Student Article
Habitats and Ecosystems: Understanding Their Differences and Impact on Biodiversity
Abiotic (adjective): Non-living, as parts of nature.
Biotic (adjective): Living, as parts of nature.
Microhabitat (noun): A smaller section of a habitat.
Biome (noun): A large community of organisms based on shared features.
Biodiversity (noun): The variety of different living things in a certain area or on Earth.
Interested in understanding the differences between habitats, ecosystems, environments, and niches?
The difference between a habitat and an ecosystem
In scientific terms, habitats, ecosystems, environments, and niches have distinct meanings. A habitat is a geographic location where an organism lives, such as a forest or a desert. An ecosystem is a set of interactions among species, including food chains, and between living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) parts of nature.
Habitats
Habitats can be divided into smaller sections called microhabitats, based on criteria like height in a tree canopy. Grouping adjacent habitats based on shared features, such as climate, creates a biome that supports a community of organisms. Microbes living around an animal's body inhabit its microbiome.The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists nine broad classes of terrestrial habitats: forest, savanna, shrubland, grassland, wetlands, rocky areas, caves/subterranean, desert, and artificial habitats. Aquatic habitats include ponds, shallow waters, oceanic areas, deep ocean floors, intertidal zones, and coastal areas.
Environments
An environment is the natural phenomena that surround and interact with a particular organism. It has a relative position in time and space, whereas a habitat doesn't move. For example, a desert lizard active at night experiences cool temperatures and nocturnal predators, while a diurnal species copes with heat during the day.
Niches
A niche is the subset of environmental conditions that affect a specific population of organisms. In ecology, a niche is determined by the resources required by the population. In evolution, a niche is the outcome of environmental pressures that drive natural selection. An ecological niche is like a house where a species could potentially live, while an evolutionary niche is where it has made itself at home.
Biodiversity
Habitats determine biodiversity. Tropical rainforests and coral reefs are rich in species. Habitat richness, the number of different locations in an area, is associated with higher biodiversity. Mapping the distribution of habitats across Europe suggests that local geography, surface topology, and latitude are strong predictors of habitat richness.
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Abiotic (adjective): Non-living, as parts of nature.
Biotic (adjective): Living, as parts of nature.
Microhabitat (noun): A smaller section of a habitat.
Biome (noun): A large community of organisms based on shared features.
Biodiversity (noun): The variety of different living things in a certain area or on Earth.