Terrestrial Terrestrial habitat types include forests, grasslands, wetlands and deserts. Within these broad
biomes are more specific habitat types with varying climate types, temperature regimes, soils, altitudes and vegetation. Many of these habitat types grade into each other and each one has its own typical communities of plants and animals. A habitat-type may suit a particular species well, but its presence or absence at any particular location depends to some extent on chance, on its dispersal abilities and its efficiency as a colonizer.
List of arid habitat types •
Desert •
Fog desert •
Polar desert •
Steppe •
Savanna Wetland and riparian Other organisms cope with the drying up of their aqueous habitat in other ways.
Vernal pools are ephemeral ponds that form in the rainy season and dry up afterwards. They have their specially-adapted characteristic flora, mainly consisting of annuals, the seeds of which survive the drought, but also some uniquely adapted perennials. Animals adapted to these extreme habitat types also exist;
fairy shrimps can lay "winter eggs" which are resistant to
desiccation, sometimes being blown about with the dust, ending up in new depressions in the ground. These can survive in a dormant state for as long as fifteen years. Some
killifish behave in a similar way; their eggs hatch and the juvenile fish grow with great rapidity when the conditions are right, but the whole population of fish may end up as eggs in
diapause in the dried up mud that was once a pond.
Examples of wetland and riparian habitat types •
Bog •
Marsh •
Fen •
Flooded grasslands and savannas •
Floodplain •
Shrub swamp •
Swamp •
Vernal pool •
Wet meadow Forest Examples of forest habitat types •
Boreal forest •
Cloud forest •
Peat swamp forest •
Temperate coniferous forest •
Temperate deciduous forest •
Temperate rain forest •
Thorn forest •
Tropical dry forest •
Tropical moist forest •
Tropical rain forest •
Woodland Freshwater Freshwater habitat types include rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, marshes and bogs. Although some organisms are found across most of these habitat types, the majority have more specific requirements. The water velocity, its temperature and oxygen saturation are important factors, but in river systems, there are fast and slow sections, pools,
bayous and
backwaters which provide a range of habitat types. Similarly,
aquatic plants can be floating, semi-submerged, submerged or grow in permanently or temporarily saturated soils besides bodies of water. Marginal plants provide important habitat for both invertebrates and vertebrates, and submerged plants provide oxygenation of the water, absorb nutrients and play a part in the reduction of pollution.
Marine Marine habitats include brackish water,
estuaries,
bays, the
open sea, the
intertidal zone, the
seabed, reefs and deep /
shallow water zones. Further variations include
rock pools,
sand banks,
mudflats,
brackish lagoons, sandy and pebbly beaches, and
seagrass beds, all supporting their own flora and fauna. The
benthic zone or seabed provides a home for both static organisms, anchored to the
substrate, and for a large range of organisms crawling on or burrowing into the surface. Some creatures float among the waves on the surface of the water, or raft on floating debris; others swim at a range of depths, including organisms in the
demersal zone close to the seabed, and myriads of organisms drift with the
currents and form the
plankton.
List of marine habitat types •
Abyssal plain •
Aphotic zone •
Benthic zone •
Cold seep •
Coral reef •
Demersal zone •
Estuary •
Hydrothermal vent •
Intertidal zone •
Kelp forest •
Littoral zone •
Oceanic trench •
Photic zone •
Seagrass meadow •
Mangrove swamp •
Seamount •
Tide pool Urban Many animals and plants have taken up residence in urban environments. They tend to be adaptable generalists and use the town's features to make their homes.
Rats and
mice have followed man around the globe,
pigeons,
peregrines,
sparrows,
swallows and
house martins use the buildings for nesting,
bats use roof space for roosting,
foxes visit the garbage bins and
squirrels,
coyotes,
raccoons and
skunks roam the streets. About 2,000 coyotes are thought to live in and around
Chicago. A survey of dwelling houses in northern European cities in the twentieth century found about 175 species of invertebrate inside them, including 53 species of beetle, 21 flies, 13 butterflies and moths, 13 mites, 9 lice, 7 bees, 5 wasps, 5 cockroaches, 5 spiders, 4 ants and a number of other groups. In warmer climates, termites are serious pests in the urban habitat; 183 species are known to affect buildings and 83 species cause serious structural damage. ==Microhabitat types==