Desert Adaptations Animals And Plants
However some deserts receive less than 5 cm of rain per year.
Desert adaptations animals and plants. Such stems hold moisture that helps the plant survive drought. Also the hump of the camel has fatty tissue. Camels Camels are nicknamed ships of the desert because they travel well in hot dry conditions.
Desert animal species like plants face a tremendous amount of stress because of the extreme temperatures lack of water lack of food sources and predators which are components of these ecosystems 10. Thus adaptations of desert animals are actually the adjustments to protect themselves against high temperatures to live without water and to conserve water as far as possible. Few animals have adapted to survive the hottest desert regions besides scorpions and small reptiles.
Carnivores like hyenas leopards and lions that are at the top of the food chain get their share of water from the bodies of their prey. The reptiles have minimized the loss of water by excreting waste in the form of an insoluble white compound uric acid. As you can see from the climate graph for Kuwait plants and animals in the desert have to cope with very little water.
Since insects are also aplenty in the desert they become a regular source of food for many birds reptiles and bats. Adaptations help desert animals to acquire and retain water and to regulate body temperatures which helps them to survive in the harsh conditions of the desert. An environment includes everything living and non-living in the area that a plant or animal lives in.
All living things have adaptations even humans. Plants have evolved many adaptions for surviving the rigors of the desert. Animals found in the desert also show various adaptations.
Stems of most cacti and other succulents are thick and fleshy. Since water is so scarce most desert animals get their water from the food they eat. Have roots that spread far to absorb rainwater.