Semi Arid Desert
The semi arid desert biome By, Caitlin Gordon
Location Of Semi Arid Deserts
The most well know deserts are the Sahara desert located in North Africa. The Namib desert located in South Africa. The Gobi desert located in Mongolia. The Atacama desert located in South West Africa. And finally the Thar desert located in North West India.
As you can see in the image to the right, most of the hot and dry deserts are located near and on the equator.
Adaption And Evolution
Evolution is established after many generations. It begins with a mutation and if said mutation is beneficial, then that mutated gene will be passed on while also gaining new mutations that could also be beneficial until you end up with an organism that is different from its original, non-mutated form.
Examples Of Adaption And Evolution In The Desert
The White Lady Spider
The white Lady Spider is an amazing arachnid. It lives in a little burrow under the sand of the desert. It is able to find a the opposite sex White Lady from extreme distance. it is believed that these spiders are able to track down a mate and food in the desert by tapping the ground with their legs. The vibrations from tapping their legs in the sand are most likely their way of living in the desert.
The Fennec Fox
The Fennec Fox lives in little hideouts like caves and underground tunnels. It has developed very large ears over generations. These ears are powerful enough to hear small animals and arthropods underneath the sand. This is how they find and get their food. That's not all those ears are good for tough. They also help to release heat the same way dogs keep their mouths open when they get hot.
The Wild Camel
The wild camel lives where there are plants to eat and since being in the desert, its hard to come by juicy plants, these camels have a way of storing extra water and food for when times get tough. Camels have evolved to be able to store extra fat which make up its humps. When a camel is in need of food and water but has no source of it, it takes what it needs for its extra fat humps. They have also evolved with more hair in their ears and around their eyes to keep sand out.
Other Evolved Animals
Vegetation In The Desert
Examples Of Vegetation In The Desert
Barrel Cactus
The Barrel Cactus is edible if prepared properly and can be a source of a little liquid too.
Crimson Hedgehog
The Crimson Hedgehog Cactus grows fruit that are edible.
Chain Fruit Cholla
The Chain Fruit Cholla Tree looks like a cactus tree and its fruit is edible and contains liquid.
Weather Patterns In The Desert
The yearly average amount of rain fall is only about 2-4 centimeters.
The weather for semi arid deserts are so limited because these deserts are located closer to the equator which leaves them closest to the sun for most the time which prevents rain clouds from forming due to the heat.
Citations
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Basu, Titli. "Top 9 Plants Commonly Found in Deserts - Listovative." Listovative. N.p., 31 July 2014. Web. 17 May 2016.
Chain Fruit Cholla. Digital image. Chain Fruit Cholla. N.p., n.d. Web.
Contu-Owen, Felicia. Crimson Hedgehog Cactus. Digital image. Crimson Hedgehog Cactus. N.p., n.d. Web.
Desert Animals. Dir. Justus Overy and Kristen Winzenried. Desert Animals. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Desert Plants." Desert Plants. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.
Fennec Fox. Digital image. Fennec Fox. N.p., n.d. Web.
Jaidee, Kedsirin. Stock Photo - Golden Barrel Cactus. Digital image. Stock Photo - Golden Barrel Cactus. N.p., n.d. Web.
Last Wild Camels in China Could Be Saved with Embryonic Transfer Technique Perfected in U.A.E. Digital image. Last Wild Camels in China Could Be Saved with Embryonic Transfer Technique Perfected in U.A.E. N.p., n.d. Web.
Semi-Arid Desert Environment. Digital image. Semi-Arid Desert Environment. N.p., n.d. Web.
Semiarid. Digital image. Semiarid. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Weather Patterns in Deserts." Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.
"World Wonders: Top 5 Deserts of the World." The Inside Track Travel Blog from On The Go Tours. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.