How does habitat loss affect animal lives?
Habitat loss affects the life of an animal in a number of ways. Developing land for human needs reduces the amount of natural space. As natural space diminishes, so does habitat diversity – the great variety of forests, bushlands, grasslands, wetlands, and deserts which exist in nature. The result is both a decline in the number of species and fewer individuals of those species that do survive. Humans have substituted native species with ones that better meet their needs: sheep, cattle, cotton, wheat, and sugar. While this has advantages for society, it has upset the natural balance of those ecosystems. Development has an indirect impact on land it leaves untouched. As land is converted, it is fragmented into smaller and more isolated patches of natural space. Fauna and flora populations have evolved, and continue to evolve, in conjunction with their surroundings. Any change in their habitat will affect their ability to survive.
