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Ecosystems, Habitats, and Niches
Ecosystems, Habitats,
and Niches
An ecosystem includes all the living and nonliving things in
an area. Living things include plants, animals, and other
organisms. Nonliving things include soil, rocks, water, and
climate. An ecosystem also includes climate. Climate is the
pattern of weather in an area. Temperature, wind, rainfall,
and humidity are part of an area’s climate.
A desert is an example of an ecosystem. Desert plants
include cacti and wildflowers. Desert animals include lizards,
owls, rattlesnakes, and bats. The nonliving parts of a desert
are sandy soil, water, and rocks. The climate of most desert
ecosystems is hot and dry.
A desert is a type of ecosystem.
The living things in an ecosystem have features that help
them live there. Deserts have little water and are generally
hot. A cactus can live in
these conditions. It has thin
spines for leaves. The spines
keep the cactus from losing
water. A cactus also has a
waxy coating to keep water
inside its body. Cactus
plants also store water
inside their thick stems to
use during dry periods.
Cacti are suited to live in a desert
ecosystem.
Some desert animals only
come out at night. Bats and foxes wait until the sun goes
down and the air cools before they leave their homes to look
for food. Many animals burrow into the soil to escape the
heat and stay cool.
An ecosystem includes different habitats. A habitat is the
place where an organism lives. The shrubs in a desert are
habitats for roadrunners. Rattlesnakes and desert tortoises
also live in desert shrub habitats. Another type of desert
habitat is a sand dune. Sand dunes are homes for grasses,
lizards, kangaroo rats, and foxes.
Within an ecosystem, each type of organism has its own
niche. A niche is the job or role of an organism. A niche
includes the type of food an organism eats. A niche also
Discovery Education Science
© 2007 Discovery Communications, LLC
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Ecosystems, Habitats, and Niches
includes the organism’s type of shelter,
the predators that eat it, and the time
of day it is active. For example, a
rattlesnake eats rats, lizards, and
birds. It lives among the low-lying
bushes in a desert shrub habitat. It is
active at dawn and dusk. Its predator
is the roadrunner. These
characteristics make up the niche of
the rattlesnake. Each type of organism
has its own niche in an ecosystem.
A rattlesnake’s niche includes the food it
eats, the time of day it is active, the type
of shelter it lives in, and its predators.
Discovery Education Science
© 2007 Discovery Communications, LLC
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