Transcript Animals in the Desert Biome

Madison
Decomposers
An decomposer is an animal that breaks
down the dead or decaying organisms.
Desert Varnish
One unique type of
bacteria found in the
desert is “desert
varnish.” This is a
type of bacteria that
can turn desert rocks
shades of green,
orange, and yellow.
This type of bacteria
is believed to be one
of the oldest living
organisms on Earth.
Carnivores
A carnivore is an animal that has adapted to eat
and hunt for meat.
Thorny devil
Size: 16cm
Diet: Ants and termites
Class: reptiles
Scientific Name: Moloch horridus
Fennec fox
Size:37 - 41 cm
Diet: Small mammals
Class: Mammals
Scientific Name: Vulpes zerda
Lappet-Faced Vulture
Size: 100 - 115 cm
Diet: Carrion (dead animals)
Class: Birds
Scientific Name: Torgos tracheliotus
Herbivores
An herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat plants
Desert lark
Size: 15 cm
Diet: seeds
Class: Birds
Scientific Name: Ammomanes deserti
Fat sand rat
Size: 14 - 18.5 cm
Diet: Seeds, vegetation
Class: Mammals
Scientific Name: Psammomys obesus
Addax
Size: 1.3 m tail: 25 - 35 cm
Diet: Plants
Class: Mammals
Scientific Name: Addax nasomaculatus
Omnivores
An animal that has adapted to eat plants as well
as hunt and eat meat
Great Jerbaro
Size: 19 – 15 cm tail: 16 - 22 cm
Diet: Seeds and insects
Class: Mammal
Scientific Name: Allactaga major
Coyote
Size: 44 -52 inches tail: 14-inch
Diet: of mice, rats, insects, rabbits and plants
Class: Mammals
Scientific Name: Canis latrans
White tailed antelope
ground squirrel
Size: 15 -16 cm tail: 6-7 cm
Diet: seeds, fruits, vegetation, arthropods, and carrion.
Class: Mammals
Scientific Name: Ammospermophilus leucurus
In the food wed below the producer are
the seeds and grass, the ants are first
level consumers, the Great Jerbaro the
ground squirrel and the Thorny Devil are
all second level consumers. The final
level is the Coyote the third level
consumer that receives the lest amount
of energy from the sun.
On this food web below the producers
are the seeds and grass like most food
webs in the desert. The second level
consumers is just the Fat Sand Rat. The
third level consumers are the Fennec fox
and Sidewinder snake. The Dingo is the
fourth level and finally the animal that
gets the lest energy is the Lappet-Faced
Vulture that mostly eats dead organisms
or sometime large alive ones.
What abiotic and biotic factors help these
types of animals to live in this area?
Abiotic= are nonliving factors
Biotic= are living factors
There are many different types of Abiotic factors in the desert. A
few of these are water, sunlight heat rocks and soil/sand.
Soil/sand can help small prey such as a Fat Sand Rat to borrow
into the ground to hide from prey. Other factors such as water
barely affect these animals because they have adapted to be
able to survive with little water. In the desert there are also biotic
factors that help these organisms survive. A few examples of
this is food such as other animals or plants and protection from
vegetation. The Addax above is a great example of something
like this. He can help other organisms by protecting and
defending them from other predators like the Desert Lark. The
addax might want vegetation near this birds nest and protect her
nearby predators that are too afraid to attack. This is one way an
animal can help another animal with maybe not even knowing it.
What special adaptions allow these
animals to live in this Biome?
These animals have very many adaptions that need to occur
in order to survive in this ecosystem. The number one
priority they need is water to be able to be stored for long
amounts of time. Another adaptation that is necessary is the
food they need to survive. They need to have access to a
stable food supply such as near an area with a lot of
vegetation or maybe near a reliable water supply such as a
small sprig in the cooler parts of a desert. Also a less obvious
adaption is that a few animals have is the adaption of scales
or fur that reflects heat from its body to protect itself from
the suns harmful rays. These are a few adaptions needed to
live in the Desert Biome.
Sources
 http://www.itsnature.org/ground/mammals-
land/white-tailed-antelope-squirrel/
 http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/desert.html
 http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/desert/animals/index.ht
m
 http://www.tutorvista.com/biology/abiotic-factors-ofthe-desert
I also used some images from Google images.