Transcript Deserts[1]
Deserts By: Stevie T., Justin H., Kate B., and Jacob D. Geography A desert is a defined as a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all. Where Deserts Are In the World How People Influence the Desert Humans can influence the environment of a desert through • Constructing roads and buildings • Travelers littering • Adding irrigation • Vehicles polluting air quality Top Nine and types of deserts Top Nine Biggest Deserts 1. Antarctic Desert 2. Sahara Desert 3. Arabian Desert 4. Gobi Desert 5. Kalahari Desert 6. Patagonian Desert 7. Great Victoria Desert 8. Syrian Desert 9. Great Basin Desert Types of Deserts • Polar Deserts • Mountain and Basin Deserts • Regs Deserts • Ergs Deserts Mojave Desert The Mojave desert is a hot/cold desert, meaning it is often cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. But also varies with the elevation. This also means the organisms that live in the Mojave desert have to be able to survive in extreme temperatures and climate changes. In a single day in the mojave the climate is often very extreme reaching hot tempatures 120 degrees F and even hotter in the summer, And often much cooler when the sun goes down. In the winter, the temperature often stays below freezing at night but worms up to a comparatively comfortable temperature in the day. Because of these extremes, it is full of organisms with unique adaptations. The Mojave desert averages less than 12 cm of precipitation a year. Some places on earth get more than that in a coupple days. Precipitation and tempatures In The Mojave desert temperatures are different weather you are at the top of a peak or at a bottom of a valley Jan Feb Mar Apr Avg. High 62 66 71 79 Avg. low 34 38 42 47 Precipitation 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.1 May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov 87 97 103 101 95 84 70 54 62 68 67 61 51 40 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.4 Dec 62 33 0.5 How do weather patterns impact environment and the organisms in it • The climate patterns in the Mojave desert determent what animals and plants can live in the Mojave. There are some plants that are only fond in the Mojave desert because of the climate. • Animals must adapt to the extreme climate and lack of water to survive in the Mojave desert. • The Joshua tree is one of the most characterazistic plants of the Mojave desert and extends southward to the Mojave – Sonoran Desert. Botanist Abiotic Factors Abiotic Factors of a plant in the desert are very important. Cactus take advantage of the lightest rainfall by having roots close to the soil surface. The water is stored in thick stems for the long dry summer. When water is no longer available in the summer, many desert shrubs drop there leaves but cactus continue to photosynthesize because they have fixed spines instead of leaves. The many spines of the cactus shades the stems keeping them cooler. Many Barrel Cactus lean to the south so that a minimum of body surface is exposed to the drying effect of the sun. The cactus thorns also protect the cactus from herbivores because the thorns are as sharp as a needle that will poke the animal and it might even pierce the thing that attacks it. Adaptations Cactuses can store waters in side of them to make energy for themselves. The Pear Flower comes off of the Pear Cactus. The Welwitschia can live up to 2,000 years. Tumbleweed is a plant that can roll over the ground. Growth may be as little as ¼ inch per year in the Barrel Cactus. Ten Plant Names 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Prickly Pear Flower Welwitschia Organ Pipe Cactus Saguaro Cactus Flora Cactus Brittlebush Old Man Cactus Tumbleweed Desert Salt grass Barrel Cactus Links for Pictures and the Pictures http://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/pix/sjws2/PricklyPearFlower.html Prickly pear flower http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Welwitschia-mirabilis-female.jpg Welwitschia http://www.terragalleria.com/photo/?id=usaz33451&keyword=arizona-wildflowers&page=1 Organ Pipe Cactus http://www.ablogtoread.com/bovet-saguaro-sportster-meteorite-watches/ Saguaro Cactus http://www.top-photogalleries.com/photos/photogallery/Cyprus_Flora__Cactus_flower,_Secret_Valley,_Paphos,_Cyprus_3/30/30/690/0/Yes.html Flora Cactus http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/brittle_bush.htm Brittlebush http://www.art.com/products/p14429406-sa-i2966423/rob-tilley-old-man-cactus-desert-botanical-museumphoenix-arizona-usa.htm old man cactus (could not get picture) (Click link to see picture) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tumbleweed_038_.jpg Tumbleweed http://www.markrshepard.net/WeedsOfOregon/Distichlis.stricta.html Desert Salt grass http://home.howstuffworks.com/golden-barrel-cactus.htm Barrel Cactus Zoology Three Omnivores • Elf owls mainly eat snakes but can eat berries when possible. • Coyotes like meat but when necessary eat plants • Cactus wrens eat bugs, seeds and other food that they find under rocks. Three Carnivores • Sidewinder rattlesnakes eat small owls and bugs if necessary. • The giant harry scorpion eats bugs smaller than itself with the occasional small mammal • Bobcats eat small mammals and owls it will never ever eat plants Three herbivores • Land iguanas eat fruits and parts of cactus. • Mule dears eat bushes and shrubs. • Kangaroo rats eat seeds. Animals survive in the desert by storing water and learning ways to keep themselves cool A decomposer found in the desert is the lichen (like-en) crust. It is a colorful layering that grows on anything from damp bark to freshly cooled lava to frozen rock. It is composed of a bond of algae and fungi that is so strong it is impossible to break and is defined as its own species. • The water that can be used is extremely important because no water means no animals which means no life. Also the temperature underground is cool enough to sustain life in the heat. Resources • Google Images • Ask.com • Yahoo Answers