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What do you think the common characteristics in the above two habitats?

                                     The answer to this questions is that both habitats have living and non-living
                                     components. These are common to all habitats. However, the kinds of
                                     plants  and  animals  (living  beings)  are  different,  and  the  non-living
                                     components also vary.

                                     The living beings in a habitat are called biotic components       , and the non-
                                     living things are called abiotic components    .

                                     What is the reason that some organisms live in water and others on land? It
                                     is so because every organism requires specific conditions to survive. From

                                     this activity, you can understand that different habitats provide different
                                     kinds of living conditions.

                                     Let us know about survival of fish in a pond.
                                     In  Activity  1,  you  listed  fish  as  a  biotic  component  of  a  pond.  A  pond
                                     supports  fish  by  providing  necessary  living  conditions  –  food,  oxygen,

                                     shelter, and space to grow. Fish get food from small plants and animals, and
                                     oxygen from the water itself.

                                     Many other living beings are also a part of a pond. Some of these are frogs,
                                     freshwater turtles, snakes, dragonflies, mosquitoes, snails, and ducks. Also
                                     plants like algae, diatoms, duckweed, and lotus are found in a pond. All
                                     these organisms interact with one another and with the non- living parts of
                                     the pond.















                 Science                            a. Pond habitat   Two types of habitats   b. Forest habitat
                     Bytes

                                     Every habitat has its own mix of living (biotic) components and physical
                           Testimony
                Every organism in a   (abiotic)  conditions  such  as  air,  water,  sunlight,  temperature,  and  soil.
              habitat has its own role.   Infact  organisms  that  live  in  the  same  habitat  may  use  the  available
              When even one species
              disappears or mul ples   resources in different ways.
              too fast, the balance of   For instance, a forest may be warm during the day and cool at night. A snake
               that habitat changes.
               Studying popula ons   that hunts after dark and a rodent active during the day both live in the
             helps us understand how   same forest, yet they use it differently. Still, they manage to live in balance
             nature keeps itself stable.
                                     within the same environment.


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