Dry Deserts!!

BY: Jang Hyun

Characteristics Of The Desert Ecosystem

The biotic factors of the desert have adaptations that help them survive from the strong heat. Most of the

animals of a desert reproduce quickly during the brief moist period. That way, they won’t need to have

babies during the hot and dry season, especially in the desert. The plants in the desert have seeds that

are able to stay dormant until there’s enough rainfall for the young plant. The abiotic factors include low

rainfall. Some deserts, like the Sahara, don’t have rainfall at all for years! The soil or sand there is very

dry, and doesn’t have many organic nutrients, so few plants live in the desert. The temperature in the

desert changes rapidly. The average temperature is 37.8 degrees celsius in the day, and 10 degrees celsius

in the night.

Dry Sand Few Plants

Map Of Deserts In The World

The orange parts are the locations of deserts on Earth.

It Starts With Producers...

The producers of the desert include barrel cacti, jumping chollas, mojave

asters, and many more. They live in a very hot place, so they need to adapt to

the low rainfall. Cacti and lithops have adapted to build up moisture in their

fleshy tissues. They have a system of shallow roots to absorb water from the

soil a few hours after rainfall.

Jumping chollas Mojave asters Lithops

Then Animals...

The animals of the desert need adaptations such as avoiding heat, dissipating heat, retaining water, and

acquiring water, for they live in a hot ecosystem . The sun doesn’t shine at night, so to avoid heat some

animals are nocturnal, so they sleep in the day and act in the night. These are coyotes, bobcats, and more.

Animals have many ways to acquire or get water. One way is to live in sealed underground dens to recycle

moisture from their own breathing. Some rodents have this special adaptation. Speaking of rodents who

have this adaptation, kangaroo rats are one of them. Kangaroo rats can adapt to hearing things from far

away because of their big ears. They can also jump very high because of their skinny legs.

Coyotes Bobcats Kangaroo rats

Stop! Food Web Video First!

http://youtu.be/eGXaDJP1hPQ

Enjoy!

It Ends With Conservation Issues...

Do you think the plain deserts do not have conservation issues? No! Military activities and off-road vehicles do

severe damage on the desert ground. Drilling can destroy the habitats of many desert animals. Grazing livestock

in the desert could wipe out the few desert plants. Climate change, for an example global warming, could make the

desert hotter than ever! Buffelgrass is the most well-known invasive species of the Sonoran desert. (Located in

North America) It can kill most of the native plants by it’s dense roots and ground shading, which could prevent

seeds from germinating. So deserts are very fragile ecosystems. We should protect deserts!

Buffelgrass Off-Road Vehicles Drilling Grazing

Sources

http://www.concord.org/~btinker/GL/web/exploring_life/ecosystems/desert.htm

http://www.kbears.com/climates/printdesert.html

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTY8lThOS1zmTBLLUHGLKbsXV7lo5RUffa6XBq1YPkqEDckdPeQgg

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRKi7Ogp0vDNjkaAAzS9Mxht3ITiJllsOtzLXPZmrJrJrJEvcRI4Q

http://www.defenders.org/desert/plants-and-animals

http://glossi.com/desertelite8/55069-the-sonoran-desert

http://www.fourdir.com/p_mojave_aster.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithops

http://www.livingdesert.org/desert_animals.html

http://digital-desert.com/wildlife/nocturnal.html

http://a-z-animals.com/media/animals/images/original/coyote6.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_rathttp://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/01/223897.html

http://desertbiomes3rdhour.weebly.com/desert-enviroment-problems.html

http://www.voanews.com/content/arab-gulf-states-urged-to-increase-pipelines-after-iran-oil-threats-138200949/151224.html

http://oregonexplorer.info/farm/CattleIndustry

http://www.stonehousecollection.com/western-note-cards/14084a.html

Sources 2

http://www.mediahex.com/Cactus_Wren

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/ostrich/

http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/c.c.cerastes.html

http://a-z-animals.com/animals/fennec-fox

https://www.google.co.kr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=caracal&source=images&cd=&docid=HzX0SVf6aTDUtM&tbnid=VzwecNuFefrqMM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nigeldennis.com%2Fstock%2Fpages%2F29.htm&ei=VGxYU7iZCYiC8gWlkoCgBw&psig=AFQjCNFFvupmFhsH3HR74EOhBwJCiFO45A&ust=1398390211469798

https://www.google.co.kr/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=meerkat&source=images&cd=&docid=-Y6FaYoQgIF3dM&tbnid=SEB32pthKYuMcM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvi.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMeerkat&ei=Lm5YU7iwEsfs8AWIyYGYDg&psig=AFQjCNGyh049beaaWvChoWN5X-B0NPS1BQ&ust=1398390649586561

http://desertbiomepro.weebly.com/food-chainfood-web.html

http://sciencetablets.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-can-desert-plants-live-without.html

https://www.desertmuseum.org/invaders/invaders_buffelgrass.php

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/043012_az_buffelgrass/

Sources 3http://www.3ddigitalgraphics.com/xsi/xsi_t-gen.htmlhttp://www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/coachwhip/attachment/web-6-trail-winds-through-lower-segment

http://mjmerrick.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/why-we-should-care-about-small-mammals-a-global-perspective/

http://www.desertanimals.net/guide.html

http://www.tringa.org/gallery/9913500129_Black-tailed_Jackrabbit_1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronghorn

http://www.californiaherps.com/frogs/pages/b.alvarius.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid

http://www.vtaide.com/png/habitats/deserts/insects.htm

http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Asia/India/photo201069.htm

https://www.google.co.kr/search?q=texas+banded+gecko&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=fh5XU4euFIyClQWItIGwBQ&sqi=2&pjf=1&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=768&bih=620#imgrc=nCRWdZW6xXabnM%253A%3BQBtmPpc0EPug6M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.kingsnake.com%252Fhudspeth%252Fgecko4-10-05.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.kingsnake.com%252Fhudspeth%252Fotherpics.htm%3B1080%3B739

https://www.google.co.kr/search?newwindow=1&biw=768&bih=620&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=gh5XU7r6H4zOlAXc8IGYAw&q=texas+horned+lizard&oq=texas+horned&gs_l=tablet-gws.1.0.0l3.231331.235469.0.236747.18.18.0.0.0.2.382.2558.8j5j4j1.18.0....0...1c.1.42.tablet-gws..5.13.1405.Hih3AdTV-YE#imgrc=Rgf_phbPN_mZlM%253A%3BoeaUn1PwKmhN4M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Futs.cc.utexas.edu%252F~varanus%252Fplatyrhinos1.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Futs.cc.utexas.edu%252F~varanus%252Fphryno.html%3B284%3B248

https://www.google.co.kr/search?newwindow=1&biw=768&bih=620&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=cB9XU7-VHIPBkgWN9IHAAQ&q=arizona+bark+scorpion&oq=arizona+bar&gs_l=tablet-gws.1.0.0l3.176126.187166.0.189243.29.26.0.3.3.8.161.2787.7j17.24.0....0...1c.1.42.tablet-gws..11.18.1587.b9VYeJ7GDCQ#imgrc=-nAVouS9_5z18M%253A%3BgzxzUdu0lBy-xM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fen%252F0%252F01%252FBbasgen-bark-scorpion.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FArizona_bark_scorpion%3B1432%3B927

http://www.defenders.org/desert/threats

Thank you!!!

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