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Home - Region - Concepts - Ecological processes in the landscape
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Complementarity. Many species require resources (food, nesting sites) from different habitats at some point in their life cycle. Extreme cases exist, such as the great migrations of whales, sea turtles, monarch butterflies and neotropical migratory birds that breed in one region and spend their non-breeding season in another.
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However, on a smaller scale, there are many examples of daily movements for food or some other resource. For example, parrots often have feeding areas some distance away from their nesting sites. Populations are greater when their required habitats are in close proximity, and smaller when they are more distantly located.
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Supplementation. When there are additional resources in neighbouring habitats, the population of a species may increase if it has access to them. For example, areas of cultivation with a high production of food attract species (parrots, deer, coatis) that inhabit the surrounding areas. Rubbish dumps have the same effect on gulls and vultures.
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This supplementation results in increased populations of species that use the resources of their neighbouring habitats.
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