Animal Ecology

A habitat is any place where a particular animal or plant species lives. Examples of a habitat include a lake, a desert, or forest, or even a drop of water.
All habitats on Earth are part of the biosphere. Since the Earth is always changing, habitats are continually changing as well.
Descriptions of environments using temperature and rainfall are used to group habitats together. Habitats of similar climate and vegetation are called biomes. In different parts of the world, the same biome may contain different species, but will contain similar life forms. For example, trees are the dominant forms of the rain forest, no matter where the rainforest is located.
Animals, which live within a same-species group, and occupy an area at the same time, are part of a population. All members of the same population have certain traits in common. Populations of different plants and animals interact with each other, and together, these populations form communities. Plants and animals in a particular ecological community, or biome, must be adapted to the same living conditions so they can all survive in the same biome.
Many populations can live in the same area because each species fills a specific role in the community. This role is called a niche. What an animal eats, and where it eats are also part of its niche. Giraffes can live in the same area as gazelles because they eat different plants and don't compete with each other. Dung beetles bury the feces of these animals and lay their eggs in it. The hatching grubs feed on the feces. The buried feces also fertilize plants, which in turn feeds the gazelle and giraffe. Each plant and animal has its own niche in the ecological community, and is important in some way to the survival of the other.
Living organisms are usually classified as consumers (animals), producers (plants), or decomposers (fungi), depending on how they get their food. Consumers are, either herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores. Herbivores are called primary consumers because the feed directly on producers. Carnivores feed on other consumers. Omnivores eat both plants and animals. However, animals are seldom completely carnivorous or herbivorous. Some carnivores, such as bears, foxes, and the family cat or dog, will at times eat plants. Herbivores will sometimes eat small insects or grubs as well.
Adapted by :http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/animals.htm