• 2.

1 Wildlife habitat: concept of habitat and ecological niche,

habitat triangle (food, cover and water)
• 2.2 Wildlife behavior: Teritoriality and resource selection (diet,
patch and mate choice), risk-sensitive habitat use
• 2.3 Population structure and dynamics: population
characteristics, population dynaimcs (meta population and
source-sink dynamics), population growth (growth models) and
regulation of population size
• 2.4 Predator-prey relationship, theories and models of predation

Some important terms

• Ecology: is the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to
one another and to their physical surroundings (biotic and abiotic relation).
• Conservation is the act of preserving, guarding, or protecting; the keeping
(of a thing) in a safe or entire state; preservation while protection is the
process of keeping (something or someone) safe.
• Preserve especially from loss, injury, or danger. You might fight for
the preservation of the woodlands near your house because of all the
animals that live there. 
• Protection is the action of protecting, or the state of being protected.
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by
outside forces.

Conservation area: watershed conservation, wildlife habitat conservation area

Protection for tiger, protected areas for wild buffalo
Preservation is prevent from damage

• Wildlife Sanctuary, is a natural habitat, owned by the government or private

agency, that safeguards particular species of birds and animals.
• National park: is an area of countryside, or occasionally sea or fresh water,
protected by the state for the enjoyment of the general public or the
preservation of wildlife. "commercial exploitation of natural resources in a
national park is illegal“
• Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection
because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values
• A wildlife reserve is habitat set aside for wildlife. A livable environment for
wildlife is a quality environment for mankind.
• Zoo is an establishment which maintains a collection of wild animals,
typically in a park or gardens, for study, conservation, or display to the
public.
2.1 Wildlife habitat: concept of habitat and ecological niche, habitat triangle
(food, cover and water)

• Habitat the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other

organism. "wild chimps” in their natural habitat"
• In ecology, a habitat is the type of natural environment in which a particular
species of organism lives. It is characterized by both physical and biological
features.
• A habitat (which is Latin for "it inhabits") is an ecological or environmental
area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of
organism.
A habitat is a place where an organism makes its home. A habitat meets all the
environmental conditions an organism needs to survive. For an animal, that means
everything it needs to find and gather food, select a mate, and
successfully reproduce. 

For a plant, a good habitat must provide the right combination of light, air, water,
and soil. For example, the cactus, which is adapted for sandy soil, dry climates, and
bright sunlight, grows well in desert areas.

IUCN protected area categories:

 Category Ia: Strict nature reserve A strict nature reserve (IUCN Category Ia)
is an area which is protected from all but light human use in order to
preserve the geological and geomorphic features of the region and its
biodiversity.
 Category Ib: Wilderness area : A wilderness area (IUCN Category Ib) is
similar to a strict nature reserve, but generally larger and protected in a
slightly less stringent manner.
 Category II: National park : A national park (IUCN Category II) is similar to a
wilderness area in its size and its main objective of protecting functioning
ecosystems. However, national parks tend to be more lenient with human
visitation and its supporting infrastructure.
 Category III: Natural monument and Natural feature: A natural
monument or feature (IUCN Category III) is a comparatively smaller area
that is specifically allocated to protect a natural monument and its
surrounding habitats. 
 Category IV: Habitat management area and Species management area:
A habitat or species management area (IUCN Category IV) is similar to a
natural monument or feature, but focuses on more specific areas of
conservation (though size is not necessarily a distinguishing feature), like an
identifiable species or habitat that requires continuous protection rather
than that of a natural feature.
 Category V: Protected landscape and Protected seascape: A protected
landscape or protected seascape (IUCN Category V) covers an entire body of
 land or ocean with an explicit natural conservation plan, but usually also
accommodates a range of for-profit activities.
 Category VI: Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources:
Though human involvement is a large factor in the management of
these protected areas, developments are not intended to allow for widescale
industrial production. The IUCN recommends that a proportion of the land
mass remains in its natural condition—a decision to be made on a national
level, usually with specificity to each protected area. 

Earth’s habitat
• Caves: • Forest
• Ocean: • Desert
• Grass land • Tundra
Terrestrial Habitats

• Terrestrial habitats refer to all types of land habitats found throughout the
world. There are numerous types of terrestrial habitats, including the ones
mentioned below:
Grasslands (savannas and prairies)
• Grasslands are another type of habitat with a wide variety of animal and bird
species.
• 2 kinds of grassland habitats, tropical and temperate.
• African savanna is an example of tropical grassland with animals like
lions, giraffes, elephants, zebras and rhinos living in this area.
• Temperate grasslands are home to animals like deer, gazelle, mice, rabbits
and various snakes.

Tropical rainforest

The rainforest habitats are divided into several layers or strata from the surface of
the soil to the forest canopy.
• Forest Floor: The bottom layer of this habitat is home to animals like okapi,
tapir, Sumatran rhinoceros, western lowland gorilla as well as various
amphibians, reptiles and insects.
• Understory layer: Various mammals, birds, reptiles and insects inhabit this
second stratum of rainforest habitat. Animals like leopards, poison dart frogs
are found in this layer.
• Canopy layer: The canopy layer is inhabited by numerous arthropod species
as well as other species like African gray parrot, keel-billed toucan, spider
monkey and three-toed sloth.
• Emergent layer: This stratum consists of very tall trees and is home to
various animals and bird species including crowned eagle, large flying
fox and king colobus.

Deserts:
 • Deserts are wide arid regions with little rainfall and little or no vegetation.
• Animals living in the desert habitats are adapted to extremely hot and humid
weathers and can survive without water for long periods of time.
• They have special adaptive features for utilizing the little water available in
their habitat range. Coyote, kangaroo rat, jack rabbit and various species of
lizards are some of the common dessert animals.

Mountains:
• Mountain habitat can be extremely harsh with low food availability and very
cold climates.
• Many animal species have developed special adaptive features to survive in
this type of habitat.
• These include mountain goats, mountain lions, big horn sheep, antelopes and
various bear species.

Freshwater Habitats
• Freshwater accounts for around 3% of the water on earth. However, only
0.014% of the total freshwater exists in the form of lakes, rivers and swamps
as surface water.
Rivers and Streams
• Animal species living in this type of habitat requires special adaptive features
to cope with the water flowing continuously in the same direction. Water
bodies like rivers, streams and springs are home to a wide range of animals,
birds and fishes such as river otter, dolphins, river turtle, American
crocodile, whooper swan, black-throated divers, mallards and red-bellied
piranha.
Lakes and Ponds
• This type of biome is ideal for a wide range of animal species. Many of these
water bodies have self-contained ecologies which may even turn them into
evolutionary microcosms.  Salmon, trout, pirarucu, common toad, great
crested newt, kingfisher, greater flamingo and platypus are some species that
inhabit these freshwater habitats..

Wetlands
• Wetland habitats include bogs, swamps, fens, marshes as well as waterlogged
areas which are home to numerous reptiles, amphibians, birds, fishes and
mammals. Some animals living in these biomes include mute swan, skylark,
grass snake, palmate newt, catfish, swallowtail butterfly and seven-spot
ladybird. (37 ramsar sites in India, 10 in Nepal)
Brackish Water
• Brackish water refers to the water bodies that contain a mixture of salt water
and freshwater. These water bodies are formed where freshwater meets the
marine water in places like deltas, mangrove swamps and estuaries. Brackish
waters are home to certain aquatic mammals, fishes, birds and insects
 including common seal, ground shark, stingray, avocet, wood stork, raft
spider etc.
Marine Habitats
• Around 71% of the surface of the Earth is covered by oceans. The evolution
of marine life began approximately 3 billion years before terrestrial life. Still,
there is lack of research and information regarding the ocean habitats and
their inhabitants
Open Ocean
• The open ocean refers to the sunlit uppermost layer of ocean beyond
continental shelves. This type of habitat is sometimes referred to as “marine
dessert” due to the lack of nutrients for supporting life compared to the
deeper waters. Animals found in the open oceans include blue whale, harbor
porpoise, narwhal, black-browed albatross, olive ridley turtle, sharks, manta
ray, flying fish and salmon.
Coral Reefs
• Coral reefs can be defined as underwater structures built from calcium
carbonate secretion of corals. Coral reefs are home to numerous marine
species including common black-banded sea kraits, frogfish, leafy and weedy
sea dragons, starfishes, gobies etc.
Deep Ocean
• This habitat constitutes of the deepest ocean layer below the continental
shelves. There is no sunlight and no algae or plant growth in the dark depths
of the ocean. Animal species living in this habitat have numerous special
adaptive features to survive as the deep ocean does not support the normal
food chain. Anglerfish, lobe-finned fishes, ray-finned fishes and various
sharks are found in the deep oceans.
Hydrothermal Vents (outlets)
• Hydrothermal vents like warm water vents, white smokers and black
smokers are created when water heated by some volcanic activity sprouts
from under the seabed.
• One interesting fact about hydrothermal vents is that animal species living in
this habitat depend on the chemicals present in the warm water, instead of
the sun, for their survival.
• Species like Pompeii worm, giant tube worm, hydrothermal vent squat
lobster and hydrothermal vent eelpout fish are found in this habitat.

Ecological niche
• The place or function of a given organism within its ecosystem.
• In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or
population in an ecosystem.
• Different organisms may compete for the same niche. For example, in
a forest there may be a niche for an organism that can fly and eat nectar
from blossoms. 
• This niche may be filled by some sort of bird, or
an insect, or even a mammal such as a bat.
 • In ecology, a niche is the role or job of a species in a habitat. The word niche
comes from the French word nicher, which means “to nest.”
• An ecological niche describes how a species interacts with, and lives in, its
habitat.
• Ecological niches have specific characteristics, such as availability of
nutrients, temperature, terrain, sunlight and predators, which dictate how,
and how well, a species survives and reproduces.
• A species carves (shapes) out a niche for itself in a habitat by being able to
adapt and diverge from other species.
• Modern-day ecologists study ecological niches in terms of the impact the
species has on its environment, as well as the species’ requirements.

• According to the competitive exclusion principle, two species cannot

occupy the same ecological niche in a habitat if they are competing for the
same resources.
• When species compete in a niche, natural selection will first move to lessen
the dependence of the species on the shared resources.
• If one species is successful, it reduces the competition.
• If neither evolves to reduce competition, then the species that can more
efficiently exploit the resource will win out, and the other species will
eventually become extinct.

Kirtland’s Warbler
• Kirtland’s warbler is a rare bird that lives in small areas in Michigan’s
northern Lower and Upper Peninsulas. The niche of Kirtland’s warbler is the
jack pine forest, and the forest must have very specific conditions.
• Jack pine forests with areas of over 80 acres are ideal for this species.
Specifically, these forests must have dense clumps of trees with small areas
of grass, ferns and small shrubs in between.
• Kirtland’s warbler nests on the ground beneath the branches when the tree is
about 5 feet tall, or around 5-8 years old. When the tree reaches about 16-20
feet tall, the lower branches start to die, and the bird will no longer nest
beneath the tree branches.
Dung beetles
• As the name implies, dung beetles eat dung, both as adults and as larvae.
They live on all continents except Antarctica. Dung is plentiful throughout the
world, and over time, the dung beetle has learned to exploit it as a resource,
and create its own niche. Dung beetles are known for the way in which they
roll dung into a ball before transporting it.
• These balls area buried in an underground burrow to either be stored as food
or used as brooding (hide) balls.
• The female lays eggs in the brooding ball and the larvae hatch inside. When
they reach adult size, the beetles dig out of the ball and work their way to the
soil surface.
 • The actions of dung beetles serve several important functions in their
habitat. Digging burrows and tunnels turns over and aerates the soil. The
buried dung releases nutrients into the soil that benefits other organisms.
• In addition, the beetle’s use of dung leaves less available for flies to breed on,
thus controlling some of the fly population.

Xerophytic Plants
• Xerophytic plants have developed several adaptations to living in dry
ecological niches. The adaptations evolved to help save water stored in
the plant and to prevent water loss. Examples of xerophytes are cacti and
aloe vera, also called succulents.
• These plants have thick fleshy leaves that store water, and long roots to
reach water deep underground. Other adaptations that xerophytic plants use
include the ability to move or fold up their leaves, dropping their leaves
during dry periods, a waxy coating to prevent evaporation (called the cuticle)
and thick hairy leaf coverings.
• The surface of plant leaves features stomata, which are tiny mouth-like
structures that take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen and water.
• Plants usually open their stomata during the day and close them at night.
Succulents do the opposite in order to reduce water loss during the heat of
the day.

Extremophiles
• Organisms can create ecological niches in some of the most inhospitable
places on earth. Extremophiles are organisms, primarily eukaryotes, adapted
to and thriving in areas of environmental extremes. The suffix -phile comes
from the Greek word philos, which means loving.
• The type of extreme environment describes these organisms. Some examples
are acidophiles (best growth between pH 1 and pH 5), thermophiles (best
growth between 140°F and 176°F), barophiles (best growth at high
pressures) and endolithic (growing within rock).
• Some organisms, called polyextremophiles, have adapted to more than one
extreme.
• The study of extremophiles is important to the understanding of how life
originated on earth and what life could be like in other worlds.

Triangle of habitat
Shelter/ space 
The amount of space an organism needs to thrive varies widely from species to
species. For example, the carpenter ant needs only a few square inches for an
entire colony to develop tunnels, find food, and complete all the activities it needs to
survive.
• Cougars are very solitary, territorial animals that need a large amount of space.
Cougars can cover 455 sq km (175 square miles) of land to hunt and find a mate.
A cougar could not survive in the same amount of space that a carpenter ant
needs.
 Plants need space, too.
Space is not the same as range; the range of an animal is the part of the world it
inhabits. 
Grassland, for example, is the habitat of the giraffe, but the animal’s range is central,
eastern, and southern Africa.

Water
• Wildlife needs clean drinking water to survive.
• You can provide this habitat component in a variety of ways, from a simple
birdbath or shallow dish of water to a water garden or pond.
• Other water sources may include natural features such as ponds, lakes,
rivers, springs, oceans and wetlands.
• Terrestrial animals also need water
• Save water save wildlife

Food and wildlife

• Food is essential all living beings.
• It varies according to plants and animals
• Insect eat: grass (grass hopper)
• Elephant also eat grass
• Tiger eat meat meat

2.2 Wildlife behavior: Territoriality and resources selection (diet, patch and mate
choice),
risk-sensitive habitat use

• Barking, purring (buzzing), and playing are just some of the ways that dogs
and cats behave.
• Animal behavior is any way that animals act, either alone or with other
animals.
• Animals have different behaviors for different reasons. Some they learn.
Some they are born knowing how to do. In the case of spiders, they know
from birth how to spin a web. No one teaches them.
• The cat is stalking a mouse. It is a hunter by nature.
• Cow care the calf: milking for it
• Behaviour is the range of actions and mannerisms made by organisms,
systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with their environment, which
includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical
environment.
• Behavioural ecology is concerned with decisions expressed by animals in the
form of changes in behaviour, affecting their chances of survival and
reproductive success.
• Individuals of a given population often differ in their behavioral response to
environmental perturbations (alarm), expressing contrasting tactics
depending on their phenotypic traits and their sensitivity to stressors.
• Some individuals are more aggressive, more active, bolder, or take more risk.
• These differences among individuals may reflect variation in animal
temperament or behavioral syndrome, that is, consistent among-individual
differences in a given behavior, or in suites of behaviors, over time
• Generally, behavioral gradients, from individuals that are shy/risk-averse,
less active, explore less and seek to minimize exposure to risk, to individuals
that are bold/risk taking, more active, explore more and are less sensitive to
the risk of predation or disturbance.
• For example, when faced with a given risk-related trade-off, certain
individuals minimize risk by using safer habitats but, as a result, obtain only
limited access to forage-rich habitats, whereas others prioritize the
acquisition of high-quality resources but, therefore, may be subject to a
higher degree of risk
• Movement rates and risk-taking behaviors (use of open areas), resulting in a
differential probability of surviving the hunting season: harvested
individuals had bolder behavior, with higher movement rates and higher use
of risky open habitat.
• Risk taking is a component of a behavioral syndrome, as it is correlated with
other behaviors such as dispersal or exploration.
• Interindividual variation in behavioral and physiological responses to a given
disturbance or stressor are key components for defining personality or
behavioral types.

Territorial behavior

• Territorial boundaries may be marked by sounds such as bird song, or

scents such as pheromones secreted by the skin glands of many mammals.
• Territoriality is a type of intraspecific (within) or interspecific (between)
competition that results from the behavioral exclusion of others from a
specific space that is defended as territory.
• Territorial behavior: the methods by which an animal, or group of animals,
protects its territory from incursions by others of its species. This well-
defined behavior is exhibited through songs and calls, intimidation
(frightening) behavior, attack and chase, and marking with scents. This form
of defense proves to be very costly for animals.
• So one is forced to ask, Why do animals take part in such interspecific
competition?
• Tiger’s territory, cat territory, dog territory….

Selection of diet, patch and mate choice

• The protective behavior is to acquire and protect food sources, nesting sites,
mating areas, or to simply attract a mate.
• The ultimate cause of this behavior may be attributed to the increased
probability of survival and reproductive successes.
 • In defending a territory an animal is ultimately securing that it will have a
habitat in which to forage for food and to successfully reproduce, thus
increasing the animal's overall fitness.
• This ultimate theory is strengthened when one considers the instances in
which territoriality increases; in times of depleted resources the presence of
territoriality increases.
• The presence of territoriality often forces less fit animals to live in sub
optimal habitats, thus reducing their reproductive success.
• Though territoriality offers immense reproductive and nutritional benefits, it
also comes at a cost. Defending territory is not easy.
• Territoriality cost time and energy and can often interfere with other
fundamental activities as parenting, feeding, courting (dating) and mating.
For these reasons territoriality may not be seen as a benefit in all animals.
• Animals must be able to reap (obtain) the fruits of territoriality, while
expending the least amount of energy.
• For these reasons if resources are abundant and predictable it would be
disadvantageous to defend the territory.
• On the other hand, if resources are scarce and undependable it would be
advantageous to exhibit territoriality.
• Territory plays an important role as a mechanism of population regulation,
insuring the success of fit animals, and aiding in the eradication of less fit
animals.
• Territorially also plays a fundamental role as an indicator of carrying
capacity; it also serves as an indicator of how much habitat is necessary to
support viable populations
• If such advertisement does not discourage intruders (invader), chases and
fighting follow.
• Both dogs and wolves are territorial animals.
• Wolf packs, because of their need to hunt game, claim large territories as
their own,
• whereas dogs claim their territories based on the limitations of their owners.
• Male wolves and dogs mark their territorial boundaries by urinating and
rubbing their scent on the ground or on trees to warn other animals of their
presence.
• When on neutral ground, that which is not considered by either dogs or
wolves to be their home territory, strangers greeting each other will go
through formal rituals of sniffing, marking, tail wagging, and posturing.
• Unless they are claiming the same prey or are engaged in courting (dating)
the same female, such interactions are usually terminated by each going its
own way.
Females will attack strangers in neutral territory to protect their young, however