MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 5, 2020
The natural world is a mosaic of habitats. An aerial photo of Maine will show patches of forest, marshes, lakes, grasslands, and blueberry barrens along with human-altered patches of towns and farms. Each of these habitats offers a particular set of food and other resources available to animals, all of which need to find and occupy the habitat that best meets their own needs. The choice occurs by a process that ecologists and animal behaviorists call habitat selection, and research is important for crafting methods to help protect and conserve animal populations. ~ Herb Wilson