CHAPTER 8

HABITAT OF THE LIVING

WHAT IS HABITAT
• The natural surroundings where an organism lives is its Habitat. It
consists of both BIOTIC and ABIOTIC components.
• Is the zoo a natural habitat of the lion? THINK.
• TYPES OF HABITAT
• Terrestrial habitat,
• Aquatic habitat
• Arboreal habitat
• Aerial habitat
• Amphibious Habitat.
HABITAT AND ADAPATATION AND ACCLIMITIZATION

• What is Adaptation?
The presence of certain features/habits in an organism that help it to survive in a
particular environment is called Adaptation.
• Adaptation can be the following: 1. Changes in body. Some animals develop
certain body parts to help them survive in their environment. 2. Change in
behavior. Some animals may hibernate or aestivate to survive. 3. Change in
location. Certain animals migrate to escape the harsh conditions of their
environment and then return home in favorable weather. E.g. The Arctic Tern.
• What is Acclimatization?
• Acclimatization is a process in which an organism learns to adjust itself to survive
in a particular environment for a short period of time.
• E.g. Astronauts and mountaineers.
Adaptations in a TERRESTRIAL habitat
DESERTS:
Deserts have almost no rainfall and extremely poor vegetation. Less than 25 cm of rainfall. Some
deserts can be cold too like Gobi desert in China or Leh Ladakh in India. Animals found here
include Camel, rattle snake, Kangaroo Rat ( it needs no water. It gets water from the seeds it eats)
and Gila Monster.
The CAMEL AND CACTUS have adapted to it in the following ways.
CAMEL: It has long legs which can keep its body away from the hot sand.
It has long eyelashes to protect it from sand storms
It can survive for long periods without food or water. It does not lose water by sweating.
Its feet have thick pads which protect it from the hot sand.
It stores fat in its hump to tide over times when there is no food available.
CACTUS: There are no leaves and water is stored in its stem. The stem is covered with a waxy
coating to prevent loss of water. The green stem does photosynthesis. Its roots can go deep in the
soil to reach for water.
MOUNTAINOUS AND POLAR HABITAT
• In the mountains the weather is cold and windy. The lowest temp. recorded in
Antarctica is – 88 degrees centigrade. The ground is covered with snow. Due to this
animals and plants find it difficult to survive.
• PLANTS: Most mountain plants grow close to the ground to avoid being uprooted
because of the strong winds.
• Trees are cone shaped so that the rain and snow can fall off and the branches are
sloping.
• ANIMALS: The YAK has thick hair covering its body. It has sharp hooves and horns to
break ice and reach the grass under it. The SNOW LEOPARD has a thick layer of fur on
its body and also on its feet and toes. The POLAR BEAR has a thick layer of fat under its
fur to protect it from cold. Its padded feet help it to walk on the icy ground. The Arctic
Fox has brown colored fur in the summer which gradually turns white as winter
approaches. This helps to CAMOUFLAGE it from enemies.
 RAINFOREST HABITAT
• TROPICAL FORESTS: These are also called rainforests. These are found between the
equator and the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic Of Capricorn. The temperature here is
between 20 degrees to 34 degrees. These regions get very heavy rainfall ( 200cm)
• Plants found here are : orchids, ferns and mosses.
• Animals found here: Bats, Gorillas, monkeys, Sloth etc.
• ADAPTATIONS OF PLANTS IN THE TROPICS.
• The leaves of the tropical rainforest trees have special tips called DRIP TIPS. These
enable raindrops to run off the leaf surface quickly preventing them from rotting due to
too much water.
• The branches of trees here entwine as they go higher not allowing too much sunlight to
penetrate through. So the plants adapt by climbing up nearby trees. Some of them have
large leaves near the ground only so as to be able to absorb as much sun as possible.
RAINFOREST HABITAT
• ADAPTATIONS OF ANIMALS IN THE TROPICAL RAINFORESTS.
• There is a huge variety of animals in the rainforests so the
competition for food is very high. Some animals adapt by learning to
eat a particular food which is eaten by no other animal. E.g. the
Toucan eats fruit no other animal can access because of its long and
hard beak which is able to penetrate the fruit.
• The SLOTH ADAPTS BY CAMOUFLAGING. So does the leaf insect and
the Stick insect.
TEMPERATE FORESTS AND THE
ADAPTATIONS
• These occur in Eastern N. America, North eastern Asia and Central Europe.
The temperature ranges from -30 degrees centigrade to 30 degrees
centigrade. Annual rainfall is about 150 cm. Most of the trees here are
Deciduous., shedding their leaves in winter.
• PLANTS: Maple, Oak, Elm.
• ANIMALS : Fox, Black Bear, Bobcat, Mountain lion.
• ADAPTATIONS OF PLANTS: To prevent damage during the freezing winter the
leaves are thin and narrow and the trees shed them in the extreme cold.
• ANIMAL: May animals found here migrate to warmer regions during winter.
Some Hibernate to tide over the cold.
•
BOREAL FORESTS AND ADAPTATIONS
• Boreal Forests re also called TAIGA. They are found in Japan, Russia, China and
Canada. The temperature here is very low -50 degrees centigrade to 30 degrees
centigrade. The annual snowfall ranges from 40 to 100 cm.
• PLANTS: Evergreen trees like Pine ,Fir , Spruce etc.
• ANIMALS: Wolf, Deer, Moose, Bats, Chipmunk.
• ADAPTATIONS OF PLANTS: Trees here are mostly cone shaped so the heavy snow
can slide off easily. Leaves are narrow and needle like to protect them from cold
and conserve water. They are EVERGREEN. Growing new leaves needs energy. The
soil is not very fertile in the Boreal forests. Also there is not much sun .So to
conserve energy these plants DONOT shed their leaves.
• ANIMAL ADAPTATION: May have a thick layer of fur ( bear, fox, wolf) and many
migrate to warmer regions.
GRASSLANDS
• These regions are dominated by tall grasses. There aren't many trees or shrubs here. The
temp. ranges from -20 degrees centigrade to 30 degrees centigrade. The annual rainfall is
from 50 cm to 90 cm.
• ANIMALS : Zebra, Giraffe, elephant, gazelle, lion.
• PLANTS: Baobab, Acacia.
• ADAPTATIONS FOR PLANTS: Usually have flexible stems which bend but do not break in
strong winds. Roots go deep ( so the grazing animals cannot easily uproot them) and are
strong. The Baobab tree stores water in its trunk and can survive long periods of drought.
Acacia has deep roots to access underground water.
• ADAPTATIONS OF ANIMALS: Zebras and gazelles run very fast from predators like lions.
Many camouflage well against the brown grasses. The lion’s eyes face forward and so can
judge distances well while attacking its prey. It has sharp claws and canines to tear flesh. The
deer’s eyes are on the sides of the head so it can look in all directions and run from danger.
AQUATIC HABITAT
• This is of 2 types: FRESH WATER HABITAT AND SALT WATER HABITAT.
• FRESH WATER HABITAT: Like water of lakes, ponds and rivers.
• ANIMALS IN FRESH WATER HABITAT: Fish, Frogs.
• PLANTS IN FRESH WATER HABITAT: Lotus, Hydrilla, Water hyacinth, Tape grass.
• ADAPTATIONS OF ANIMALS: The body of fish is streamlined to cut easily through water.
They have fins to help them swim and gills to breathe in water. Frogs have both lungs ( to
breathe on land) and moist skin for exchange of gases in water. They have webbed feet to
help them swim and strong hind legs to jump and catch prey.
• ADAPTATIONS IN PLANTS: Roots are reduced and mainly function to hold the plant upright
in water. Stems are hollow and light. In submerged plants like tapegrass the leaves are thin
like ribbons for exchange of gases and stem is very thin and flexible. Leaves of Lotus are
large with a waxy coating to protect it from constant exposure to water and stomata are
on the upper side.
AQUATIC HABITAT
• SEA WATER HABITAT
• Plants of Sea Water habitat: Algae, seaweeds
• Animals of salt water habitat: Dolphins, whales, mollusks, Sea anemones, octopus,
squids.
• ADAPTATIONS OF PLANTS: Algae and seaweeds have root like structures called
HOLDFASTS which grip the plant to the rocky shores.
• ADAPTATIONS OF ANIMALS: Mammals like Dolphins and whales breathe through
lungs. They come up to the surface of water periodically to take in oxygen through
their BLOWHOLES present on the upper part of their heads. They have huge lungs
and can take in a massive amounts of air at a time. The Octopus and the Squid do
not have a streamlined shape but when they move they become streamlined.
• What is an Estuary? What kind of plants and animals are found here?
QUESTIONS
• 1. How do plants adapt themselves to live in rainforest? Give 2 examples.
2.Give 3 examples of camouflage.
• 3.How do plants adapt in Boreal forests? Give 2 examples.
• 4.Discuss the modifications in a cactus ( xerophyte) to survive in the desert.
• 5.What adaptations do fresh water plants show?
• 6.How is Fish able to live under water?
• 7. Define prey and predator giving examples.
• 8. Name the 2 components of the environment with examples
• 9. What do u think will happen if organisms do not adapt to the environment?
• 10. How are the Abiotic conditions in deserts different from those found in the
mountains?
• Adaptations in the Red eyed Frog
• They have sticky pads on their feet to climb trees.
• The bulging eyes of the frog protect it from predators.
• Its green color camouflages it.
• Adaptations in Toucan .it lives in the tropical rainforest where the
population of animals is a lot and there is rivalry for food.
• The toucan has a strong beak. It also eats the discarded fruits which are
rotten and not eaten by other animals.
• The Elephant : It has tusks to tear up branches of trees. Its ears flap and
keep it cool in the heat of the jungle. Its large feet give its weight stability.
QUESTIONS
• 11. Give 2 examples of animals found in (a) terrestrial habitat (b) abiotic component
of habitat.
• 12. Name 2 main adaptations in a predator.
• 13. Which neighboring country of India is an island?
• 14. What is VIBGYOR
• 15.Name 2 secondary consumers.
• 16. Name the 3 layers of the earth.
• 17…….soil is found in the desert.
• 18.What is PETA? What is WWF?
• 19.Soilds usually become ……when heated. e. g .wax
• 20.Liquids usually become……on freezing e.g. water.
QUESTIONS
• 21……….is a scavenger
• 22. …………. Is a decomposer
• 23.Process of keeping eggs warm is called…………
• 24.The food pipe in humans is also called …………….
• 25.Crossing of fresh air through doors and windows at home is called…………
• 26. Name an extinct and an endangered animal.
• 27.The orbit of the earth around the sun is ………in shape.
• 28.Isolating a patient with an infectious disease is called……………..
• 29.A…………..measures body temperature.
• 30.A ……………measures Atmospheric pressure.
QUESTIONS
• 31.The intensity of an earthquake is measured on the …………… scale.
• 32.Saliva digests………….
• 33.A process that makes food more nutritive………….
• 34.Name a one celled plant…………and a one celled animal.
• 35.Cutting off ………helps put out a fire.
• 36. A fire extinguisher contains…………..
• 37.Animals that carry their young in pouches in their stomach are called…………
• 38.Cows and buffaloes chew cud .They are known as………
• 39.Cool breeze blowing from the sea to the land during the day is called………..
• 40.Crops grown without the use of pesticides are known as……….
• 41. Animals that gnaw their their food and have sharp incisors are called………..