A habitat is a place where an organism makes its home. A habitat meets all the environmental conditions an organism needs to survive. Different species of wildlife have different habitat requirements. For an animal, that means everything it needs to find and gather food, select a mate, and successfully reproduce. For a plant, a good habitat must provide the right combination of light, air, water, and soil. For example, the prickly pear cactus, which is adapted for sandy soil, dry climates, and bright sunlight, grows well in desert areas like the Sonoran Desert in northwest Mexico. It would not thrive in wet, cool areas with a large amount of overcast (shady) weather, like the U.S. states of Oregon or Washington. The main components of a habitat are shelter, water, food, and space. A habitat is said to have a suitable arrangement when it has the correct amount of all of these.
Sometimes, a habitat can meet some components of a suitable arrangement but not all. The word ‘habitat’ is not a synonym for ‘ecosystem,’ although ecosystems are critical (and perhaps primary) components of habitat. In addition to biological communities of plants and animals, however, a species might have other requirements like structure, space or distance to certain features. All of these non-biological factors are also critical building blocks for what we might call habitat. To further complicate matters, most species need different types of habitats for different purposes and at different times. For example, a habitat for a puma could have the right amount of food (deer, porcupine, rabbits, and rodents), water (a lake, river or spring), and shelter (trees or dens on the forest floor). The puma habitat will not have a suitable arrangement if it lacks enough space for this large predator to establish its own territory.
In summary, there are several factors that must be considered when thinking about habitat and wildlife conservation. First is the fact that habitat must be considered in the context of a particular species—to use the term more generally risks missing or confusing key requirements. Second, every animal needs food, water, and shelter, although what these types of habitat look like will vary by species and by season. Third, special considerations such as space, configuration and location of habitat on the landscape, and scale are also critical when thinking about habitat. And fourth, definitions of habitat for a given species may be broader or narrower depending on whether or not that species is a generalist or a specialist.