adaptations to arid habitats. what is an arid habitat? arid habitats: are extremely dry receive...
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Adaptations to Arid Habitats
What is an arid habitat?
Arid habitats:
are extremely dry
receive little or no rainfall
usually have high temperatures
may suffer periodic droughts
Where are arid habitats found?
Estimates suggest that arid and semi arid habitats account for more than one third of the earth’s land surface
Credit: U. S. Geological Survey
Lack of food
What are the challenges of living in an arid habitat?
Lack of plants
Movement
Lack of water
HotCold
Temperature
Challenges?
“the process whereby a species evolves characteristics that enable it to survive in a particular habitat”
What is adaptation?
Adaptations allow species to live successfully in their habitat
Species living in different habitats need different adaptations
Adaptations can be behavioural or physical
Barrow Island: Case Study
- Approximately 70 km off the coast of Western Australia
- Receives an average of 320 mm rainfall per year
- Most of the island is covered by spinifex grassland
- Nearly 2,600 different species have been recorded here
A flooded channel on the west coast of the island, a rare and important source of freshwater on Barrow
Mammals on Barrow Island
Common wallaroo (Macropus robustus)
Found across most of Australia, with one subspecies on Barrow Island
Seeks shelter in caves and rocky outcrops
Can go for a few months without drinking
Licks saliva onto forearms to help it lose heat through evaporation
Stops breeding during prolonged droughts, but breeds quickly in good conditions
Other mammal examples
Wild Bactrian camel
Many adaptations to conserve water, cope in intense heat and survive sandstorms!
Bat-eared fox
Large ears to help dissipate heat
Fawn hopping mouse
Can obtain water from seeds
Produces concentrated urine + dry faeces
Shelters in a burrow during day
Kangaroo rats
‘Nasal counterflow system’ reduces water lost through breathing
Amphibians on Barrow Island
Main’s frog (Litoria maini)
Only amphibian species found on Barrow Island
Spends the dry season underground in a state of torpor
Produces a membrane over the skin to prevent drying out
Only emerges after rainfall
Eggs laid in temporary pools, tadpoles develop quickly
Other amphibian examples
Green tree frog
Takes refuge in any available water sources, including pipes, water tanks and toilet bowls!
Spotted marsh frog
Shelters under logs and stones in the heat of the day
Water holding frog
Can reabsorb water stored in its bladder or pockets under the skin
Reptiles on Barrow Island
Perentie (Varanus giganteus)
General adaptations common to reptiles
Shelters underground or in rock shelters; basks in sun in early morning and late afternoon
On very hot days, may shelter in shade or climb termite mounds or shrubs to get off hot ground
Other reptile examples
Thorny devil
Tiny grooves over body direct moisture to the mouth
Can change colour depending on temperature
Desert tortoise
Dormant during hottest part of summer (aestivation)
Lives in burrows
Eastern sandfish
Streamlined body allows it to ‘swim’ through sand
Saudi fringe-fingered lizard
Fringes of elongated scales on the toes help in moving across sand
Sidewinder
‘Sidewinding’ movement across loose sand
Plants on Barrow Island
Spinifex grass (Triodia species)
Extensive root system to collect water both from the surface and underground. Roots can be up to 3 metres long.
Leaves have a waxy, impermeable surface (cuticle) to reduce water loss.
Leaves curl inwards into long pointed tubes to slow the rate of transpiration.
Other plant examples
Lava cactus
Stores water in thick stems, leaves
reduced to spines to reduce transpiration
Bristlecone pine
Parts of the living tissue die back during
drought. Can still produce cones and
seeds when conditions improve
Grandidier’s baobab
Stores water in trunk which can expand
after rainfall
You will be given a worksheet with a list of adaptations
species use to survive in arid habitats.
Your task is to decide whether each adaptation is a
behavioural or a physical adaptation.
Activity 1
Activity 1 - AnswersAdaptation Behavioural? Physical?
Being nocturnal
Impermeable skin
Producing concentrated urine
Aestivation
Panting
Ability to withstand high body temperatures
Seeking shade
Ability to store water inside the body
Light colouration
Living in a burrow
Large surface area
Leaves reduced to spine
Breed only after rainfall
Nasal counterflow
• Arid habitats are dry areas with little rainfall and are usually hot, although they can be cold at night.
• Arid habitats cover over a third of the Earth’s land surface.
• Animals and plants have evolved a range of adaptations to help them survive in arid habitats.
• These adaptations can be behavioural, such as sheltering in a burrow during the heat of the day, or physical, such as having a large surface area to lose heat more quickly.
Summary
Activity 2The aim of this activity is to compare how effective differentadaptations are at helping a species to conserve water.
You will be given sponges soaked in water torepresent your arid “animals”.
You need to design an experiment to measure how muchwater your sponges lose under various conditions set up torepresent different adaptations.
You need to weigh the sponges before and after theexperiment so that you can record how much weight(water) each has lost.