ECOSYSTEM SNAPSHOT: DESERTS

FEATURED POPULATION: ROADRUNNERS

ANIMAL FACTS - ROADRUNNERS

Interesting Facts:

• Roadrunners prefer walking or running.

• Roadrunners are quick enough to catch and eat rattlesnakes.

• Roadrunners prefer walking or running and attain speeds up to 20 miles per hour.

Home:

• The deserts of the Southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America

Shelter:

• In the winter, they find shelter in trees or rocks to avoid the cold winds.

Food:

• Snakes, lizards, gophers, rats, mice, bird eggs, insects, and fruit

ROADRUNNERS: BASIC NEEDS

Basic Needs

• air• water• shelter• food

Shelter

• trees• rocks

Food

• snakes, lizards, gophers, rats, mice, bird eggs, insects, and fruit

ANIMAL FACTS

Adaptations –

• Roadrunners prefer to walk or run.

• They have long tails for balance.

• They can run up to 20 miles per hour.

• Their coloration helps them blend into their habitat to avoid predators.

THE DESERT COMMUNITY

bull snake

hawk

coyote

scorpion

jackrabbit

THE DESERT ECOSYSTEM

THE DESERT ECOSYSTEM

• Plant Life – Cacti , prickly pears, Joshua Trees, small shrubs, succulents, and low lying plants

• Climate – The temperature ranges from 20F (-6.6C) in the winter to over 110F (43C) in the summer. The desert receives less than 13 inches (32.5 cm) of rain a year. In the winter, it may snow.

• Landscape – Rocky, hard soil with some areas of sandy soils