Diversity in the Living World · Lesson 6 of 7
Habitats and Protecting Biodiversity
“Understand habitat groups and how protecting living places helps protect their variety of life.”
• Distinguish terrestrial and aquatic habitats using examples. • Explain why some animals use both land and water. • Trace how habitat damage can reduce biodiversity. • Describe scientific, government, and community contributions to conservation. • Plan a local biodiversity inquiry that separates evidence from assumptions.
Grouping by where living things live
You have learnt that a habitat supplies resources and suitable conditions. We can also use habitat as a grouping criterion. Forests, grasslands, deserts, and mountains are broad land habitats. Ponds, lakes, rivers, and oceans are broad water habitats. These categories organise a large variety of places, but each category still contains important differences.
A habitat on land, such as a forest, grassland, desert, or mountain region.
A habitat in water, such as a pond, lake, river, or ocean.
A camel has a terrestrial habitat even though it needs drinking water. A fish in a river has an aquatic habitat even though it needs oxygen. Habitat describes the living environment; it does not mean a land animal has no connection with water, or a water animal has no need for air or food. Ocean water and pond water also differ, so an aquatic animal is not automatically able to live in every water body.
| Habitat group | Examples of places | Examples of living things |
|---|---|---|
| Terrestrial | Forests, deserts, grasslands, mountains | Mango trees in suitable land areas; camels in deserts; goats on land |
| Aquatic | Ponds, lakes, rivers, oceans | Fish in suitable water bodies; sea turtles in oceans |
| Uses both land and water | Pond margins and nearby land, for example | Many frogs; crocodiles use water and land too |
Problem
A goat drinks water every day. Does this make its habitat aquatic?
- 1.Distinguish a resource from the place where the animal normally lives.
- 2.The goat moves, feeds, and shelters on land, although water is essential to it.
- 3.Its habitat is terrestrial. Drinking water alone does not identify an aquatic habitat.
Animals that use land and water
Frogs can move on land and swim in water. Many depend on both environments during their lives. Frogs belong to a group called amphibians. This word identifies an animal group, not simply every animal that enters water. A crocodile also uses land and water, but it is not an amphibian.
An animal belonging to the group that includes frogs and toads. Many members use both aquatic and terrestrial environments during their lives.
An activity can sort animals into “mainly in water,” “mainly on land,” and “uses both.” A dolphin and whale belong mainly in water; horse, sheep, squirrel, earthworm, pigeon, and tortoise are mainly terrestrial examples. Frog and crocodile can be put in the both-environments set for this activity. State the habitat-use criterion so that this placement is not confused with membership of the amphibian group.
A crocodile can use water and land without being an amphibian. A tortoise is generally terrestrial; do not confuse it with all turtles. When grouping by habitat use, describe the animal intended and keep that criterion separate from its biological group.
Problem
Why can a frog and a crocodile share a “uses land and water” set even though only the frog is an amphibian?
- 1.The set uses habitat use as its criterion. Both animals spend time in water and on land.
- 2.“Amphibian” names a different grouping, which includes frogs but not crocodiles.
- 3.The habitat-use set therefore expresses a shared behaviour and environment, not identical membership of an animal group.
When a habitat is damaged
Imagine a tree with nesting birds and insects among its leaves. Cutting it removes more than a trunk and branches. Birds may lose shelter, insects may lose food, and fruit-eating animals may lose a resource. If many trees are removed, nearby living things may have fewer suitable places to feed, hide, or reproduce. This can reduce the variety of life in the area.
Habitat damage can also occur in water. If a pond is filled in, its aquatic plants and animals lose their living place. If a water body becomes polluted, conditions may no longer support some members of its community. Animals may sometimes move to another suitable place, but they cannot be assumed to find one. Plants cannot simply walk away from a damaged habitat.
Protecting living things and the conditions and resources that support them, so that biodiversity can persist.
Problem
A forest is cleared for a new use. Explain two effects on animals without simply saying “nature is harmed.”
- 1.Identify a resource supplied by the forest: fruit, leaves, insects, or other food. Clearing can remove that resource.
- 2.Identify a living place: nesting branches, cover, or shelter. Clearing can remove that too.
- 3.Reduced food and shelter can make survival harder. Some animals may leave or decline, reducing local biodiversity.
People need homes, transport, and other resources, but meeting these needs should include protection of important habitats. Better planning can reduce unnecessary clearing, protect connected living areas, and restore damaged places using suitable local vegetation. Planting a few trees can help, but it does not immediately recreate a mature forest with all its relationships.
Evidence from local memories
Elders may remember plants, birds, or insects that they once saw often and now see less frequently. They may also notice new kinds. Such memories can suggest questions for investigation. They are a starting point rather than proof of a single cause: changes in season, the time of observation, or the area visited can also affect sightings.
Ask a parent, grandparent, or neighbour for one living thing seen frequently earlier and one seen frequently now. Record its local name, the approximate place, and when it was noticed. With a teacher, compare photographs or descriptions and check possible habitat changes. Avoid concluding that something has disappeared entirely just because it was absent during one short visit.
People and projects that protect biodiversity
Documenting living things helps people recognise what needs protection. Janaki Ammal was an Indian botanist who contributed to the study and documentation of plant diversity and supported conservation, including the Save Silent Valley movement. A botanist studies plants. Her example connects careful plant knowledge with protection of the places where plants live.
Salim Ali studied birds across India, recording their distributions, habitats, and movements. His work helped people understand important areas for birds and supported their conservation. He is widely known as the Birdman of India. Scientific records can guide protection because they show which places living things use rather than relying only on a general wish to help.
Silent Valley in Kerala is an example of public action to protect a forest. A proposed hydroelectric project threatened a richly diverse forest and river environment. Campaigners, researchers, and other people used public discussion, writing, petitions, and sustained advocacy to seek its protection. The movement shows that people outside the immediate area can also contribute to conservation.
India has used different conservation approaches for different animals. Project Tiger began in 1973 to support tiger conservation. A cheetah reintroduction programme began in 2022 after cheetahs had disappeared from India. Protection of Great Indian Bustard habitats is another example. These programmes are intended to help vulnerable wildlife, but starting a programme does not by itself guarantee success: suitable habitats and continuing protection remain necessary.
Community protection and everyday choices
Sacred groves are patches of forest protected by local communities through longstanding customs. Their sizes vary. Restrictions on tree cutting and harm to wildlife can allow many plants, including medicinal plants, and animals to persist. A community’s decisions about a living place can therefore protect biodiversity over time.
A patch of forest traditionally protected by a community, often through cultural or religious practices that discourage damage to its living things.
At school, protecting biodiversity begins with actions appropriate to the place. Avoid damaging nests or plants, keep waste out of water bodies, and learn the names of local living things. If planting is planned, seek advice on suitable local species and care for them. A class biodiversity register can record what is present and help compare observations over time without claiming that a short list captures everything.
Quiz
Which is an aquatic habitat?
Which animal is an amphibian?
What is a likely effect of habitat damage?
Why are sacred groves relevant to biodiversity?
An elder remembers fewer local birds now. What should you do next?
Practice Problems
- Classify forest, lake, grassland, river, mountain region, and ocean as terrestrial or aquatic.
- Sort horse, dolphin, frog, sheep, crocodile, squirrel, whale, earthworm, pigeon, and tortoise by habitat use. Explain the “both” category.
- Explain why drinking water does not make a goat aquatic and why entering water does not make a crocodile an amphibian.
- Trace how removing a flowering tree could affect both birds and insects.
- Describe a contribution of Janaki Ammal and a contribution of Salim Ali that connects observation with conservation.
- Explain how the Silent Valley movement and a sacred grove represent different forms of public or community action.
- Design a local change inquiry using elders’ accounts and current observations. Include two reasons why one missing sighting is not proof of disappearance.
- Suggest three specific ways your school could protect local biodiversity and how you would check whether the actions help.
Key Takeaways
• Terrestrial habitats are on land; aquatic habitats are in water. • Some animals use both environments, but this alone does not make them amphibians. • Habitat damage can remove food, water, shelter, and suitable conditions. • Scientific records, conservation programmes, and community action can support protection. • Sacred groves and thoughtful local choices show how communities can protect biodiversity.