Tropical SavannaJulie Bowers, Juan Ferrer, Savannah Criado

location/climateSoil-varies by bedrock and edaphic conditions + lateralization forms soil and low fertility oxisols are expected

Temperature-range from 68° to 86°F

Rainfall- 6 - 8 month wet season, in dry season(4 - 6 months) there is less than 4 inches of rainfall per month.

The annual rainfall is around 30 inches per year.

Location

Most biodiverse place on the planet Located near the equator

Nutrient Flow DiagramIn Tropical Savannas, there is such a large biodiversity of animals that when they die, they give off litter(making the soil fertile) eventually continuing the cycle back to produce an abundance of grass, and therefore animals......

Animals On the SavannaAfrican Elephant:

-Live on the grasslands of Africa

-Herbivores

-Niche: Keep the savanna clear by eating shrubs/trees/ they also burrow in dry river beds forming watering holes for large animals

-Skin and Size protect them from being eaten

-Adaptations: ears give off heat to keep

Them cool in the atmosphere

Trunk is an extended nose to help smell,

breathe

Lion-Powerful predator

-Lives on the grasslands

-Their camouflage coats protects and

helps them hunt for food

-Lion is crucial to other animals survival

ironically; leaving behind scraps when

done eating

-Helps control

population

Animals On the SavannaChacma Baboon

-Live in mostly african woodland Savanna and high grasslands

-Eat plants, and bugs

-Niche: unintentionally feed other animals by leaving food behind

Adaptation:cheek pockets to store food and razor sharp teeth to defend themselves

Grant’s Zebra-grazers which limit them to flat open plains-Herbivore-Niche: they have stripes and the fact they stay in herds to confuse predators along with strong teeth and sharp hooves-Adaptation: eyes set far back in skull for vision; strips for disruptive pattern

Animals On the SavannaBlack Mamba

-open low habitats, rocky places and open woodlands; active during the day-feed on small mammals-Niche: kills prey by compressing it till their muscles give up and it diesAdaptations: high flexibility and skeletal structure allow great power against prey

Nile Crocodile-in freshwater swamps, rivers and lakes; digging dens to hide in the hot-Eat practically everything-Niche: top predator of the river ecosystem, main stabilizer, and keeps predatory species pop in check-Adapt: scales prevent from oozing moisture in the heat

Plants On the SavannaBaobab-Found in african Savannas around the equator-Can live for several thousand years-9 months out of the year it is leafless-But during wet months their trunks store water so it will have water throughout these 9 months-Bark can be used for cloth and rope

Bermuda Grass-Grows in open areas where there are frequent disturbances such as fire, flooding and grazing-Can grow in poor soil, during dry months the tops will die off but will keep growing from underground-its deep roots will always collect water-Prefers the warmer seasons

Plants On the SavannaCandelabra Tree

- Found near the equator- Can grow 30 to 40 feet tall- Very poisonous sap that will blister skin and blind you if it gets in your eye- Used as a living fence because of its sharp spines on its branches and

touching it causes burns

Food Chain

Food Web

Pyramid Of Energy FlowShows the decrease in usable chemical energy in each trophic level, there is a 90% loss in usable energy with each level

Pyramid Of NumbersEach pyramid level represents the amount of

Individuals in each trophic level

BioMass pyramidBiomass pyramid: show the biomass or bio productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem

Gross Primary Productivity- the rate at which an ecosystem's producers capture & store a given amount of chemical energy as biomass in a given length of time

-rapid nutrient turnover from grass, wood, and animals causes a relatively high gross primary productivity and therefore the diverse and abundant faunas typical of savannas.

Net Primary Productivity-Net Primary Productivity- the net amount of primary production remaining after a fraction of energy is used by primary producers for cellular respiration and maintenance of existing tissues.

--Savannas have relatively high levels of net primary productivity compared to biomass. It is most evident right after the wet season when water is abundant for plants to use.

Photosynthesisprocess where plants capture energy from sunlight through chloroplasts & combine with C02 to produce their own food (glucose)

In the savanna, solar energy is

absorbed by the abundance of

grasses, combined with the nutrients from decomposed organisms and transformed into energy, which is then transferred to the

entire food chain.

Successionprimary succession is rare in Savannas, but if it were to occur it would likely be due to a volcanic explosion in the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands

Secondary succession occurs as fires or especially in the dry season, affect the community without totally destroying it. Seeds from outside areas blow back to this area then the cycle begins again and produces a similar resulting community

Human ImpactHuman impact on savannas is quite negative, the 3 most common forms of impact, affecting savannas such as the Serengeti in Africa are:

● Poaching ● Population growth ● Tourism (Pro/Con)

In LDC’s Cattle Grazing is also limiting the availability of nutrients. Lack of proper medicine has allowed for infected pets (rabies), which make contact with wildlife, to spread disease. In 1994 Canine Distemper Virus (Basically rabies) spread to, and killed ⅓ of Lion population in the Serengeti Savanna. While in MDC’s the constant population growth only increases the amount of deforestation.

How It’s Handled; MDC vs LDCLDC’s like Africa, where there are several savannas, factors like poverty don't allow for much protection of such grasslands. With overgrazing, and agriculture several nutrients are lost. While tourism has allowed some sections of these savannas to survive, it has also damaged it. These savannas are made into “National Parks” but with hundreds of species it's hard to keep all safe, and that's where poaching comes into effect. Not much is done to conserve these areas.

MDC’s like Australia and its Tropical Savanna have a bright future as they may be able to keep these grasslands alive, and thriving. Thanks to efforts from the World Wildlife Fund, they have spread awareness to local communities to stop Brush fires for agriculture in order to conserve dying species. With proper funds, assistance, and the spread of awareness MDC’s like Australia have made a clear point that keeping these diverse grasslands thriving is possible.