Environmental Studies: Habitats

Marshy, low-lying subtropical savanna area, c.4,000 sq mi (10,000 sq km), S Fla., extending from Lake Okeechobee S to Florida Bay.

Chain of coral reefs and islands about 2,000 km/1,250 mi long, in the Coral Sea, off the east coast of Queensland, Australia.

[Span.,=tortoises], archipelago and province (1990 pop. 9,785), 3,029 sq mi (7,845 sq km), Ecuador, in the Pacific Ocean c.650 mi (1,045 km) W of South America on the equator.

Atolls are a special type of coral reef complex formed in tropical seas by a ring of reef coral enclosing a lagoon.

CORAL REEFS ARE massive and complex structures made of limestone that is deposited by living sea organisms. The reefs are mainly composed of the skeletons of tiny, fragile animals called coral.

Arid region, usually partly covered by sand, having scanty vegetation or sometimes almost none, and capable of supporting only a limited and specially adapted animal population.

ESTUARIES ARE KNOWN by many different names: bays, coves, inlets, harbors, sounds, and lagoons. Simply put, they are places where rivers meet the sea.

A dense growth of trees, together with other plants, covering a large area of land.

High land mass projecting conspicuously above its surroundings and usually of limited width at its summit.

Interconnected mass of saltwater covering 70.78% of the surface of the earth, often called the world ocean.

Dense forest usually found on or near the Equator where the climate is hot and wet.

Swamp, shallow body of water in a low-lying, poorly drained depression, usually containing abundant plant growth dominated by trees, such as cypress, and high shrubs.

Shallow body of water in a low-lying, poorly drained depression, usually containing abundant plant growth dominated by trees, such as cypress, and high shrubs.

The northern coniferous forest or boreal forest that extends over vast areas of Russia, Scandinavia and North America.

Treeless plains of N North America and N Eurasia, lying principally along the Arctic Circle, on the coasts and islands of the Arctic Ocean, and to the north of the coniferous forest belt.

Wetlands, low-lying ecosystem where the water table is always at or near the surface. It is divided into estuarine and freshwater systems, which may be further subdivided by soil type and plant life into bogs, swamps, and marshes.