General Background Information
In the "West Nile
Virus" Wildpro Volume, the concept of grouping habitats by the requirements of
(and use by) a species group has been explored in a very simplistist manner - specifically
North American Mosquito Habitats. These individual habitat types will
eventually be linked into their specific Biomes, and moved to a lower
stage within the Environment hierarchy.
Wildpro does not
hold detailed information on specific biomes at present, although linkages are being
created to explore data relationships to enable the construction of future
volumes. A Life
Zone classification system is currently being explored and the philosophy behind the
development of each life zone classification is based on the following:
Continental
Land Zones
Using the Holdridge Life Zone Classification Scheme (B500.19.sib1)
for the continental land zones, continental environments have been categorised into the
following major groups - using Biotemperature (mean positive temperatures) as the first
classification; then considered by total annual precipitation, evaporation, predominant
vegetation type).
Aquatic Zones
Aquatic Zones are limited to those where water is the predominant medium for all
species - e.g. large fresh-water lakes, oceans. These are initially subdivided according
to their salinity, then considered by depth, water flow ( tidal and free-running),
temperature, predominant species (e.g. coral / kelp), etc.
Individual Living
Species Zones (Animals, Plants etc.)
This section is designed to incorporate those habitats
preferred by species that live inside the body of another species, e.g. parasites,
symbionts etc. Species Zones are initially subdivided at kingdom, phylum or class level;
then by the individual systems usually inhabited by parasites or symbionts / attacked by
infectious agents - e.g. for vertebrates: gastrointestinal lumen / epithelial tissue.
The general background information below to
designed to assist those who may wish to access the environmental information currently
available in Wildpro.
| "Environments"
are the combinations of physical
factors, chemicals
and species
that make up the complex world in which we live. The habitats
in which living organisms
exist vary constantly with time, season and introduction and loss of species.
Each area of the earth, no matter how small, contains its own individual combination of substrate,
climate
and species;
as a result, no two habitats
are the same. The earth's surface has been divided into biomes
and those biomes
into ecosystems
in attempt to classify habitat
"types". Classification is desirable so that particularly fragile or specialised
habitat
"types", particularly those with important species
present that may be under threat, can be preserved and protected by man. Currently within
Wildpro we
have gathered information on the MANAGEMENT of habitat,
which is contained in four major sections:
- Accommodation
Design section of "How to..." - Guidance on best
practice husbandry and veterinary techniques and on the management of species, diseases
and habitats:
This section includes information on how to
optimise the environment for waterfowl management, including pond design and management of
water bodies used for waterfowl..
Guidance for industries on managing
wetlands for wildlife, including information on construction and maintenance - kindly
provided by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (See the flowchart Industries
on Managing Wetlands for Wildlife for easy access to the guidelines).
Detailed information on how the environment
in which a host species is maintained may be managed to control and prevent disease and
how populations within the environment may be managed.
Guidance on the investigation and control
of large-scale Disease outbreaks in free-ranging wildlife - kindly provided by the National
Wildlife Health Center, United States Geological Survey.
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