. Animal Ecology. Animal ecology. of-view. We are, in this book, using the biome system, the various parts and concepts of which will unfold as we proceed. We will consider the com- munity as being at least analogous to an organism in being a functional unit of interacting parts and hav- ing some degree of structural uniformity. Although community-types are certainly not highly discrete and absolute units, recognition and naming of them is one way of indicating positions in the continua along en- vironmental gradients that are occupied by particular aggregations of plant and animal species. Ph
. Animal Ecology. Animal ecology. of-view. We are, in this book, using the biome system, the various parts and concepts of which will unfold as we proceed. We will consider the com- munity as being at least analogous to an organism in being a functional unit of interacting parts and hav- ing some degree of structural uniformity. Although community-types are certainly not highly discrete and absolute units, recognition and naming of them is one way of indicating positions in the continua along en- vironmental gradients that are occupied by particular aggregations of plant and animal species. Physiognomy The gross structure of a community or its phys- iognomy is an important basis for its recognition. In terrestrial communities, physiognomy is determined by the life forms of the dominant plant species and their spacing. The life forms that prevail in a given area depend on the climate and sometimes the sub- strate or other special features of the habitat and give character to the landscape. The distribution of ani- mal communities is closely correlated with the struc- ture of the vegetation, hence these vegetation-types need to be recognized and defined: Desert: hot, arid habitats with scattered scrubby or thorny vegetation or, in extreme cases, none. Steppe, plains: semi-arid grassland covered with short grasses. Prairie: semi-humid grassland covered with mid- and tall grasses. Chaparral: semi-arid areas covered with bushes and shrubs, usually broad-leaved evergreen. Savanna: grassland with scattered groves of trees or shrubs. Woodland: open stand of small deciduous or evergreen trees with undergrowth of grass- land or desert vegetation. Forest-edge: mixture of trees, shrubs, and open country, ordinarily occurring as a narrow belt on the margin of forests. Forest: closed stand of trees forming a continu- ous canopy over most of the area. Deciduous forest: broad leaves fall during cold or dry seasons. Broad-leaved evergreen forest: no regular sea- son of leaf fall, le
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionbiodive, booksubjectanimalecology
