a forest, or where a marsh turns ito a dry forest.

Shrubs and Small Trees: This habitat, which commonly occurs after a tornado or tree harvest is more open to the sunlight than more mature forests. The increased sunlight stimulates plant life and deer come here to feed on the young stems and buds of the small trees and shrubs springing up. Fruit such as the blueberries, blackberries that grow in these areas also provides an important food source for many birds and other herbivores. In addition, this habitat provides cover for large and small animals.

Young Forest: Young forests can grow up either from natural growth or from trees that have been planted. Since the trees in young forests do not crowd out all the sunlight, these forests are filled with shrubs and other plants that support a wide variety of wildlife, ranging from reptiles such as the box turtle, to small mammals such as the myriad species of rodents. These areas are also prime habitat for deer and bears, which use these areas for both food and cover.

Old Growth Forest: The large trees of an old growth forest that are living provide cones, seeds and nuts. Standing together, they also break the wind and thin the snow, protecting large and small animals from the weather. Old forests also contain many dead, dying and fallen trees. These large, dead trees are needed by birds such as the pileated woodpecker, which depend on them for nesting sites and food. Old trees are also important to barred owls, hawks and other birds of prey, which use them for lookout towers (places from which they may swoop down on their next meal). Old forests are changing forests that support a variety of wildlife on the ground and in the trees.

Mature Forests: As the forest matures, the tree canopy (the leafy roof of branches) keeps the forest floor shady and cool, even on sunny days. With so little sunlight below, few ground plants live here. As a result, there is little to eat for animals that cannot climb or fly to the upper branches where most of the food is found. Animals that can reach this food are the gray squirrel or birds such as the carolina chickadee.

Streams and Rivers: Besides helping supply the forest with water, streams, and rivers also stimulate a variety of vegetation that in turn support many kinds of insects, fish and other animals. Many animals also feed on creatures like fish, frogs, and salamanders that are found in streams and rivers.