By Sara Griffin sara.griffin@smail.astate.edu Habitats By Sara Griffin sara.griffin@smail.astate.edu

A habitat is the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism. What is a habitat?

Habitats Song Habitats Habitats are our natural homes (sing to the tune of “Despacito”)   Habitats Habitats are our natural homes This is where we eat, sleep, and we grow There are 7 habitats that we learn Arctic Tundra, Wetland, and Desert Rainforest, Ocean, Forest, Grasslands

Penguins, seals, and whales live here Arctic Tundra Extremely cold Long winters Short, cool summers Mainly ice Penguins, seals, and whales live here

Wetlands Provides a habitat for a wide variety and number of wildlife and plants. Filter, clean and store water. Collect and hold flood waters. Absorb wind and tidal forces.

Desert Deserts cover more than one fifth of the Earth's land. A place that receives less than 10 inches of rain per year is considered a desert. Home to hyenas, antelopes, and camels

Rainforest Rainforests are forests that experience a high level of rainfall. A wide variety of animals live in rainforests, including birds, snakes, insects, jaguars, cougars, chameleons, turtles, frogs, and many more. There are two types of rainforest, temperate and tropical.

Ocean Around 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans. While there are hundreds of thousands of known marine life forms, there are many that are yet to be discovered, some scientists suggest that there could actually be millions of marine life forms out there. The largest ocean on Earth is the Pacific Ocean, it covers around 30% of the Earth’s surface. During winter the Arctic Ocean is almost completely covered in sea ice.

Forest Many plants and animals live in forests. Many animals hibernate in the winter. Some forests are plantation forests. These are forests that have been planted by tree farmers. The plantations supply much of the wood humans use. Some forests have evergreen trees, such as pine trees. These trees don’t lose their leaves, or needles, in the winter.

Grasslands Grasslands of all sizes ares used by over 150 different wildlife species throughout the year. Vegetation growing in grassland habitats may be tall (over four feet), short (less than 6 inches), or a combination Vegetation height plays an important role in determining which wildlife species will use the habitat. A common trait of all grassland habitats is that they contain few (if any) trees or shrubs.