4
Habitats
Required Element 2 Descriptions of locations and relative condition of key habitats and community types essential to conservation of species identifed as conservation priorities.
4.1 Introduction Tere are many factors that infuence where a species occurs in the landscape, its distribu- tion and abundance, and its rate of reproductive success and survival (Hall et al. 1997; Winger 1981; Turner 1989) . A landscape composed of multiple natural community types is more likely to contain the necessary resources to provide habitat for a species (Stewart et al. 2010; Morrison et al. 2012) . Landscape composition varies across the state with elevation, moisture and tem- perature gradients, and soil textures having a signifcant infuence on natural community structure. Te concept of habitat is based on the availability of the appropriate combination of food, cover, and water resources, climatic conditions, and other environmental condi- tions (e.g., competitors, predators, connectivity) that supports the ability of a species to survive and reproduce (Hall et al. 1997; Morrison et al. 2012) . An important concept in wildlife–habitat relationships is that they are specifc to the organ- ism, are temporally and spatially scale-dependent, and are infuenced by each organism in the system (Hall et al. 1997; Wiens 1989) . Some habitats that can form when vegetation is dormant and rainfall is high, such as ephemeral pools and wetlands, are distributed seasonally due to climatic and environmental conditions. In other cases, a habitat may be distributed based on periodic natural disturbances, such as wildfre or fooding. Given the complex- ities of natural communities and the variability of the organisms associated with them, we use local and regional landscape-scale approaches more often than species-specifc
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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