Bella Bear's Global Adventures from Sussex in the UK to the Amazon Rainforest and Madagascar
Animals that live in deserts, including the Addax, can survive on the small amounts of water it gets from from its food, mainly grases and leaves.
Dolphins live in the ocean. Even though dolphins are surrounded by water its too salty to drink. They get freshwater from the fish and squid they eat.
House mice are very successful and have spraed to most parts of the world. When water is scarce they can surive on the water obtained from its food.
There are many differences between living things such as trees, cats, parrots, dragonflies and people. But there is one thing they all have in common and that is water. All living things must have water to surive.
It is easy to imagine why water is so important to the animals that live in ponds rivers and oceans. But it is just as important to animals that live on land and this includes you and me. Did you know that your body is made up of about 60% water? We need water so our body can work properly. We can go without eating food for long periods of time (because we can use our fat as a fuel reserve) but we can only survive a few days without water.
Why is water so important?
How much freshwater is there?
Freshwater is the most valuable resource on the planet and yet it is also one of the most wasted. We often take water for granted. Scientists have estimated that there is enough freshwater on the planet for seven billion people. The problem is that its not evenly distributed and too much of it is wasted, polluted or managed badly. This is not good for humans or wildlife.
Why do we need water?
Too much water?
In some parts of the world, too much water has always been a problem. Part of the year may be hot and dry the other part of the year is almost constant rain. In the UK flooding has always been a rare occurance but in recent times it has become more common. While rain is vitally important, too much rain at one time is not so good. The ground becomes saturated and the water can not soak into the ground but builds up and causes floods that can damage both human dwellings and natural habitats.
This is often worst near rivers, especially tidal rivers such as the River Ouse that flows past the Lewes Railway Land Nature Reserve. Each day the river is at its highest at high tide when the water flow reverses as salt water travels upriver. When it rains, water runs off the land into streams, water always flows downhill travelling the easiest route. These streams join the river and the water flows out to sea.
When this extra rain enters rivers that already have high leves because of the tide, the extra water can sometimes raise the water level too high and it floods into the surrounding area. Flood plains are fields that are near the river that naturally flood when the river gets too high.
People use water for more than just drinking and bathing.
We use freshwater in many ways. No matter where in the world we live we need water to drink, to grow crops, and for personal hygine.
In developed countries like the UK, Europe, USA and China, water is also used widely in manufacturing, as a coolant, as a solvent, in agriculture, human waste disposal and much more. While we might think our water consumption each day is small our actual water foot print is huge!
Too little water
In the UK we have a temperate climate, not too hot and dry, not too cold or wet. In recent years we have seen great changes to our weather and unseasonal weather is becomg more common. Hose pipe bans are common and levels of water stored in reservours are often lower than they should be. While this is an inconvenience its not life threatening to humans (however its a different situatrion for wildlife.
You can find out more about your water footprint and how valuable freshwater is by visiting our resource page.be a matter of life and death.
Water is very plentiful in the UK and some other countries. But in many parts of the world water is more scarce. In these places, animals and plants survive on very little water or have clever ways of finding and using water.
Your body doesn't only get water from drinking water. Any fluid you drink will contain water, but drinking water is a good source. Lots of foods contain water, too. Fruit, such as a nice juicy apple or strawberry contains quite a bit of water. So do many vegetable such as cabbage, carrots and cucumbers.
Some animals and plants can surive on a very small amount of water. There are three examples below. Can you think of any other examples?
Water from food
Freshwater is quite plentiful in the UK and this is due to our climate and weather. Most years. our temperate climate provides frequent rain to replenish our natural water reserves. Much of the rain that falls on Sussex comes from clouds formed over the Atlntic Ocean.
Many animals visit ponds and streams to drink and bathe. However it is not safe for peopel to drink from these ponds and other freshwater habitats. Do you know why we should not drink water straight from ponds and rivers?
A few quick sweeps of a pond with a fishing net will reveal many of the animals that live in ponds. This may include insect larvae, beetles, water boatman, dragonfly nymphs, daphnia and tadpoles.
A few quick sweeps of a pond with a fishing net will reveal many of the animals that live in ponds. This may include insect larvae, beetles, water boatman, dragonfly nymphs, daphnia and tadpoles.
However, the main animals that can cause us harm are too small to see without a microscope They are so tiny that the bodies of many of them are only made from one cell. These tiny animals include bacteria and protozoans.
The image on teh right shows algae and protozoans (single celled animals) that live in ponds and even puddles of rainwater.
