DESERT

DESERT BIOME

• A desert is a dry land with living conditions for plant/animal life.
• Deserts are located in hot/dry locations around the Earth.
• Hot and dry deserts are found between the equator/tropics.

CLIMATE

• 20-25° C = (68 - 77 F)
• 2-4 inches per year

PLANT ADAPTATIONS

• Small/thorny leaves to reduce rate of respiration.
• Thick stems hold as much water/nutrients as possible.
• Few stomata on the lower parts of the leaves.

ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS

• Animals have thick outer layers to decrease moisture.
• They dig burrows which able keep cool during the day.
• Desert animals also urinate less.

SITES TO SEE

• Hole in the wall: sculptured volcanic rock walls.
• Mojave Trail: historic route and present day dirt road.
• Boron mine: California's largest open-pit mine.

ACTIVITIES TO DO

• Sand Sliding
• Camel Racing
• Horseback Riding

HUMAN IMPACT

• Lack of civilization/lack of organized infrastructure.
• Lack of water for agriculture.
• The animals die of thirst.

SPOTTED HYENA

• Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora, Hyaenidae, Crocuta, C . Crocuta
• Multicellular
• Eukaryotic - has a nucleus.
• Heterotroph

CACTUS

• plantae, tracheophyta, dicotyledonae, caryophyllidae, cactaceae
• Multicellular
• Prokaryotic - has a cell wall.
• Autotrophic
• Evergreen & Vascular

CHAETOMIUM

• Fungi, Ascomyota, Sordariomycetes, Sordariales, Chaetomiaceae, Chaetomium, Chaetomium globosum
• Multicellular
• Eukaryotic - has a nucleus
• Autotrophic
• Close relative - Chaetomium Iranianum

AMEBAS

• Protozoa, amoebozea, tubulinea, tubulinida, amoebidae, amoeba, amoeba proteus
• Single-celled
• Eukaryotic- has a nucleus
• Autotrophic
• Close Relatives-Amoeba Proteus / Fungus-like

Nostoc flagelliforme

• Eubacteria, Cyanobacteria, Filamentous, Nostocales, Nostocaceae, Nostoc, Flagelliforme
• Multicellular
• Prokaryotic- has a cell wall
• Autotrophic / Gram Negative Stain
• Hairlike shape

RELATIONSHIPS

• Parasitism is a relationship where one species benefits at the expense of the other.
• Predation is a biological interaction where a predator feeds on it's prey.
• Mutualism is the way two organisms exist in a relationship in which each individual benefits.
• Commensalism is a relationship where one organism benefits without affecting the other.
• Competition is an interaction in which the fitness of one is lowered by the presence of another.

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DESERT FOOD WEB

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION

• The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems.
• Biomes are defined as areas with similar climatic conditions.
• An ecosystem is a community of living organisms.
• A community is an association of populations of species in the same area.

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION CONT.

• A population is a sum of all the organisms of the same group or species.
• An organism is any contiguous living system.

HIPPO-HABITAT LOSS

• Habitat loss -animals loosing their homes.
• Ex. More people moving in the desert.

HIPPO-INVASIVE SPECIES

• Invasive Species - non-native species disrupting & replacing native species.
• Ex. Bufflegrass grows densely and crowds out native plants of similar size.

HIPPO-POLLUTION

• Pollution- The prescence into the environment of a substance or thing that has poisonous effects.
• Ex. Pollution in the Sonoran Desert would be the seemingly endless amount of trash and waste.

HIPPO-POPULATION

• Population- All the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country.
• People taking over a desert area and building homes therefore destroying natural habitats.

HIPPO-OVER HARVESTING

• refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns
• There's overuse in the desert nonetheless overharvesting in the desert.