Worldbuilding For Beginners: Flora and Fauna
If there is one thing most associated with worldbuilding (besides maps, but I’ll come to those) it is species. Though animals are the most considered, in this entry of Worldbuilding For Beginners I plan to do what I can to help you develop your world’s wildlife, both plants and animals.
Now, in order to develop a sensible system, you will first need to consider the climate of your world. Personally, I have several different biomes in my world, so I have to work out ecosystems for each. However, my most interesting (and arguably most developed) biome is the plains.
Once you have your biome in mind, consider the sort of plants you would find there. Trees, low foliage, bushes, ‘weeds’; all of it is important. Certain animals will graze on these, everything from bugs and grubs to deer and large mammals.
Plants vary in size immensely. Giant redwoods, the tallest trees, can reach heights of over 107 m, while seedlings can be a few millimetres tall. An environment is not made from one size, but rather a mixture, each competing with the others for space, light, food and water.
Flora (as plants are sometimes known) have to reproduce, much like animals, in order to survive. They have different mechanisms for this. Some use the wind to pollinate themselves and spread seeds, others produce colourful flowers. One of my favourites is a type of fig tree that relies on a type of parasitic wasp to pollinate it. The wasps are hatched inside the blossoms, where they develop and escape. In escaping, they are brushed with pollen and pass this on to the next flower that they enter. The females become trapped, their wings torn off by the narrow entrance. When the female lays the eggs, she dies, and the fig absorbs her nutrients.
Some plants will be poisonous to certain animals, and some animals gain their toxins from the plants they eat. Plants make use of thorns, these poisons and symbiotic relationships with certain animal species to survive. As I’ve mentioned them, I’ll move onto symbiotic relationships next.
Symbiotic relationships are between animals (or animals and plants) that aren’t predator and prey. A well-known one is between the plover bird and the crocodile. The bird gets a free meal of grubs from the crocodile’s mouth, while the crocodile gets its teeth cleaned. The arrangement is beneficial for both parties, so even though the crocodile could eat the bird, it doesn’t. Your world, if realistic, should have similar relationships. A less well-known one is between Pseudomyrmex ferrugineus ants and the acacia tree. The ants ward off potential grazers, and get the sweet nectar of the plant, as well as a home, as a reward.
There is also the web of interconnected predator, prey and producer relationships. An important thing to remember with this is that each animal will be linked to multiple others. A rabbit, for instance, may be prey for eagles, foxes, badgers and dogs. But rabbits are not these animals only food source. Foxes will also eat frogs, mice and birds. This is a crucial point to remember.
As important as the predators and prey may be, they pale in comparison to the next category: scavengers and detritus feeders. Foxes arguably fall into the first of these two. Predators will rarely eat all of a kill - they simply don’t have time. Once they’ve moved off, the scavengers move in. Vultures, coyotes, hyenas… There are more animals than I would care to name. Without them, the nutrients from the dead could not rejoin the cycle. They break up the corpse, in eating their fill, allowing the detritus feeders to get to work.
Detritus feeders aren’t the nicest creatures to look at. Maggots, grubs, worms… They are almost invariably many-legged, scuttly, or slimey and squirmy. But they play a crucial role. They break down the dead animal matter, and plant matter, down into its nutrients, and provide food for other animals in the food chain. Even poo is broken down, flies laying their eggs in it, or scarab beetles rolling it away. In building your ecosystem, you can’t forget them.
So now you know the roles. So where do you start? Plants, algae, plankton, krill… That’s where. Build from the bottom up. Of course, this is just my recommendation. You can build however you like.
And a final thought. Animals, predator or prey, have the same drive. To reproduce, and to survive. Think on the peafowl. The male has elaborate trail feathers to attract the female. Could your creatures have similar displays? Or the stag. The antlers clash with those of others over females, or charge predators. Predators and prey alike often have camouflage. They live in packs or herds, either for strategic advantage or because there is safety in numbers. Predators must have tools to disable prey, be it claws, teeth, poison or talons.
I hope this helped, and feel free to add anything you think I missed in the comments!
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