Desert Biome
The desert is a biome or as a life zone, for example another biome would
be
tundra. The desert in western United States in caused by the coastal
ranges and
the gigantic Sierras in California. These mountains cause the
clouds to rain and
by the time they reach the other side, there is little or
no moisture left in
them. That is why deserts are so cold. The desert is a
very amazing place. In a
place that most people would believe to
inhospitable, life blossoms. Each animal
and plant has adapted to survive in
the hot desert. For example: The roadrunner,
which is in the cuckoo family,
is a consumer of the desert; it runs instead of
flying, it is an omnivore,
with reptiles and insects forming much of its diet.
The Saguaro cactus, a
producer, is the king of cactuses. It can reach a height
of about 40 feet. It
is home to many animals from an owl to bobcat’s perch
while in danger. These
cactus are build for the desert because of their tough
skin and their
advanced system for storing water. A desert tortoise, a consumer,
eats plants
and converts them to water and food. This is a good feature for a
desert
living creature. The tortoise during mating season fights with another
male.
The first to go upside down, loses and could even die if he does not
turn
right side up. The bullies of the desert are the pigs, or to be exact,
the
peccary and javelin. These pigs have a mean attitude and a ruthless set
of
teeth. They will practically eat anything. Even insects and spiders live
in the
desert. The tarantula that lives in the desert lives in a hole on the
ground, an
food that comes by it attacks and kills it with it’s venomous
bite. The
millipedes from your backyard live in the desert too. These insects
have over
1000 legs and they produce an odor that hampers any tarantula’s
attempt to eat
it. The kangaroo rat is an amazing little mammal. They are
consumers and during
the time, the plants are nice, they stuff their mouths
full of food and later
they hide the food in the sand for storage. These
little critters are very brave
too. Instead of running away from a sidewinder
snake, which it trying to eat
them, they go on the offence. They attack by
throwing sand at the snake, and it
slithers always because snakes do not have
any eyelids to prevent the sand
getting in their eyes. I saw many different
predator and prey combination in the
desert, these combinations are
important. If one part dies or leaves the other
will die. This is why it is
important not to harm the
desert.