Verdant forests, deserted islands, freezing deserts, and bottomless blue oceans... Take an exclusive peak at our planet's most spectacular habitats, and the creatures that call them home.
Below are some of our favourite pictures from Habitats. With our Earth's pristine wildernesses dwindling, the book takes a look at our world's most precious natural landscapes and the creatures that live there, reminding us of the conservation efforts needed to preserve our biological diversity.
In moist maritime climates – such as those in the eastern coasts of North America and Asia – boreal forest merges into temperate broadleaved forest in the milder south. But in mid-continents, the land is so far from the oceanic rains that conditions are too dry for forest. Instead, the trees give way to temperate grassland – for example, in the prairies of North America and the steppes of Central Asia. Between the two habitats is a mosaic of open woodland, known as “parkland”, that is a favoured habitat for some species, such as Siberian musk- deer (Moschus moschiferus).
Some of the richest forest habitats of Europe belong to the Carpathian Mountains – the most extensive range south of Scandinavia. Lowland oak and beech are replaced by coniferous pine and juniper at higher elevations, where vast areas of unspoiled wilderness are big enough to support many territories of carnivores at the top of their food chain. Golden and imperial eagles (Aquila chrysaetos and A. heliaca) soar the skies above lands that have stable populations of predatory mammals. Estimates suggest these forests have more than 2,000 Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), more than 3,000 grey wolves (Canis lupus), and as many as 8,000 brown bears (Ursus arctos). Resident deer and chamois – a type of mountain goat – are among the animals that provide enough prey for all.
Shallow, fast-flowing upland streams are too small for larger aquatic plants, but are rich in photosynthesizing lifeforms. Algae, such as microscopic diatoms, and mosses and liverworts, form the basis of the food chain in temperate and tropical streams. Mosses and liverworts are simple plants that lack proper roots, instead anchoring themselves to rocks with threadlike structures called rhizoids. Their soft, feathery leaves provide food and shelter for small aquatic insects and the larvae of larger fish, which use headwater streams as a refuge from predators.
Each year, global warming is threatening the Antarctic’s wildlife. Adélie penguin chicks are born with a coat of soft downy feathers that does not have the waterproof oils that adults use to protect themselves. Warming weather turns the snow to rain, soaking the colonies of chicks and covering them in mud. When wet, the chicks are no longer able to insulate themselves and can freeze to death.
The Danakil depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and driest places on Earth. Lying at the junction between three tectonic plates, volcanic rifts and hot springs have created a series of salt lakes in the Dallol geothermal area at the northern end of the depression. The pools are strongly acidic (pH 0.2) and reach scorching temperatures of over 100°C (210°F). Despite these extreme conditions, they are not completely devoid of life – microbes called archaea have been found living in the acidic pools. Southeast of Dallol is the world’s saltiest body of water – Gaet’ale Pond – which formed after an earthquake in 2005 and has a salinity of 43 per cent.
Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) are reliant on the frozen sea in the Arctic – the pattern of their lives follows the freezing and thawing of the ocean’s surface. They forage for food, such as clams, sea cucumbers, and worms, on the seabed near the edge of the sea ice. Feeding dives can last 25 minutes or more, and, instead of relying on a thick coat of fur to keep warm in the cold Arctic waters, walruses have a thick layer of insulating fat, known as blubber, underneath their equally thick skin. They rest on sea ice, or sandy beaches or rocks if none is available, using their strong tusks, which are oversized upper canine teeth, as ice picks to help pull themselves onto the ice or land. They also use them to punch breathing holes through the ice, and for fighting and defence.
Females follow the sea ice as it extends south in autumn and recedes north in spring, but most males remain in herds in the southern Arctic, only joining the females to mate during winter. Mating usually occurs in the water, and females give birth to a single calf on sea ice in spring the following year.
Females follow the sea ice as it extends south in autumn and recedes north in spring, but most males remain in herds in the southern Arctic, only joining the females to mate during winter. Mating usually occurs in the water, and females give birth to a single calf on sea ice in spring the following year.