Michael Budock and Tyler Montgomery

Desert Biome

Part One

1. Abiotic factors- little humidity, the soil can be either gravel or sand, very little rainfall, very few plants and animals live there, in the mid latitude zones the deserts can be really hot during the day and really cold during the night due to the lack of insulation in the desert. The dessert is a very dry place.

Taken fromhttp://www.jsu.edu/dept/geography/mhill/webdes/bottom.html

2. Atacama Desert – South America, Sahara – the northern half of Africa, Chihuahuan Desert – stretches from Central Mexico to the U.S. New Mexico, Texas, Arizona

Taken from http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/desert.htm

3. The Big Bend National Park, Tassili N’Ajjer National Park – Algeria, Lauca National Park4. Come to the Sahara desert the dry air is good for your skin.

Part Two

1. Kingdom Plantae: Saguaro Cactus, Desert Sage, Yucca, Joshua TreeKingdom Fungi: Desert Shaggy ManeKingdom Animalia: Gila Monster, Desert Tortoise, Thorny Devil, Armadillo Lizard, Roadrunner, Bobcat, Coyote, Cactus Wren, Bark Scorpion, Kangaroo Rat

2. An adaptation the Kangaroo Rat has is the ability to get most of its water from the seeds that it eats, a helpful adaptation for a dry, desert environment. The Thorny Devil is a lizard covered in spikes that attract moisture from the air in the form of dew overnight, or during rain. The spikes have grooves that allow the lizard to suck moisture through capillary action from all over its body. The Saguaro cactus and other cacti have thick epidermises and waxy exterior which helps to hold in water that is vital to the plant.

3. Food Chains:Brittlebrush Grasshopper Mouse Diamondback RattlesnakePrickly pear cactus Wood Rat Mojave RattlesnakeFluff Grass Pallid Winged Grasshopper Collared Lizard Red-Tailed Hawk

4. Food web:

Quaternary Consumers

5. Trophic pyramid:

Tertiary Consumers

Brittlebush

Grasshopper Mouse

Diamondback Rattlesnake

Prickly Pear

Wood Rat

Mojave Rattlesnake

Fluff Grass

Pallid winged Grasshopper

Collared Lizard

Red-Tailed Hawk

Mojave Rattlesnake, Diamondback Rattlesnake,

Collared Lizard

Red –

Tailed Hawk

Primary consumers

Producers

Part Three

1. Mutualism: The desert mistletoe plant and the Phainopepla Bird. The bird eats the berries of the plant, getting food and energy, while the plant gets its seeds distributed when the bird poops.

2. Commensalism: The desert holly plant and the creosote bush. The desert holly provides shade for young creosote bushes to grow, benefiting the creosote but the holly plant is not affected.

3. Parasitism: The flea and the coyote. The flea drinks the blood of the coyote, benefiting the flea, but draining the blood, irritating, and possibly giving the coyote harmful diseases. The flea benefits while the coyote is harmed.

4. Competition: Grasshopper Mouse and Wood Rat. The grasshopper mouse and the wood rat compete for food resources, such as fluff grass and insect prey. Both are trying to get the same food sources and compete for them.

Sources for parts 2 and 3:http://iqa.evergreenps.org/science/biology/ecosystem.htmlhttp://mojavedesert.net/glossary/parasitism.htmlhttp://mojavedesert.net/glossary/commensalism.htmlhttp://mojavedesert.net/glossary/mutualism.html

Part Four

1. In the Sahara desert the gazelle is an endangered species. Due to over hunting and loss of habitat.

Brittlebush, Prickly Pear Cactus, Fluff Grass

Pallid Grasshopper, Grasshopper Mouse, Wood rat

Taken fromhttp://www.arkive.org/mountain-gazelle/gazella-gazella/image-G44447.html

2. The environmental issue that’s impacting the Sahara desert is the loss of habitat and the over hunting of gazelles. A solution to this problem is to minimize the amount of hunting of gazelles.