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The Desert Biome
By Hannah Akhtar
6E
Introduction
• Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am
going to give facts about the desert biome.
•
7,
World map
Turkmenistan
Western
Australia
Mexico
6
Cape
town
What is the Desert biome?
• A Desert biome is barren, hot and
very dry.
•Animals like bears cannot survive
in the desert.
• Some deserts have cold climates
What animals live in the Desert biome?
• The Desert biome is home to many fascinating
creatures. These are some of the creatures
which live in the Desert biome:
The Thorny devil
The Ostrich
The Collared lizard
The Desert hopping mouse
The Elf owl
3
The thorny Devil
• The Thorny devil is a type of a lizard. Its
scientific name is Moloch Horridus.
•Has numerous rows of spikes on its skin.
•Less than 20cm in length and eats ants.
•It can change its colour depending on the
amount of sunlight it recieves.
•The Thorny devil uses small channels in the
middle of the scales on its legs to gather
morning dew and water from wet sand.
•Water comes up the channels by capillary
action to its mouth.
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The ostrich
•The Ostrich is a rather large bird which cannot fly.
•Another name for the Ostrich is Struthio Camelus.
• It mainly eats plants although it also feeds on
insects.
•The Ostrich is adapted well to the Desert Biome
because it can survive for a long time without any
water.
•It also is the largest bird in the world.
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The Collared lizard
•The Collared lizard is an American
lizard.
•It can be as long as 30 cm!
•Another name for the Collared
Lizard is the Crophytus Collaris.
•Just like other lizards collared lizards
have to be provided with diets which
contain a lot of calcium.
2, 8
These lizards are well adapted to their
environment because they can survive
for a long period of time without
water. Like all other lizards they are
very fast at running.
The Desert Hopping Mouse
•The Desert Hopping mouse is also known as the
Tarkawara or the Tarkawarra.
•These mice are usually seen at night.
•They get all the water they need from the
moisture provided in their food.
•Desert hopping mice eat seeds insects and roots.
• For their shelter, Desert hopping mice dig
burrows. First they dig a sloping tunnel, next
they dig straight upwards and make pop holes.
After that, they use soil to fill in the first tunnel
they make.
The rather steep opening keeps out unwanted
creatures. Burrows also help the Desert Hopping
mice to trap the water they breathe out.
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The Elf owl
•Another name for the Elf Owl is the Micrathene
Whitney.
•The Elf Owl is the smallest Owl in the world.
•Elf Owls are 5-12 inches tall and they have a
wingspan of 15-16 inches. They have very long legs.
• Elf Owls eat insects; they are known to eat
scorpions. They are exactly 6 inches in width.
•They only come out when night falls and they
remain inside cactuses during the day.
• The temperature is cooler by about 20 degrees in a
cactus.
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•. Elf Owls keep hydrated by eating bugs.
What plants live in the desert biome?
There are also many mesmerising plants which live
in the desert. Here are some of them:
The Crimson Hedgehog Cactus
The Pancake Prickly Pear Cactus
The Ocotillo
The Desert Ironwood
The Joshua Tree
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The Crimson Hedgehog Cactus
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•
The Crimson Hedgehog Cactus is small and
barrel shaped, it grows in clumps of a couple to
one hundred stems.
•
It is also known as the Claret Cup Cactus, the
King’s Cup Cactus and the Mound Cactus.
•
This cactus does not have any leaves and has
chlorophyll in its stems. The flowers on the
cactus are a deep red and have petals which are
shaped like cups.
•
The fruits are red and can be eaten. During
nighttime, the plant’s pores stay open to
exchange oxygen and Carbon Dioxide. During
the day the plants go through the process of
photosynthesis but they keep their pores closed
so that they do not lose any moisture.
•
These plants often grow against rocky
outcroppings.
The Pancake prickly pear cactus
•The Prickly Pear Cactus is used in many ways; it can be
used for foods crops and much, much more.
•It is found in the Sonoran and Mojave Desert.
• The Pancake Prickly Pear Cactus can reach 7ft in height.
It has round pads which rise from a thick circular trunk.
Red flowers grow on the edges of these pads.. The roots of
the Prickly Pear Cactus are made for very dry
environments to help adapt to the desert’s hot weather.
The pads of the cactus are used to store water so that if
there ever is an event like a draught the cactus will still be
supplied with water.
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The Ocotillo
•The Ocotillo has many other names such as: the
Candlewood, the Slimwood, The coachwood, the
Flaming sword, the vine cactus and the Jacob’s staff.
• It grows stems from its root crown. These stems
grow in an S like pattern. The stems are covered with
spines.
• The leaves of the Ocotillo are very thick. The leaves
grow depending on the amount of water they receive.
• When there is not enough water the leaves turn
brown and fall off. The Ocotillo is adapted to its
environment by shredding its leaves when there is not
enough water and when the area becomes very dry. It
also can grow new leaves 5 days after it receives water.
The Ocotillo has a shallow but wide root.
12, 13
The Desert Ironwood
•The Desert Ironwood trees are the tallest trees in the
Sonoran desert, they are from the pea family.
•These trees grow very slowly and have bluish gray green
leaves. The Desert Ironwood trees are one of the longest
living trees in the Sonoran desert.
•Some very rare ones can live up to 1,500 years.
•It supplies desert animals and plants with the food and
shelter they need to survive. The dense canopy of this tree
shades the ground under it and causes the temperature to
decrease.
•. When the weather becomes dry, the Desert Ironwood
drops some of its leaves to preserve water. The reason why
these trees never drop all of their leaves is so that their
canopy will provide protection all year.
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The Joshua tree
•The Joshua tree only grows in the
Mojave Desert and is the largest of the
yuccas.
• It has a lifespan of about 200 years. The
Joshua tree is part of the Lily family.
•It has small leaves which are like knifes,
these leaves have a small surface area.
The small surface area means that less
water is evaporated.
• The Joshua tree also has a waxy resin
which prevents large amounts of water to
evaporate.
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The abiotic factors
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•
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•
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•
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•
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Sunlight:
The water evaporates
The climate becomes very hot
Harder to walk long distances
Sand
Sandstorms
Dust
Air
The air is always dry
There is always dust in the air, it is not fresh.
Hot temperature
Have to find shelter
Easy to become dehydrated.
Not all animals and plants can survive in the desert because of its extreme
temperature.
The human impacts on the desert
• Dune bashing
• Quad bike riding
• Camping
• Barbecue
Thank you for watching my
presentation
http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_245/1204913897l8Zfdb.jpg
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