The niche that each animal fills depends on body size and shape, activity, and behavior. The birds, insects, snakes, turtles, plants, and other creatures living together in a habitat form a community . Each living thing fills a special niche in the community. Snowshoe hares eat shrubs and use them for cover. Insects eat leaves and crows eat insects.
Owls eat mice and, when owls die, crows eat the owls.
Bacteria grows on dead plants and animals, returning nutrients to the soil and air. Communities can be very complex. When something happens to one member of the community, many other members may be affected, too. Your community is complex, too. All the members of your community depend on each other in some way or another.