children s illustrated encyclopedia the natural world...when plants and animals are linked in this...

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Orpheus

T E M P E R A T E

E N V I R O N M E N T S

20 GRASSLANDSGrassland animals and plants • Life below ground

22 WOODLANDSDeciduous and coniferous woodlands

24 RIVER LIFEPonds and lakes

C O L D E N V I R O N M E N T S

26 MOUNTAINSLife in the Himalayas and Andes

P E O P L E A N D E N V I R O N M E N T

28 LIVING WITH PEOPLECity and farmland habitats

30 ANIMALS IN DANGERHunting • Loss of habitat • Conservation

32 INDEX

CONTENTS

E C O L O G Y

4 ECOLOGYFood webs • Niche, community and habitat

6 WORLD BIOMES

8 NATURAL CYCLESCarbon cycle

9 SOILLayers of the soil

T R O P I C A L R A I N F O R E S T

10 TROPICAL RAINFORESTRainforests of the world • Forest layers

12 RAINFOREST CANOPYLife at the top of the trees

14 AMAZON RIVER LIFEFish and water birds

H O T E N V I R O N M E N T S

16 SAVANNAGrazing herds • Hunters and scavengers

18 DESERTSHow plants and animals survive

C O N T E N T S

3

First published in 2009 by Orpheus Books Ltd., 6 Church Green, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 4AW England

www.orpheusbooks.com

Copyright © 2009 Orpheus Books Ltd

Created and produced by Orpheus Books Ltd

Text Claire Aston, Steve Parker

Consultant Steve Parker BSc Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society

Illustrators Susanna Addario, Mike Atkinson, Andrew Beckett, JohnButler, Martin Camm, Ferruccio Cucchiarini, Elisabetta Ferrero,Giuliano Fornari, Andrea Ricciardi di Gaudesi, Gary Hincks, Ian

Jackson, David More, John Morris, Steve Noon, Nicki Palin, AlessandroRabatti, Eric Robson, Claudia Saraceni, Peter David Scott, Ivan Stalio,

Colin Woolf, David Wright

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior

written permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN 978 1 905473 51 9

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed and bound in Singapore

C O N T E N T S

2

One of the most important activitiesliving things do is feeding. Plants“feed” on sunlight and mineralsfrom the soil and form the groupknown as primary producers.Animals that eat plants formanother group, herbivores. Theyrange from tiny insects to rabbits.Animals that eat animals arecarnivores. When plants and animalsare linked in this way, it is called afood chain. Since animals eat more thanone kind of food, food chains are part ofmore complex food webs, such as thisexample (left) from a North American forest.

E C O L O G Y

5

Ecology is a “new” part of the lifesciences. Compared to zoology and botany(the studies of animals and plants), whichare thousands of years old, ecology has beencarried out in a detailed and serious way forless than one hundred years. It is also a verycomplex and wide-ranging science, relyingon topics such as meteorology (the study ofweather and climate) and oceanography. Inturn, the basic ideas of ecology are used inrelated subjects such as farming, pollutioncontrol, conservation and countryside care.

E C O L O G Y

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The green tiger beetleis a fierce huntinginsect with large jaws toseize prey such as worms.It is a single organism orindividual but it cannot livealone. It needs other animalsfor food, plants for shelter and amate of its kind for breeding.

ECOLOGY

THE WORD ecology comes from theancient Greek oikos (ecos) meaning

“house”. It can be thought of as the studyof “nature’s house-keeping”. Ecology looksat how animals, plants and other livingthings survive together. It studies how theydepend on and relate to each other, such asbeing plants and plant-eaters, predators andprey or parasites and hosts. It also examineshow living things fit into the environmentwith their non-living surroundingsincluding air, water, soil and rocks, and howthey cope with changing conditions such asweather, climate and seasons.

Rabbit

Lynx

Shrew

Bear

Insects

Hawk

Songbird

Plants

Human activities havereplaced vast areas ofcountryside with a mosaic ofartificial habitats (right). Ahedge is like a strip of woodland,while a river has vegetation alongits banks. The rest is fields. Leftalone, they would slowly change backto the natural habitat of the region. In thecase of the soil community (above), this isbroadleaf woodland.

The green tiger beetle is partof the soil community (below). Itcompetes for small prey withothers such as centipedes andspiders. It may be hunted itself bylarger predators such as shrewsor moles. The part or role that anorganism plays in its community,in this case as a small predator, iscalled its ecological niche.

C O M M U N I T Y A N D H A B I TATThe basic part or unit of ecology is anindividual organism, such as an animal orplant. Individual organisms hardly ever liveon their own. They exist and interact withothers, satisfying their needs such as shelterand nourishment. For example, an animaleats part of a plant, then the plant growsusing that animal’s droppings as fertilizer.Living things in an ecosystem that

interact and rely on each other for survival,form a community. Their natural homesmay be small like a garden pond or arotting log, or extensive, like a lake or forest.These homes are all different types ofhabitat, places based on similar kinds ofplants or physical features such as soil type.Examples are oak woods, salt marshes, coralreefs, sand dunes or the deep ocean floor.The largest habitats are vast areas known asbiomes (see page 6).

Ecology is divided into various specialistareas such as the freshwater ecology ofponds, rivers, lakes and marshes, marineecology of estuaries, seas and oceans, andterrestrial ecology of the land. Ecologists areinterested mainly in what living things—called organisms—do in their surroundings.They think of the natural world as beingdivided up into ecosystems, distinct areas inwhich living things interact with theirenvironment. All ecosystems taken togetherform the biosphere, the living world.

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TUN DRA

B O RE A L F O R E S T

M O U N T A I N

S AVA N

N A G R A S S L A N D

WO O D L A N D

OC EAN

TROP IC

AL R AINFORES T

P O L AR

D E S E RT

E C O L O G Y

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Each biome is the product of the climate,rocks and soil of the region. The far northand far south of the Earth, covered withsnow and ice for most of the year, are polarbiomes. Just south of the northern polarlands is the tundra biome. It is too cold fortrees, but the upper soil thaws during thebrief summer and small plants like mossesand sedges grow. The boreal forest is slightlyless cold. Conifer trees can grow in summerand also withstand the heavy snows ofwinter. Around the world cold, highlandregions form the similar mountain biome.In temperate woodland, the summer is

longer and warmer. Broadleaved treesthrive, although they lose their leaves inwinter. Tropical forests grow near theEquator where the climate is hot and wetthrough the year. Where it is drier, savannagrasslands grow, and even less rain producesthe desert biome. Streams, rivers and lakes make up local

freshwater biomes, while swamps andmarshes form wetlands. The coastal biome isthe narrow strip between land and sea. Byfar the largest biome is the oceans.

E C O L O G Y

6

E U R O P E

N O R T HA M E R I C A

S O U T HA M E R I C A

A U S T R A L I A

A F R I C A

A S I A

A N T A R C T I C A

A R C T I C O C E A N

A T L A N T I C

O C E A N

I N D I A N

O C E A N

S O U T H E R N O C E A N

P A C I F I CO C E A NP A C I F I C O C E A N

WORLD BIOMES

THERE ARE several large-scale types ofbiome on Earth, nine of which are

featured here. Each is made up of smaller-scale habitats that are generally similar toeach other. For example, woodlands of oak,beech, maple and other broadleaved treesmake up the temperate woodland biome.

E C O L O G Y

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E C O L O G Y

8

A slice through the ground reveals thedifferent soil layers (left). On top isleaf litter (1) with old leaves,twigs and feathers. Below istopsoil (2), rich in dead anddecaying remains of plantsand animals and home tosmall soil creatures. Italso contains the thinroots of small plants.Next is the subsoil(3). This has lessorganic matter, andmore and larger rockfragments. The rootsof bushes and treesgrow into the subsoilfor firm anchorage.The rock fragmentsget bigger and morenumerous until theyform solid bedrock (4).

Plants take up nutrients andminerals through their roots.They use thesesubstances, pluscarbon dioxide gasfrom the air andlight energyfrom theSun, togrow andmakenewparts.

Herbivore animals eat plants.They take in the plant parts,

break them down ordigest them intominerals andnutrients, andthen recyclethem to formnew partsfor theirownbodies.

Fungi,microbessuch asbacteria andanimals such asworms help the rottingprocess as plants andanimals decay and theirminerals and nutrients return tothe soil.

Animalsproduce

droppings andeventually they

die. Theirdroppings and bodies

become food forscavengers or they begin to

decay and rot away.

NATURAL CYCLES

PLANET EARTH is like a giant, self-contained spaceship. It only has alimited amount of chemical substances andother matter. In nature these chemicalelements such as oxygen, carbon andsulphur are neither made nor destroyed.They are recycled, moving round and roundin the natural world in the form of mineralsand nutrients. The number of separatepathways and short-cuts is almost endless.But, in general, minerals and nutrients movefrom the soil into plants, into plant-eatinganimals or herbivores, then meat-eatinganimals or carnivores, back into the soilwhen any plant or animal dies and rotsaway, and so on. At any time the pathwaymay branch off, for example, when ascavenger feasts on a rotting animal carcass.

One of the most important chemicalsubstances in nature is carbon. It forms thebasis of the building-block molecules ofliving things, from microscopic cells to ourown teeth and hair. In the carbon cycle,carbon in the form of carbon dioxide gas inthe air is taken in by plants during theprocess of photosynthesis and used to buildtheir body parts. Animals eat the plants andre-arrange the carbon-based substances tomake and maintain their own body parts. Atthe same time they break down high-energy, carbon-containing substances suchas sugars in their bodies, by the process ofrespiration, to gain energy for their lifeprocesses. The respiration combines thecarbon from sugar with the oxygen theybreathe in to make carbon dioxide gas. Thisis breathed out into the air—and so thecarbon cycle continues.

SOIL

SOIL may appear dull and lifeless, but it isa vital part of the natural world. Soilconsists of fragments of rock, such as sandgrains, mixed with the rotting remains ofleaves, animal droppings and other plant andanimal matter. Water and air occupy thespaces between the soil particles. Alsoinhabiting the soil are millions ofmicroscopic living things, such as bacteria,tiny animals like mites and springtails, theroots of growing seeds and full-grownplants, the threads of fungi, small creaturessuch as earthworms and insect grubs, andlarger animals like moles. Soils varyenormously in their thickness, particle sizeand the main minerals and nutrients theycontain. The climate, the kinds of rocks thatlie beneath and the main types of plants thatgrow in soil all affect its character and itsnourishing ability, or fertility.

Tiny red mites (1), springtails (2) and falsescorpions (3) teem in their millions in soilamong the plant roots.

Deep soil with plenty of rotting plant andanimal matter is very fertile and manyplants grow in it. But specialist plants likecacti can grow even in thin, dry, nutrient-poor, sandy desert soils. Sadly, acid raincaused by pollution has made large areas ofsoil too acid to support much life.



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Foliage constantly falls down onto theforest floor from the trees above, forming alayer of decaying plant matter. This isquickly broken up by insects that live andfeed among it, so that it becomes a richsource of nutrients for the surrounding treesto take into their roots. The insectsthemselves are food for birds and ground-dwelling forest animals, such as rodents andlizards. These small animals are, in turn,hunted by larger predators, such as snakesand cats, some of which will often lie inwait on low branches, ready to drop downon to their unsuspecting prey.

The Amazon rainforest is the largestin the world. It is home to thejaguar, which hunts largemammals such as peccariesand tapirs, as well as tothe 9-metre-long, river-dwelling anaconda.

KEY1 Harpy eagle2 Howler monkey3 Toucan4 Morpho butterfly5 Anaconda6 Tapir7 Scarlet macaw8 Jaguar

Much of thewildlife of theAmazonrainforest isfound close tothe river.

Large plant-eaters such as elephants andgorillas also feed on the forest floor, pullingfoliage from the lower branches. Rivers fullof fish run through the forests, and aresources of food and water for many animals.Some animals, like the capybara, also leapinto the water to escape from predators.


11

TROPICALRAINFOREST

AREAS OF tropical rainforest are foundnear the Equator, in regions with a hot

climate and high level of rainfall all yearround. The most extensive rainforests arefound in Central Africa, South America,Southeast Asia and the island of Madagascar.There are also small areas of rainforest inAustralia and Central America.Tropical rainforests are the richest of all

environments in terms of plant and animallife. Today, large areas of rainforest are beingcut down, both to supply the timberindustry and to make room for farming,roads, quarries and housing.

The rainforest is made up of severaldifferent layers, like the storeys of askyscraper. At the highest level is theemergent layer, made up of the tallest trees,some of which can reach 70 metres inheight. This is a bright, windy layer, wherebirds and bats swoop, feeding on insects,

There are millionsof insects intropical rain -forests. Manykinds are as yetunidentified.Some, such as theQueen Alexandra’sbirdwing butterfly(left), grow toenormous sizes.

fruits and flowers. Below the emergent layeris the canopy, an almost continuous “roof”of branches and foliage. Here, in the warmsunlight, fruits and flowers grow, and manyanimals feed on them.Lower still is a shadier area known as the

understorey, where animals fly, leap, climb orglide between the trees. Smaller plants thatcould not survive on the dark forest floorroot themselves in pockets of decayingmatter among branches, using the trees as asupport to reach up towards the light.

Lemurs are found inthe rainforest ofeastern Madagascar.They leap from tree totree on their long legs,or search for food onthe ground.

At the level of the forest floor, little lightcan penetrate down through the thickcanopy. The atmosphere is dark and still, andground vegetation is scarce. Only in placeswhere a tree has fallen to create a clearing,or along the banks of a river, can groundvegetation find enough light to to grow.

The mandrill, a kind of baboon, lives onthe floor of the Central African rainforest.


10

Equator

NorthernAustralia

Madagascar

Tropical rainforests

South-east AsiaCentral

Africa

Amazon

CentralAmerica

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The year-round supply of

fruit and flowers provides a

feast for fruit bats. While

feeding on flower nectar,

they also play a part in the

process of pollination, as

their fur becom

es dusted

with pollen which is then

carried to another flower.

The rainforest canopy is

alive with colour, provided

not only by the fruits and

flowers, but also by many

brightly-coloured animals.

Huge butterflies flap

through the trees, so large

that they could almost be

mistaken for birds. Groups

of noisy parrots provide

vivid splashes of colour as

they search for nuts to

crack with their strong

beaks.

The continuous network of

branches in the canopy

means that som

e animals

hardly ever descend to the

ground. There is plenty of

food in the form of fruits

and leaves, as well as

insects and other small

prey. To move from branch

to branch, colugos spread

out flaps of skin along their

sides and glide. Gibbons

have very long arms and

strong, grasping hands and

feet. They swing through

the trees with a smooth,

hand-over-hand movem

ent

known as brachiation.


13

RA

INF

OR

ES

T C

AN

OP

Y

THE CANOPY is where most birds,

insects, monkeys and other rainforest

animals live. Many plants, called epiphytes,

grow in the moss collected in tree branches.

This illustration is of

the Southeast Asian

rainforest.

KEY

1Crested sw

ift2

Whiskered tree swift

3Re

d-bearded bee-eater

4Great h

ornbill

5Co

lugo

6Siam

ang gibbon

7Fruit b

at8

Great M

emnon butterfly

9Blue-rum

ped parrot

Insect-eating birds such as

swifts and bee-eaters

perch on the topm

ost

branches, ready to swoop

down and catch their prey

in mid-air. The heavier

hornbill sits on lower

branches, feeding on fruits.


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The river is the huntingground of birds such as thejacana and the sunbittern.The jacana can walk acrossfloating water plants withoutsinking, while the sunbitternwades through the muddyshallows, probing for insectsand small fish with its longbeak. The Amazon kingfishersits on an overhangingbranch. In a flash, it divesinto the water, emerging witha fish which it takes back tothe branch to eat.

The river channels also provide a richsource of food and water for land-dwellinganimals and the peoples of the Amazon.During the rainy season, vast areas of theforest floor flood, and fish swim among thetree trunks. Some animals, such as thecapybara, anaconda or jaguar, are goodswimmers and are easily able to negotiatethe floodplains. Other animals,such as monkeys, iguanas andanteaters, take to the treesduring the floods.


15

AMAZON RIVER LIFE

THE AMAZON RIVER has thousandsof tributaries that flow through the

rainforest. Some of these channels are wideand deep, while others are narrow, shallowand full of fallen leaves, branches, andwinding tree roots. The river teems withfish, including predators such as thenotorious piranha, the electric eel and thearawana, which will often leap out of thewater to snatch insects or even birds.

KEY1 Piranhas2 Electric eel3 Jacana4 Striped leporinus5 Arawana6 Hummingbirds7 Postman butterfly8 Bromeliad9 Angelfish10 Hyacinth macaw11 Owl butterfly12 Amazon kingfisher13 Tetras14 Bird-eating spider15 Leafcutter ants16 Sunbittern17 Pirarucu


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KEY1 Elephant2 Cheetah3 Wildebeest4 Giraffe5 Thomson’s

gazelle

6 Zebra7 Marabou

stork8 Hyena

9 Warthog10 Lion

H U N T E R S A N DS C AV E N G E R SThe herds of plant-eaters provide food formany savanna carnivores, including lions,leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs.The larger carnivores can kill large plant-eaters such as wildebeest. Smaller, lesspowerful hunters feed on antelopes andgazelles, rodents and other small animals.Birds of prey swoop down on their victimsout of the sky, or from treetops.After the hunters have eaten their fill, the

scavengers move in. As well as making theirown kills, hyenas scavenge from the remainsof others, their strong jaws able to crusheven bones. Vultures spot the carcass as theycircle in the skies, and come down to feed,drawing the attention of other scavengers,marabou storks and jackals. The final scrapsare removed by flies and beetles.Insects are very important to life on the

savanna, especially in this “clearing up”process. Dung beetles remove animal dung,on which they feed and lay their eggs.Termites take dead plant matter into theirnests, where they grow fungus on it to eat.

Among the toppredators of the

African savannaare lions. A group, or

pride, of lions is mostly madeup of females and theiryoung. At the head of thepride is one male, or severalrelated males. The females domost of the hunting, while the

males defend thepride’s territory.Rival males oftenbattle with eachother fiercelyfor control of apride.


17

SAVANNA

SAVANNA grasslands are found close tothe Equator, outside the belt of tropicalrainforests. The largest and best-knownsavanna grasslands are in Africa,although there are also areas inSouth America, India and

northern Australia. Savanna is dominated bygrass, but the landscape is also scattered withbushes and trees. The climate is hot, with adry season followed by a rainy season. The vast expanses of grass in the African

savanna support a wide range of grazinganimals such as wildebeest, zebras andgazelles. Other plant-eaters, such aselephants, giraffes and black rhinoceroses,are browsers, feeding on vegetation frombushes and trees. Both browsers and grazersavoid competition for food by feeding atdifferent levels. The giraffe’s long neck andthe elephant’s trunk allow them to reach upto the highest leaves, while smaller animalsfeed lower down. Among the grazers, zebrasand buffaloes tear off the coarse top shootsof the grass. The wildebeest then feed onthe leafy layer below, leaving the tendershoots at the base for the gazelles. Most of the African plant-eaters live in

herds, for protection against predators. Theymove from place to place, according towhere grass and water can be found. Whenthe dry season begins, they migrate in a vastmass from their breeding grounds in thesouth to wetter areas in the north and west.


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Despite the barren landscape, a surprisingvariety of animal life can be found in thedesert. The biggest problems facing theseanimals are the heat and the lack of water.Small mammals such as kangaroo rats andground squirrels spend the day shelteringfrom the hot sun underground, coming outto feed only at night. Reptiles, on the otherhand, need to warm up in the sun beforethey can become active enough to hunt, sothey cannot feed at night. Instead, theyshelter in burrows or rock crevices during

Flowering heathland borders the scrublanddesert or “outback” of Australia, wherehoney possums sip flower nectarwith their brush-liketongues.

“Living stones” are southernAfrican desert plants. Theyhave very thick leaves with awaxy surface to prevent aslittle water as possible beinglost from them. This meansthat they can store largeamounts of water in theirleaves. They live amongrocks, taking in any waterthat seeps into the rockcrevices. To avoid beingeaten by thirsty animals,these plants have evolvedshapes and colours which,when they are not in flower,make them look very muchlike the surrounding rocks.

the hottest part of the day, basking andfeeding during the cooler early morningand evening.Some large mammals, such as camels,

have thick coats on their backs to keep outthe heat, and thinner hair on their bellieswhich lets excess heat out of the body. Theycan also conserve water inside their bodies,needing to take in very little to survive.Some carnivorous animals get all the waterthey need from their food, while birds canfly long distances in search of water.

The addax is a largeantelope from theSahara desert. Itslight-coloured coatreflects heat, whileits digestive systemcan cope withcoarse grasses andlittle or no water.

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DESERTS

WITH LITTLE or no rainfall, andoften searingly hot temperatures,

deserts are some of the most inhospitableplaces on Earth. Some deserts, especiallythose close to the Equator, are hot all yearround, with temperatures sometimesreaching 50˚C. Others, such as the Gobidesert in Mongolia, are cold andwindswept. There, high mountains act as abarrier to any warm, moist air currents, andtemperatures can fall to -20˚C in winter.Many deserts are bare and rocky with

areas of sparse scrubland, where only thehardiest plants can grow. As plants needwater to survive, they must conserve asmuch as they can. Desert plants such ascacti have adapted the way they carry outphoto synthesis, opening their stomata(pores) to take in carbon dioxide only in

the cool of the night. Their thick, swollenstems also help to reduce water loss. Otherdesert plants keep most of their bulk in rootsystems underground, out of the sun’s heat.Some hot deserts are sandy, and the wind

sweeps the sand into huge wave-like dunes.In these arid, bare landscapes, the sand ismostly too unstable to support plant life.Sometimes an underground water sourcecomes close to the surface, creating an oasis,where plants can grow, and people can live.

North American deserts arescattered with cacti, somekinds of which can grow upto 15 m in height. Smallmammals emerge fromtheir burrows at night tofeed, and are themselveshunted by large lizards andsnakes. Wild horses roamthe deserts, visitingwaterholes to drink.

KEY1 Wild horses2 Kit fox3 Roadrunner4 Sidewinder5 Gila woodpecker6 Saguaro cactus7 Gila monster8 Kangaroo rat9 Scorpion


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In the warm summer months, newvarieties of flowering plants and grassesgrow on the grasslands, attracting manyinsects. These provide extra food for smallmammals such as ground squirrels, as well asfor animals that are primarily insect-eaters,such as armadillos.During the past hundred years or so, large

areas of grassland have been destroyed byhumans. This is most evident in NorthAmerica, where the prairies have beengreatly damaged and reduced in size bycrop and cattle farming. Animals such as theNorth American bison and its Europeanrelative were hunted almost to extinction.

Prairie dogs, a kind of ground squirrel, live on the NorthAmerican prairies, in colonies sometimes numberinghundreds of animals. While feeding on the surface, they willbark at the sight of a predator such as a coyote or bird ofprey. Old burrows are often used by other animals such asburrowing owls and rattlesnakes.

B E LO W G R O U N DOn the open grassland, where there are fewplaces to hide, the larger grassland animalsprotect themselves against predators byliving in herds. Others rely on speed tocarry them away from danger. For thesmaller animals, however, the best defence isto live underground. Rabbits, groundsquirrels and cavies burrow networks ofholes and tunnels, which they use to sleepin, to escape from predators, and to keeptheir young safe. As they dig, they also helpto mix the nutrients in the soil, and keepthe grassland healthy.

T E M P E R A T E E N V I R O N M E N T S

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GRASSLANDS

AREAS OF grassland are found in thecontinental interior, far from the cool,

moist winds of coastal areas. This gives thema warm, dry climate in summer, but manyalso endure cold winters. Because of thelack of rain in the summer, hardy grasses arethe main plant life, though trees can also befound where water gathers during spring.The steppes of Asia and the prairies andpampas of North and South America aredominated by grasses, while the Africansavanna and Australian grasslands, with theirtropical climates, have more trees.

Grasslands all over the world make idealenvironments for plant-eating animals of allsizes, from huge bison to small rodents. Thelarge grazing animals are preyed upon bywolves, coyotes, foxes and other members ofthe dog family. Even swift kangaroossometimes fall victim to packs of wild dogscalled dingoes. Smaller plant-eaters, such asrabbits or prairie dogs, are a quick meal forlarger hunters, but are also hunted byweasels, badgers and birds of prey.

Eucalyptus trees (right) arefound in the Australiangrasslands. In the hot, dryconditions, many trees aredestroyed by fire, buteucalyptus trees are able tore-grow quickly fromdormant buds “stored” intheir bark.

Grassland animals from fourcontinents (below). Thepronghorn of North America,ostrich from Africa andkangaroo from Australia relyon speed to escape frompredators, but the armadilloof South America hasprotective armour-plating.

Baobab trees of Africa (below) survivethe dry season by storing water insidetheir huge, bottle-shaped trunks. Theycan measure 50 m around their girth.

Pronghorn

Armadillo

OstrichGrey kangaroo


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C O N I F E R O U S W O O D L A N D SConifers constantly lose and replace theirleaves, or needles, throughout the year. Thedead leaves are not broken down into thesoil because worms and other soil-enrichinginvertebrates find them distastful. Instead,they remain as a thick layer of leaf litter,making the soil acidic and poor. Forest berries and fungi provide food for

birds and mammals. Crossbills use theirspecially adapted beaks to prise open pinecones and reach the nutritious seeds inside.Conifer trees provide animals with shelterand some warmth during the winter.At one time woodlands covered huge

areas of Europe, North America and Asia.Much deciduous woodland has been cutdown to grow crops on its rich soil. Areasof coniferous forest, with its poor soil, stillremain in Asia and North America.

A woodland may seem to be acalm, quiet place, but,studied closely, it is a hive ofactivity. A deciduouswoodland during the springand summer months (right) isparticularly busy. The newly-emerged leaves on the treesare food for insects and theiryoung. Insects also feed onleaf litter on the ground,decomposing it and turning itinto a rich mixture ofnutrients. Butterflies and beesvisit flowers to drink nectar.As they feed, bees also carrypollen from one flower toanother, helping the flowers toreproduce. Birds and mamalsalso help in plantreproduction, by feeding onfruits and discarding theseeds on the ground. Below ground, worms feed

on the soil, mixing andbreaking it down. Predatorssuch as moles dig through thesoil after them with theirpowerful feet. Ants leave theirnest chambers to search forfood on the surface.

The vast coniferous forests ofnorthern Russia are known as thetaiga. During the winter, animals thatfeed on the northern tundra during theshort summer, such as elk andreindeer, shelter in the forest,scraping away the snow to feed onmosses. The lynx and goshawk preyon small mammals. The brown bearhibernates until spring.

KEY1 Goshawk2 Elk3 Brown bear4 Reindeer5 Lynx6 Crossbill


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WOODLANDS

WOODLANDS are found in parts ofthe world that have a temperate

climate, with warm summers but coolwinters. In western Europe, the easternUSA and eastern Asia, woodland is mainlydeciduous. In winter, the trees lose theirleaves and shut down their growth. This

allows them to conserve water and survivethe cold. Further north are the coniferous,or boreal, forests of Russia and NorthAmerica. Their trees have needle-like leavesand a conical shape, to shed heavy snowthat could break their branches.The plants and animals that live in the

woodlands also have to survive the winter.Food becomes scarce as plants die back andfruits and seeds are no longer abundant.Some animals hibernate in sheltered treeholes or underground burrows, only stirringwith the new growth of spring. Othersstore enough food during the autumn tolast them through the winter.

KEY1 Red squirrel2 Green woodpecker3 Tawny owl4 Dormouse5 Roe deer6 Grey squirrel7 Jay8 Badger9 Rabbit10 Stoat11 Blackbird12 Great tit13 Song thrush14 Fox15 Hedgehog

Unlike the dense roof of a tropicalrainforest, the canopy of a deciduous woodlets some light reach the woodland floor,creating a layer of thick, varied groundvegetation. In damp areas, rich green mosscoats the trees.During autumn, fallen leaves build up

into a thick layer on the ground, providinginsects, worms and small mammals with awarm hibernation site. There is alwaysdanger, however, from digging predatorssuch as foxes. In the spring, insects andother invertebrates feed on the leaf litter,breaking it down into nutrients in the soil,where it is taken up by growing plants.

Autumn in European deciduouswoodland (below). Hedgehogsand dormice feed beforehibernating, while squirrels andjays store nuts for the winter.Owls and foxes look out for prey.


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KEY1 Bumblebee2 Cloudless sulphur butterfly3 Swallowtail butterfly4 Longhorn beetle5 Tachinid fly6 Mole7 Snail8 Slug9 Ants

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The many kinds of fish found in slow-moving waters are a vital source of food forlarge predators. Large fish, such as the pikein Europe, patrol the waters in search ofsmaller fish to eat. Turtles and swift-movingotters also swim in search of fish. Birds skiminsects from the surface, and dive or wadethrough the water, stabbing with their beaksto make their catch. The river banks provide shelter for many

animals. Small mammals such as voles live inholes above the water line, while birds nestamong the tall reeds and rushes that oftengrow in the shallows.

Wetlands are formed at the edgesof lakes, where rivers meet thesea, or where the land is flooded.Potentially highly fertile, wetlandsare one of our most threatenedhabitats, as they are oftenreclaimed for farming or forbuilding land.The Everglades of Florida, USA

(right) is an area of swamplandand slow-moving water. Tall reedsdominate the waterlogged land.Wading birds such as flamingoesand spoonbills feed in theshallows, while alligators roamthe deeper water.

KEY1 Everglade kite2 Flamingo3 Alligator4 Spoonbill5 Swamp rabbit6 Cottonmouth7 Raccoon8 Tree frog9 Tarpon (young fish)

Salmon areborn in rivers,

then swim out to thesea. They return to the

rivers to lay their eggs,swimming and leaping

upstream against the current.

P O N D S A N D L A K E SThe still, calm waters of ponds and lakes arean ideal habitat for microscopic floatingplants known as algae. They are fed upon bytiny animals, called zooplankton, which arethen eaten by insects, snails and small fish.

In small ponds, the major predators arenewts and frogs, while fish can be found inlarger ponds and lakes. Tall water plants takeroot in the bottom. They provide insectlarvae with a “ladder” out of the waterwhen they emerge to become adults.

The great diving beetle livesin ponds. It grabs its prey,even smallfish, with itsfront legs.


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RIVER LIFE

RIVERS hold a very small proportionof the Earth’s water, but they are

extremely important habitats for manykinds of animals. At their source, usually inthe mountains, rivers are fast-flowing, andplants cannot root themselves in the riverbed. The main source of food forinvertebrates, such as water-living snails,leeches and fly larvae, is decaying plantmaterial. This is washed downstream fromvegetation that overhangs the river, and isfiltered from the water by the invertebratesas they cling to the rocky river bed. Birdsand strong-swimming fish then feed on theinvertebrates.Further downstream, as the gradient

lessens, a river is slower-moving. The mud

and silt that collect on the river bottomform a bed for plants to take root. Wormsand snails burrow into the mud, whileinsects and their larvae feed on the plantsand the algae that grow on them. They inturn become prey for fish and frogs. Plantsalso provide protection from predators fornewly-hatched fish, amphibians and insects.

This slow-moving riverin Europe(below), isthrongedwith life.Dragonflieshunt smallerinsectsabove thesurface,while heronsand ottershunt for fish.

KEY1 Kingfisher2 Otter3 Reed warbler4 Mayfly5 Dragonfly6 Damselfly7 Moorhen8 Water vole9 Heron10 Frog11 Water

boatman

12 Great crestednewt

13 Waterscorpion

14 Toad spawn15 Perch16 Pond snail17 Great diving

beetle18 Stickleback19 Crayfish


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Insects abound on the mountains duringthe warmer summer months, but many areflightless, as they would be swept away bythe strong winds. Even in the snow-coveredhigh peaks, insects and spiders survive. Theyfeed on frozen insects that are blown upfrom the lowlands by the winds. Small mammals such as the pika in Asia,

or the rock hyrax in Africa, live in burrowsor rocky outcrops, to protect themselvesfrom the worst of the cold and wind. Manyalso hibernate during the winter. Largeranimals have thick fur or woolly coats tokeep out the cold. Grazing animals, such assheep and goats, live at the highest altitudes.Their nimble hooves are able to negotiateeven the most treacherous slopes. They arepreyed upon by wolves, snow leopards andcougars or mountain lions. Only the strongest-flying birds, such as

eagles and other birds of prey, are able towithstand the windsaround the mountainsummits. They soar oncurrents of air,swooping down tocatch rodents andother small mammals.

High above the Andesmountain range in SouthAmerica, the Andean condor(above), one of the biggestbirds in the world, soars formany kilometres withoutflapping its wings. As it soars,it searches for carrion, itsprincipal diet. In between thesummits are high, grassyplateaux, where guanacos(below), wild relatives of thellama, roam.


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MOUNTAINS

THE HIGHEST mountaintops arecovered with snow all year round.

Those that lie in tropical regions, such asKilimanjaro in Africa, can have hot, steamyrainforest at their foothills and freezingnight-time temperatures at their summits. Athigh altitudes the sunlight is intense. Thereare strong, cold winds and a lack of oxygenin the air.Despite these dangers, mountains can host

a wide variety of life. Both animals andplants have adapted to live in such harshconditions. On tropical mountains, somespecies of plants and animals have developedin isolation. The plants are not able to

spread their seeds far enough to reachanother mountain, and even the animalscannot migrate from one mountain toanother, because of the inhospitable heat inthe lowlands.On their lower slopes, mountains are

often forested, but higher up the trees giveway to dry scrubland and rocky, windsweptterrain. The flowering plants that grow hereare short and strong, and are able toconserve water as much as possible in thedrying winds. Close to the summit, only themost hardy kinds of plants, such as lichensand mosses, can grow. With the coming ofspring, snow covering much of themountain may melt and new plants emerge.

KEY1 Yak2 Snow leopard3 Himalayan ibex4 Pika

The peaks of theHimalayan mountainrange, in southern centralAsia, are rocky andsnow-covered. Thehighest ridges are theterritory of sure-footedanimals such as theHimalayan ibex. The ibexis the favourite prey ofthe powerful snowleopard, whose whitecoat camouflages itagainst the snow. Its coatis thick, and even itspaws are covered with furto keep out the cold.Pikas, small relatives ofrabbits, can also fallvictim to the snowleopard if they are notagile and fast enough toescape. The largest animal in

the Himalayas, the yakalso has thick fur, withanother coat of long hairon top. This keeps theyaks so warm that theyhave to move higher upthe mountains to coolerareas in the summer.


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Other insect pests attack crops, or causedamage to homes and other buildings.Buprestid beetles (below) feed on housetimbers, while clothes moths make holes inour clothing. However, some insects alsohave a beneficial effect on our lives. Beesare vital for the pollination of plants—infact, much of the world’s crop yield comesfrom plants pollinated by wild bees.Other insects feed on pests which attack

crops. Without the right balance of naturalpest-controlling agents, however, pests canincrease in number and destroy entire cropharvests. The use of chemical pesticides canupset this balance even further, as well asharming other animals.

Humans have often created furtherproblems by introducing species from onecountry into another. Rats arrived onislands in Oceania with the early Europeansettlers, and became pests. To control them,the settlers brought in cats or mongooses,which quickly destroyed many of the nativebirds, small reptiles and mammals. Rats,themselves, have killed whole populations ofbirds on small islands that had previouslyhad no native predators.Other introduced animals have competed

with native species for food and habitat. Thegrey squirrel, introduced to Britain from theUnited States, has out-competed the nativered squirrel, which is now found only in afew areas. Red deer imported into NewZealand compete with other grazinganimals and destroy woodland.

Farming has made a huge impact on the environment,replacing woodland, wetland and grasslands with cropfieldsand grazing land. Some animals have adapted to takeadvantage of these new habitats. Rabbits, mice and manykinds of birds feed and nest among the crops and in thehedgerows of agricultural land.


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LIVING WITH PEOPLE

ALL ANIMALS share the planet withhuman beings, many suffering the

consequences (see pages 30-31). Some,however, have learned to live in habitats thathumans have created, such as towns andcities, or farmland. They have adapted theirlifestyles to suit this new environment. Birdsuse roofs, gutters and chimney pots asroosting and nesting sites, instead of cliffsand trees. Bats gather in warm attics orempty buildings instead of caves and holes.The warm air given off from houses,

offices and factories draws flocks of birdsinto towns and cities on winter evenings.Many people enjoy seeing birds, and someput out food to help them through thecoldest periods. However, birds and peoplealso come into conflict. Flocks of birds are ahazard at airports, where they can be suckedinto aircraft engines, causing damage.The vast quantities of rubbish produced

in a town or city also attracts less welcomeanimals. Rats, foxes, gulls, vultures and evenlarger animals such as jackals, baboons or

polar bears, all scavenge from rubbishdumps in various parts of the world.Raccoons rummage through dustbins inNorth America to get at the food inside.Rats, along with mice, are found

wherever people live. These adaptableanimals have become pests, eating our foodand spreading diseases. Flies, fleas, lice andcockroaches also live close to humans, somealso spreading disease, while mosquito bitesare a constant danger in tropical countries.

The feral pigeon(right), so familiarin many majortowns and cities, isdescended fromescaped domesticpigeons. These inturn evolved fromthe rock dove.Pigeons roost onrooftops, and haveadapted their dietto include scrapsand pieces of breadthrown to them bypeople.

KEY1 Raccoon2 Gulls3 Brown rat


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Loss of habitat also puts many animals indanger. As more and more of the natural,wild areas of the Earth are cleared to makeway for housing, roads, industry or crop andlivestock farming, animals become isolatedand have nowhere to move to if theirhabitat is threatened. There may not beenough food to support a population ofanimals, so they face extinction.

Tree-felling in the Southeast Asianrainforest has deprived orang-utans ofmuch of their habitat.

Breeding programmes inthe USA have saved theblack-footed ferret(below) from extinction.

In the face of these constant threats towildlife, conservation programmes arefighting to save as many species as possible.Wild plants are being gathered andcultivated, especially rainforest varieties thatmay have medicinal benefits we do not yetknow of. Nature reserves have been set upall over the world, with wardens who guardthe animals against poachers. Breedingprogrammes are carried out among themost endangered animals, to try to increasetheir numbers. In the most successful ofthese, animals can be released into the wild.

A relative of the lemurs,the aye-aye (above), feedson fruit and grubs in theMadagascan rainforest. Itis very rare, due to habitatloss and persecution fromhumans, who think itbrings bad luck.


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ANIMALS IN DANGER

ANIMALS have always experienced risesand falls in their numbers, and many

species have become extinct through a long,natural process. Since humans came on tothe scene, however, the rate of extinctionamong species of plants and animals hasrisen dramatically. Humans have huntedanimals to extinction for food or sport, andhave driven them from their naturalhabitats. Some of the best-known animals inthe world today, such as the tiger or therhinoceros, are in danger of extinction.Many lesser-known (but no less important)species are also under threat.

People have always hunted animals forfood, but unlike other predators, humansmay pursue a single species ceaselessly untilit has become extinct. Many kinds of whalealmost became extinct during the 18th and19th centuries, due to the high rate ofhunting for their meat and oil. In a similarpersecution, island animals, especiallyflightless birds that had no natural predators,proved easy targets for the first humansettlers. With small populations andnowhere to retreat to, these animals weredriven to extinction within a short time.

The illegal trade in elephant tusks is aconstant battle between poachers and thewardens who protect the elephants.

Javan rhinoceros

Animals are also hunted for sport. “Biggame” animals such as lions, tigers andelephants were shot as trophies by Europeanhunters during the early 20th century.Today, songbirds in northern Europe aredeclining in number, due in part to huntingas they migrate across southern Europe.The trade in animal skins to make fur

coats or rugs has drastically reduced thenumbers of cats such as ocelots and tigers.Rhinoceroses are killed just for their horns,which are used as medicines in the Far East.Only about 60 Javan rhinoceroses survive inthe world today. Elephants are killed fortheir ivory tusks, which are made intoornaments. Young apes are taken for the pettrade, and the adults in their group killed.Despite restrictions and bans on these kindsof trades, illegal poaching still goes on.

Once common inmany places, barnowls are rare inmuch of Europe dueto loss of habitat—barns and other oldbuildings to nest inand hedgerows inwhich to hunt smallmammals. Projectsare under way toencourage the owlsto return.


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150# DTP:95 PAGE:32

Aadaptationto cold environments

26-27to dry environments 20

to hot environments 18-19

to human habitats 28-29

Africa 10, 16-17, 20, 26, 27

algae 24, 25Amazon, peoples of 15Amazon, River 11,

14-15Andes 27animals, endangered

30-31ants 23Arctic Ocean 7Asia 20, 22, 23, 26, 27

Southeast 10, 31Atlantic Ocean 6-7Australia 10, 16, 19, 20Australian desert 19

Bbacteria 8, 9bats 10, 12,13, 28bees 23, 29beetle, buprestid 29dung 17great diving 24-25green tiger 4-5longhorn 27

biomes 5, 6-7biosphere 4birds 4, 10-11, 12, 15, 19,

24-25, 28-29flightless 30of prey 17, 20, 27

brachiation 13burrows 21, 22, 27butterflies 10, 11, 13, 14-

15, 23

Ccacti 9, 18camouflage 19, 26canopy 10, 22 rainforest 12-13

carbon cycle 8carnivores (meat-eaters)

4, 8, 19, 19African savanna 17

Central America 10climate 4, 6, 9, 10, 16, 20,22

coastlines 6colonies 21

IIndia 16Indian Ocean 7insects 4, 9, 10-11, 12,

17, 21, 22-23, 24-25, 27, 29

invertebrates 22-23, 24island life 30

Llakes 4, 6, 25larvae (grubs) 9, 24-25leaf litter 9, 22-23lizards 11, 18

MMadagascar 10, 31meat-eaters see carnivores microbes 8migration 16, 26, 30minerals 4, 8, 9Mongolia 18monkey 11, 13, 15 moss 22-23, 26mountains 6-7, 18, 24,

26-27

Nnatural cycles 8nectar 13, 19, 23New Zealand 29North America 18, 20,

21, 22-23, 28nutrients 8, 9, 11, 25, 22-

23

OOceania 29organism 4-5ostrich 20otter 24-25owl,barn 30burrowing 21tawny 22

PPacific Ocean 6-7pampas 20parasites 4parrots 12-13people,and environment 28-31

and rainforest 10pesticides 29pests 28-29photosynthesis 8, 18plankton 25plant-eaters see herbivores plants 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 18,

22-23, 24-25, 26desert 18-19

poaching 30-31pollen 13, 23pollination 13, 29pollution 4, 9ponds 4, 25prairies 20-21

communities 5competition 5, 16, 29conifers 6, 22conservation 4, 31crops 21, 23, 29

D Edeserts 6, 9, 18-19Earth 6-7, 8ecology 4-5, 6-9ecosystems 4-5elephants 11, 16, 30environments 4, 10, 20 cold 26-27hot 16-19temperate 20-25

Equator 6, 10, 16, 18estuaries 4Europe 22, 25Everglades 25evolution 19extinction 21, 30-31

Ffarming 4, 10, 21, 23, 25,

28-29, 31fertilizer 5filter-feeders 24fish 11, 14-15, 24-25flies 17, 24, 28floods 15, 25flowers 13, 26food chain 4food web 4forest, boreal 6-7, 22-23coniferous 22-23North American 4Russian coniferous 23tropical 6

fungi 8, 9, 17

GGobi desert 18grasslands 6-7, 16-17,

20-21grazers 16, 20, 27, 29grubs see larvae

Hhabitats 5, 6-7, 24-25,

28, 30artificial 5, 28destruction of 10, 21, 23, 25, 30-31

herbivores (plant-eaters) 4-5, 8, 11, 16-17, 20

herds 16-17, 21hibernation 22-23, 27Himalayas 26humans, impact on environment 5, 21, 23, 25, 28-29, 30-31

introduction of animals by 29

hunting 30

Rrabbit 4, 20-21, 22, 25rain, acid 9rainforest 6, 10-15, 26Amazon 11, 14-15canopy 10, 12-13Central African 10destruction of 10, 31floor 10Madagascan 10, 31peoples 10, 15plants 12Southeast Asian 31

tropical 10-11, 12-15, 16

rats 18, 19, 28-29river life 24-25Amazon 14-15

rivers 4-5, 6, 10-11, 14-15, 24-25

rocks 9roots 9, 11, 18

SSahara desert 19savanna 6-7, 16-17African 16-17, 20

scavengers 8, 17, 28scrubland 18-19, 26seeds 9, 23, 26snails 15, 24-25snakes 11, 18soil 4-5, 6, 8, 9, 21,

22-23South America 10, 16,

20, 27spiders 5, 14-15, 27squirrels 19, 21, 22, 29 steppes 20Sun 8swamps 6, 25

Ttaiga 23termites 17trees 9, 11, 16, 20, 22coniferous 6, 22-23deciduous 22

tropics 16, 20, 26, 28tundra 6-7, 23

Wwater 18, 24conserving 18-19, 26fresh 4, 6

wetlands 6, 25destruction by humans of 25

whales 30woodlands 6-7, 22-23coniferous 22-23deciduous 22-23destruction by humans of 23

temperate 6worms 8, 22-23, 24

I N D E X

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INDEXPage numbers in boldrefer to main entries.

children s illustrated encyclopedia the natural world...when plants and animals are linked in this...

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