Ecology project

1. Ecology project Hot deserts by Anna McQuaid

2. Map of ecosystem

3. definitions • Habitat: The area or environment where an organism or ecological community normally lives or occurs • Ecosystem: An ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit. • Biosphere: The part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life. • Abiotic factors: are non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment. • Biotic factor: All the living organisms that inhabit an environment.

4. Climate of region

6. Flora of region. • Vegetation is scarce due to lack of rain • Those that do exist have adapted to the climate

7. Flora

8. fauna • The animals that live in the desert have adapted to conserve water, • food and energy. • Some animals limit their sunshine an become active at night • to avoid moisture loss

9. Fauna

10. 10 facts of hot desert region 1. Precipitation Hot and dry deserts are classified as such based on the annual amount of rainfall. A hot desert receives less than 10 inches of rain per year. The precipitation of hot deserts differs from cold deserts in that cold deserts receive snow. 2. Latitude The Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn lines of latitude are consistent with the location of hot and dry deserts around the world because of the proximity to the equator, which absorbs intense amounts of sun, warming the land and currents around it. 3. Temperature Hot deserts lack humidity allowing the sun's rays to penetrate the atmosphere. Hot desert temperatures are warm year-round, fluctuating between 66 to 78 degrees F. Temperatures escalate during the summer months in the range of 104 to 120 degrees F. 4. Vegetation Vegetation is scarce in hot deserts because of the extreme temperatures and little rainfall. Shrubs and short trees such as the saguaro cactus and prickly pear bush adapt to the climate by storing water.

11. 5. Animals Hot desert species include an array of reptiles and insects such as snakes, lizards, tarantulas and locusts. Owls, kangaroos, coyotes, jackels and pumas also live in hot deserts. 6. Animal Adaptations Hot desert animals use behavioral and physical adaptations to survive the extreme conditions. Behavioral adaptations include nocturnal activity, meaning some animals burrow during the day when the sun is hottest and hunt at night when temperatures decrease. Physical adaptations include body parts that allow animals to acquire and store water from tapping succulent plants. 7. World Deserts Hot deserts of the world include the Chihuahuan, Mojave and Sonoran, located in North America;he Monte in Argentina; the Sahara and Kalahari of Africa; the Thar Desert of Pakistan and India; the Arabian Desert, located on the Arabian Peninsula; and Australia's Great Sandy, Victoria, Simpson, Gibson and Sturt Deserts.

12. 8. Size The Sahara Desert of Africa is the largest desert in the world, covering 3,500,000 square miles. The Chihuahuan Desert is the largest in North America extending from north central Mexico to the southwestern region of the United States and covering 175,000 square miles. 9. Topography The topography of hot deserts includes sand, sand dunes, gravel, stone, plateaus, mountains, mesas, salt flats and rocky regions. 10. Inhabitants People have and continue to live in hot deserts as do the Australian Aborigines, African Bushman of the Kalahari and inhabitants of the Mohave Desert such as those living in Las Vegas, Nevada and Joshua Tree, California.

13. Enviromental threats • Global Warming: Drought The low levels of water in deserts are further challenged by the current high probability of droughts. Droughts directly affect the growth of vegetation, which in turn directly affects desert animal life. Global warming is raising Earth's temperature, increasing the chances of severe drought. • Global Warming: Wild Fires As the temperature in deserts increases and watering holes disappear, the remaining plant life suffers from a lack of hydration. In these cases, plant life becomes dry and brittle, making wildfires a great danger. Wildfires are specifically dangerous for deserts because they will burn away the slow-growing trees and bushes and replace them with fast-growing fauna, thereby drastically changing the landscape.