Different forests host different wildlife

Forest wildlife need different types of habitat to meet their food, water and shelter needs.

Habitats provide everything that an individual plant or animal needs to survive: food; water; and shelter. Different forest animals need different types of habitat to meet their food, water and shelter needs. Elk, for example, prefer the vegetation associated with young, open forests. Red squirrels and northern goshawks need habitat features like snags or fallen logs found in more mature forests.  Some animals are found in forests of any age. As forests grow and mature, the resident wildlife change too.

A forest ecosystem provides different habitats that can be essential for a species’ lifecycle. Migratory species including birds, fish, mammals and insects all depend upon different ecosystems during their movements.

FOREST FACT:  Wildlife frequently moves from one forest type (old) to the another (young).  Wildlife found in a single forest changes over time as the forest moves through its succession cycle.  [link to Dynamic Forests]

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Forests also support biological diversity — the variety of genes between and within species populations. Some habitats have an exceptionally high number of species which makes them more genetically diverse than others and are known as ‘biodiversity hotspots’.

	Click on the image to learn why forest animals live where they do or click here.
	Click the image to watch a short Forest Fast Break video about different wildlife habitats and why forest animals live where they do. Or click here.