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CHAPARRAL
By Nate Guerrero
Summary
Chaparral is an area of flat plains,
rocky hills and mountain slopes, with a
warm climate. Scattered across the globe
with small patches on each continent,
Animals in the Biome
Animals in the Biome Continued...
Jackal
time living so the Island Grey Fox downsized to need
less food, over time the foxes became smaller and
smaller till now. With its cinnamon, light grey or red
coat, it looks very much like its larger cousin the
grey fox which is also a carnivore. They hunt during
the day but can hunt at night, talking to each other
with sight, sound, and smell. Showing dominance
with body posture and facial expressions.
Much like a small wolf, the jackal has long
hair with a long, fluffy tail. It is the size of a
moderately tall dog, with a length of 70 to 80 cm. Its
fur colored yellow to a pale gold and smooth. An
adaptation of this animal is during the winter, when
the temps drop the jackal grows a thick coat of hair
and eat insects to keep nutrients when meat is
scarce making this animal an omnivore.
Cactus Wren
The Cactus Wren is brown with white
stripes running over each eye. They have white
throats with long, dark, curved beaks. These birds
are very active and curious, always quick to
investigate new things in the habitat. Leaving your
car window open is an invite for the bird to fly in
and thoroughly check everything. These birds are
one of the few who are considered permanent
residents because they do not migrate during the
winter.
Chaparralis usually very hot and dry
making it a perfect climate for wildfires
which often break out. This also effects
the Biotic Factors as well as the Abiotic
Factors. Like the desert the days are very
hot and dry. When nightfall hits the
temputrue drops to below freezing. Even
though it rains about 10-17 inches a year,
the majority of it is in the winter. The
chaparral is supported by the western
wind, which is why they usually are on the
western side of the continent. This place
has very little decomposers.
Bezoar Goat
Bezoar goats are found in Creta, other
greek islands, in Turkey, Iran, Turkmenia, and
Pakistan. Common colors are black, brown, gray,
red, and white. They have beards, curved horns, and
have special horns that have a sharp inside edge like
a knife. Bezoar Goats are herbivores and have diets
consisting of grass, twigs, leaves, berries, and bark
Island Grey Fox
As the smallest fox species in the US the
Island Grey Fox is often overlooked. This size comes
from an adaptation due to the food. The food is
scarce and the foxes with bigger size had a hard
Puma
The puma is very adapted it’s to live here,
preferring deer, it will also eat insects, birds and
mice. It will kill and eat any small to medium sized
animal. It has a habit of scraping leaves over its kill
to hide it often staying in the area and feeding off
the kill for several days, however not eating
anything another animal has already killed.
Spotted Skunk
Living in holes in the ground and
lined with leaves and occasionally a
spotted skunk will live in a hollow tree, the
spotted skunk's diet in the winter consists
of mainly rats and other rodents and in
the summer, the skunk's diet changes to
more vegetation and insects. Then when
autumn arrives the skunk adds fruit and
berries to its diet. It is prey to foxes all
year round.
Plants in the Biome
French Broom
The name of the French Broom comes
from the use of the plant. It used to be cut and
turned into brooms, but are often thought of as
weeds, growing over native plants and spreading
very quickly. This trait is also a good thing, in the
1900s they were used to prevent erosion on the
beach by planting them on the dunes, holding the
sand together. These producers are the most
aggressive of all the broom species and after a few
years they spread out of their habitat in the gardens
and invaded highways and yards.
King Protea
The King Protea was once only found in
Cape Town and was the national flower for south
Africa but since then they have spread across the
globe and out of the 370 Protea species, 120 of
them are listed as endangered. Most of the
population of the King Protea are cultivated in
greenhouses, no longer found in abundance in the
wild. The plant uses an adaptation of touch cup
shaped pedals to catch moisture in the fog that
often appears.
Fairy Duster
Also known as False Mesquite, The Fairy
Duster is found in the sandy washes, slopes and
mesas of the Sonoran Desert and the chaparral
areas near San Diego County in California, USA. Its
niche is it is used to fix emotional mood swings and
ground people with its essence.
roots find water, but when it does rain it has
shallow roots that are spread out below the surface
to absorb the water. When it is very dry sagebrush
can still be living, but look dead. When this happens
it can get uprooted and spread its seeds when
blown by the wind. These are all adaptation that the
plant has Obtained to survive in the hot and dry
environment. the sagebrush's smoke is offensive to
many predators and helps keep mosquitoes away.
Saltmarsh Birds Peak
This plant belongs to the Figwort Family
and is related to the snapdragon. This is plant is
interesting because its symbiotic trait is that its part
parasitic. It uses pickle weed and salt grass to
extend its growing season. It only grows about the
tide line in California and is endangered in the US.
Interesting Facts
 The plants in the chaparral biome
contain flammable material yet
their barks resist fire.
 Some plants have adapted to the
summer fires in such a way that
their seeds lie dormant until they
are touched by fire.
 The summer in the chaparral
biome can lasts up to five months.
 Plants that live in the chaparral
biome usually survive fires
because they have thick cell
layers, wax like coatings and
reduce evaporation and the switch
between oxygen and carbon
dioxide.
Food Web
Wildfire
Bark
Common Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a perennial shrub with
straight, and stiff stems, with a strong sweet smell
and a bitter taste. When rain is scarce its deep tap
Summer
Symbiotic Example
The Red-Winged Blackbird
is an herbivore so it eats the
seeds of the Torrey Pine that fall
to the ground. The blackbird
benefits by getting food, while
the Torrey Pine isn't affected in
any way. This is an example of
commensalism