Microhabitat

A microhabitat ( ancient Greek μικρός mikrós , German 'small, narrow' , Latin habitat- '[he, she, it] inhabited' ) is used in biology to describe a habitat with a small spatial extension. Examples are a grassy forest in the grassland or the lichen lawn on a tree bark . Microhabitats come in very many variations.

Typology

In older literature, a distinction is made between several types of microhabitats.

Biochorion

A biochorion that emerges as a special object forms a microhabitat. These can be carrion , excrement , mushrooms , animal houses or fallen tree trunks. The socialization of different species formed in this way is called a choriozoenosis .

Merotop

The Merotop is a "structural part", thus part of a structure and within this it is coupled with other structural parts. Such structural parts are, for example, a surface, solid components and natural gaps in a soil layer , as well as roots, wood or bark of a tree, leaves or fruits of a plant. The community thus formed is called the Merozönose .

Temporal aspects

In chronological terms, particularly in terms of their life, many microhabitats are not only variable, but also short-lived. Short-lived microhabitats include carcasses, excrement, rotting fruit, and puddles . A leaf or an annual herbaceous plant also represents such a short-lived microhabitat if it can only be consumed by its consumers for a short period of time. But a fruit and the insects that consume it can also be eaten by a bird at any time.

Web links

Stefan Nehring, Ute Albrecht: Biotope, Habitat, Microhabitat - A contribution to the discussion on the definition of terms . In: Lauterbornia . tape 38 , 2000, pp. 75-84 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c Matthias Schaefer: Dictionary of Ecology . 5th edition. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg 2012, ISBN 978-3-8274-2562-1 , p. 172 .
↑ Michael Begon, John L. Harper, Colin R. Townsend: Ecology - Individuals, Populations and Communities . Springer-Verlag, Basel AG 2013, ISBN 978-3-0348-6156-4 , p. 278 f .

[Schaefer-1] A ^b ^c Matthias Schaefer: Dictionary of Ecology . 5th edition. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg 2012, ISBN 978-3-8274-2562-1 , p. 172 .

[2] Michael Begon, John L. Harper, Colin R. Townsend: Ecology - Individuals, Populations and Communities . Springer-Verlag, Basel AG 2013, ISBN 978-3-0348-6156-4 , p. 278 f .