Download Savannah (Terrestrial)

Savannah (Terrestrial)
By Katie Bell and Olivia Solley
Honors Biology
Mr. Z
Climate
• The climate of the Savanna is wet and dry.
• Tropical Savannas can receive 30 to 50
inches of rain in the wet season, which is
during the summer months.
• However, they receive as little as 4 inches
of rain in the dry season.
• The temperature ranges from 68 degrees
to 78 degrees in the dry season and 78
degrees to 86 degrees in the wet season.
Soil and Geologic
Characteristics
 The Savanna is a plain or tropical grassland that has
scattered trees
 Savannas can be found in Africa, Australia, Madagascar,
India, South America, and the Southeast part of Asia
 In the Savanna there can be found many diverse soil
types including Clays, Lateritic, Red/Yellow Earths,
Lithosols, Alluvial, etc
 Depending on many factors, the soil of the savanna in a
given location can be influenced by the climate, the
terrain, and the amount of precipitation that the area
receives daily
Latitudes
• Savannas are found today across Africa,
South America, Central America,
Australia, India, and Southeast Asia.
• They appear at low latitudes where the
average temperature is high and remains
constant. They also appear where the
rainfall is high but very seasonal.
Map of Where Savanna Biomes
can be Found (In Orange)
Altitudes
• Altitudes vary almost as much as the soil does
and a savanna’s altitudes can range from sea
level to over 60,000ft
• This variation of the altitudes effects the
savanna by causing a variation in types of plants
and soils and temperature
• Where the altitudes are high, in those areas are
high levels of humidity as well as the terrain
being divided into hills and ridges
• When the altitudes are low the soil is more
sandy and stretches into more drier areas
Species Diversity
• The Savanna is home to many different
species
• These species range from elephants to
zebras to lions to grass to trees.
• The Savanna biome is has a great species
diversity because it serves as the habitat
to various species.
Producers
• Wild Grass is the biggest producer in the
savanna as it is important because it provides
most herbivores with food.
• Other producers are Acacia trees which have
many subcategories including the Whistling
Thorn, the Umbrella Thorn and the Senegal
Gum which are other kinds of Acacia Trees
• Other producers are the Candelabra Tree
and the Jarrah Tree.
Producers cont…
The Candelabra Tree
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Candelabra trees are found close to
the equator and in Africa and the East
Indies
The Candelabra has a poisonous white
sap in which when coming in contact
with skin a blister will form and it can
also blind if it touches the eyes
The Candelabra has sharp spines on
its branches and along with the poison,
it keeps away predators
The Jarrah Tree
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This is a type of Eucalyptus Tree which
can grow up to 40-50 meters high
It can be found widespread through the
dry Australian Savanna
The Jarrah has learned to adapt to the
dry climate by it’s long roots so that in
times of drought it can pull the water
form deep undergorund and use it to
sustain itself
Primary Consumers
• The savanna’s primary consumers consist of herbivores,
such as elephants, zebras, and koalas
• African elephants, also known as savanna elephants are
the largest mammals on the earth. They weigh up to
10,000 pounds.
• Their diet consists of grasses, fruits, tree leaves, bark,
shrubs, and vines.
• African elephants can live for about seventy years. They
tend to stay in groups of about 10 to 15 elephants. The
leaders of these groups are always female.
• These animals have a special job in savannas. They eat
the shrubs and trees, allowing the grass to grow and
grazers live.
• Today there are about 150,000 elephants in the world.
Primary Consumers cont.
Grant’s Zebra
Koala
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Of the three species of zebra,
the Grant’s zebra is the most
abundant.
These zebras live in close
groups called families. The
families are led by a single
male and contain about 17
members.
The Grant’s zebra can live for
about 28 years. Their black
and white stripes protect them
from predators. If chased, they
can reach up to 40 miles per
hour.
Today, there are about 300,000
zebras left in the savannas.
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Koalas are short, fuzzy
marsupials that live in the trees
of the Australian savanna.
Koalas have rough paws that
allow them to keep traction on
trees, and not fall. This allows
the koalas to hide from
predators.
These animals do not have a
diverse diet. They only eat
eucalyptus leaves, which are
poisonous to other animals.
The koala’s digestive system is
immune to these poisonous
leaves, allowing these animals
to eat as many as they want.
Secondary Consumers
• In the Savanna are many different kinds of
secondary consumers, some are hyenas,
anteater, wild dog, bat, birds, insects, reptiles such
as snakes
• Hyenas can be found in Africa and the spotted
hyena is the most common while the Brown hyena
is both shy and nocturnal, which lives primarily in
the dry areas of Africa
• The secondary consumers can be found where
ever the herds of the herbivores are and they can
be found where there is the best wild grass
Top Consumers
• The top consumers include caracal and lion as well as
other cats, such as cheetahs and leopards.
• The caracal can be found in the Veld Grassland in South
Africa, and in central Africa and India.
• The caracal lives in solidarity and its life span is about 17
years.
• These animals are nocturnal. They hunt smaller
mammals, such as rabbits and porcupines, or even
larger mammals like sheep, young antelope or deer.
• The caracal is only hunted by man. In some areas, they
have become endangered. They are protected in 10
African countries, but there are no laws protecting them
in 6.
Top Consumers cont.
• The lion is the most powerful predator of the savanna,
located in the savanna of Africa south of the Sahara and
a small area in Asia.
• Their diet consists of gazelles, buffalo, zebras and many
other small to medium sized mammals.
• They are the only cats to live in prides, or a community
containing 4 to 40 members.
• The lion is a very crucial part of the food chain. When it
kills an animal and is done eating, the scavengers eat
the leftovers.
Decomposers
• Some decomposers includes the Hyenas,
dingoes, vultures, and long-legged marabou
storks and especially insects (worms.
Maggots, flies)
• The storks can be seen along with the
vultures high above the savanna looking for
prey
• Insects can be seen on a dead and decaying
animal and cleans the carcass of it’s flesh
• They are the cleaners of the Earth
Human Impacts
• In many parts of the African savannas, humans have
started grazing their cattle and goats on the land.
• This causes the grasses to be completely eaten. With no
vegetation, the animals begin to die.
• The savanna will then turn into a desert. Each year, the
Sahara desert gains huge areas of the savanna due to
overgrazing and farming.
• Hunting the animals of the savannas have caused many
of the species to become endangered. Some of these
species have been protected by laws, but others remain
to be killed because of humans hunting them.
Works Cited
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http://www.bioexpedition.com/savanna-biome.html
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/grasslands.php
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna.htm
http://mindrelief.net/savanna.html
http://www.africacapital.ca/pic/zebra.jpg
http://edu.glogster.com/media/2/11/47/83/11478364.jpg
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-131082022.html
http://wikitravel.org/upload/shared/9/94/Savanna_Sunrise_by_bredg
ur.jpg
• http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/text/biomes/biomes.grassland
.tropical.animals.html
• http://www.junglephotos.com/africa/afscenery/savanna/savannanath
ist.shtml
• http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna_animal_page.htm