Variations in temperature and water in Australia

1. Variations in temperature and water in Australia

2. Variations in temperature and water Availability in Australia. • In Australia there are long periods of drought, followed by floods. There are deserts, alpine regions and wet rainforests. The desert areas may experience great variations of temperature, being hot during the day and freezing at night.

3. Australian desert

4. Desert • Deserts have a very unreliable supply of water. Sometimes it rains heavily, causing floods, but this is followed by long dry spells. The animals of the desert have • very little water • Dry air • Often a salty environment.

5. Tropical rainforest • No rain for three days can almost be a drought in tropical rainforests. The rain is regular and often heavy. • Warm humid conditions allow plants to grow well, and these plants are a source of food and shelter for animals. • Animals living here are adapted to the ready supply of food and water.

6. Tropical rainforest

7. Mountain rainforest

8. Mountain rainforests

9. Tropical Rainforests • Salt is easily washed away too, so getting enough salt in this wet environment can be difficult. Some animals actually eat earth and mud to get their salt supply! • Many plants here have fleshy fruits and rely on animals to eat the fruit and so distribute their seeds.

10. Tropical rainforest animals • have plenty of fresh water • may not get much salt • live in warm or hot temperatures.

11. Rainforests

12. Coastal temperate

13. Coastal temperate • This area has regular rainfall patterns and mild temperatures. It is dry and warm in summer but wet and cool in winter. • Bushfires and strong winds with salt spray are both important in this environment. • Here animals have plenty of food and water. However they compete with each other for safe living areas.

14. Animals in coastal areas • Animals that live well in this environment have ways to beat other animals to the best living areas or they have complex ways of sharing and helping each other. Animals that live in coastal temperate areas • can usually find water • can usually find enough salt • have lots of competition for their food and homes.

15. Scrub at Aldinga

16. Water • Animals and plants all need water. What if there is too much or too little? How do they cope?

17. Salt • The water inside animals and plants must have the right amount of salt in it. • Too much salt and they die. Too little salt and they die. How do they keep the correct salt levels? • Changing the levels of salt and water in the environment can make big changes to the living things in the environment. • Here is an example from one place in Australia.

18. What happens to salt?

19. What happens to salt in the environment? • Deep underground there is a pool of salty water. This pool does not get deeper because the trees use up most of the rain that falls. The rain does not get a chance to fill up the salty pool. The water evaporates from the leaves and returns to the air.

20. What happens if all the trees are cleared?

21. What happens if all trees are cleared? • Grasses and bushes do not use up so much water. The rain soaks down to the salty pool. The salty pool gets filled up and the salt water gets to the roots of the plants.