Habitat Selection In Grasshoppers In Typical Steppe

Habitat selection is the behavioral choice of a type of space where the animals prefer to live. It is obvious that all animals are found in a more or less restricted range of suitable environment. The way in which animal population selects a habitat may have important effects for obtaining food or mating, its vulnerability to predators, its exposure to climatic stress, and so on. Different habitat selection is one of the principal relationships which permit species to exist, and it's one of the very important behavioral and ecological characteristics of animals .Studies on habitat selection in grasshoppers are conducted in the typical steppe in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Sampling of grasshopper community and plant community are completed in the 8 sites in Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station of Academia Sinica. Laboratory studies are examined to the soil moisture and plant height selected by the grasshoppers.1. There are different species in the different habitat form. The species of grasshoppers are plenty in the complicated habitat, and sand dune in Xilin River Region is the grasshopper species pool of typical steppe. The commonness species, also the dominant species, are euryhabitat selection species, and they are important pests to animal husbandry.2. The interrelation between horizontal structure of habitats and habitat selective behaviors in grasshoppers are varied in different stages of the year. In early stage (early May-early June) grasshoppers prefer to select the vegetation where is sparse, and with less biomass. In the medium stage (late June-early August), grasshoppers prefer to select the vegetation where is most dense, and with more biomass. In late stage (late August-early October), the structure of habitat has no influence to grasshoppers.3. Grasshopper diversity and habitat diversity is negative correlation in the early stage of the year, but grasshopper diversity is accordant with habitat diversity in the medium stage of the year, and no correlation between grasshopper diversity and habitat diversity in the late stage of the year.4. The individuals attempt to maximize their fitness in the habitat, but each species has its ecological amplitude. According to this, through measure difference in habitat structure between two habitats and measure difference in...