Elemental Concerns

Waters of Singapore - Off the coast of Pulau Tekong
(Photo taken & edited by Joeline Lim. 9 August 2014)

The elements of a habitat include components vital to the survival of living organisms, that's why we find different organisms present in various habitat around the globe!

FOOD 

They include plant parts, insects or other organisms & usually have periods of abundance (as a result of seasonal variability). Consumed food need to meet the nutritional requirements of organisms & allow for the accumulation of energy in organisms through the storing of body fat (especially for organisms that need to hibernate or travel great distances in their annual migrations). As such, food is one of the main reasons for the movement of organisms.

WATER

General categories of water include freshwater, salt water & water in estuarine conditions. Some species are highly dependent on water due to their moist diets, while others are able to survive on water contents of fruits or leaves alone. The availability of water in different habitats can range from dew on leaves to large water bodies, like rivers.

COVER

The shelter a habitat provides ensures the protection & safety of an organism. Organisms need to be sheltered from predators & prevailing weather conditions. They may differ in scale, ranging from the foliage of leaf litter, a cavity in a tree to large limestone caves. It should be noted that even with a constant cover a habitat offers, organisms found there may change over time, depending on the role of their life cycle at that point in time (i.e. foraging, mating, protecting young).

SPACE

Organisms need space to find food, water & cover, hence the space of organisms mirror their social habits. Like Cover, the space an organism requires is proportional to the size of the organism.

SO...

The quantity, type & distribution of these factors differ over time, hence the organisms found in a habitat are never constant.

Given the differing needs of organisms, there is a need to strike a balance between the habitats of men & other organisms. Humans have a habit of encroaching on natural spaces & ranting about the invasion of their personal spaces by other organisms. Yes, what an irony! Given our rate & extent of expansion & development, we definitely need to practise some form of cohabitation to ensure the survival & sustainability of the homes & habitats of all organisms.

The application of these factors to specific habitats will be covered in later posts.

References:

• Colleen A. DeLong, Margaret C. Brittingham. 2014. Wildlife-Habitat Relationships- Wildlife Outreach Center - Penn State Extension. [ONLINE] Available at: http://extension.psu.edu/natural-resources/wildlife/habitat-management/wildlife-habitat-relationships. [Accessed 24 August 14]

• United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 2002. The Four Essential Elements of Habitat. [Online]. 2. Available at: http://www.fws.gov/birds/documents/elementsofhabitat.pdf [Accessed 24 August 2014].

Reflections on the mangrove habitat of Singapore

Mudflats of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR) at high tide.
(Photo taken by Joeline Lim. January 2014)

I'm in the same place again, just on another day. I watch my past walk through this place, I watch my footprints disappear. I close my eyes & hope to keep this place, so distant, so alive in my mind.

There is a strange joy & peace that fills my soul. The brilliance in the boldness of nature. A state of being by the elements that keeps me afloat in the raw reality of the world. Because I drown & struggle, I gasp & panic in my artificial crib. I cannot breathe or comprehend, I question & judge. But what is there to judge with nature? It presents to you with all of itself, in its entirety - Selfless, pure & unafraid; In all its brilliance & confidence, with all its confidence & brilliance.

This is the nature I present to you & this, I behold.

"INACTION" OR '"IN ACTION"?

What if the melting of the ice caps were the tears of the Earth, the hurricanes an expression of Her rage & the fall of habitats a demonstration of Her dismay? If She could speak, what would She say?

A "habitat" refers to the natural environment of a living organism - be it a plant, animal or insect. But is any known environment to Man ever natural? Perhaps not, for our presence has inevitably altered & modified the pre-existing system & order of places that were once deemed "natural".  

"It is unequivocal that anthropogenic increases in the well-mixed

greenhouse gases (WMGHGs) have substantially enhanced

the greenhouse effect..." 

"There is robust evidence that anthropogenic land use change

has increased the land surface albedo..."  

(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014)

Anthropogenic this, anthropogenic that. Indeed, professionals have shown us how anthropological environmental issues have been & are becoming in the 21st century. In fact, this has become a fact we can no longer afford to ignore. We already feel the changes in our own environments; sporadic weather patterns, higher day-time & night-time temperature, etc. Do we really have to wait for irrevocable environmental changes to occur or await the dawn of our extinction before we start doing something about it?

As cheesy as it sounds, there is certain truth to this statement. Beliefs are great, they are built on from one generation to the next, they are what lasts with the demise of people. But a belief alone is not enough to change the world. Instead, changing the world is about putting these beliefs into action - changing your behaviour, picking up your tools & doing something about it.

So as inhabitants of the Earth, are we, but, an audience watching the world deteriorate before our eyes? What on Earth are we to do about it?

I will be discussing the types, importance & impacts of HABITAT CONSERVATION in later posts.

References:

• INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE. (2014) Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis (New York Cambridge University Press)

• Dominique Mosbergen, (2013), Earth [ONLINE]. Available at: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1294566/thumbs/o-EARTH-FACTS-facebook.jpg [Accessed 20 August 14].

• POSITIVEMED TEAM, (2012), Be the change you want to see in the world [ONLINE]. Available at:http://positivemed.com/2012/05/15/be-the-change-you-want-to-see-in-the-world/ [Accessed 20 August 14]