Sonoran Desert Ecosystem Lab Report

Length and Weight: The average length of a blue whale is 75 - 80 feet (23 - 24 meters) and these long marine mammals can weigh up to 200,000 pounds (90,000 kg). Whales in the southern hemisphere are generally larger than those in the northern hemisphere. One whale captured in the southern hemisphere measured 110 feet (33 meters) in length. Females are usually larger than males of the same age. Fins: A small triangular-shaped dorsal fin is located on the blue whale's back. This fin measures only one foot in height. The shape and size of the dorsal fin can be very different for each whale. The whale's flippers are short and the tail is broad and triangular in shape. During the summer feeding period, a blue whale eats about 40 million krill each day, amounting to about 3,600 kg (7,900 pounds). During the other 8 months of the year, it lives of stored fat not eating anything.The blue whale feeds by using its long flexible throat grooves to expand its throat and draws in water laden with the prey, then forces the water out through its baleen plates. The whale then swallows after the baleen plates filter out the prey organisms (most likely

A biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment. The climate and geography of a region determines what type of biome can exist in that region. Major biomes include deserts, forests, grasslands, tundra, and several types of aquatic environment. As can see on the topography map, The Goulburn has two Biomes:-

The Chihuahuan desert is large area of the northern Mexico and runs into the southern part of the United Stated which include west Texas. The region of the desert has a high altitude of 1000 to 1500 meters which fall to about 350 meters along the Rio Grande River. Summers are very hot and the winter are somewhat cool, which some night frosts. Rainfall in this area is about 20-30 cm which mostly happens during the summer time. In most of the Chihuahuan Desert most of it has calcareous soil that are derived from the limestone beds. The Chihuahuan Desert has many types of vegetation such as Yucca, such as Torrey yucca or the banana yucca, they are very difficult in telling them apart because of hybridization, because they are

A biome is several communities in one specific area - a large scale ecological unit recognized primarily by its dominant plant type and vegetation structure. Temperature and precipitation can predict the type of biome that forms on a

All reading is conducted orally with corresponding pictures, and various activities and graphic organizers are completed whole class and individually throughout the reading process. This module contains nine lessons and covers the following habitats: Arctic (Arctic tundra and Arctic Ocean), Sonoran Desert, East African savanna, temperate deciduous forest (Great Smoky Mountains), tropical rainforest (Amazon rainforest), freshwater, and saltwater, as well as habitat destruction and endangered

-Ecosystem: any environment containing living organisms interacting with each other and with the non-living parts of that environment.

A chaparral biome is a plant community shaped by a specific climate characterized by hot, dry summers, and rainy winters. This climate is known as the Mediterranean climate and it occurs in regions located within the Mediterranean Basin. Although Mediterranean climate is common within the Mediterranean Basin, it is not exclusive to this area. It can also be experienced in many other areas throughout the world including Cape Town located in South Africa, the western coast of South America, and the western coast of the United States of America. These area’s specific climate are what allows them to be categorized them as chaparral biomes. This essay will focus on the latter of these aforementioned chaparral biomes, specifically the chaparral biome found in Southern California.

The land itself is thin and hardly fertile, only drought and fire resistant vegetation are capable of surviving in the Chaparral’s conditions (Raven, 116). Some examples of plants found in the Chaparrals in California are Blue Oak, Coyote Brush, Common Sagebrush, Manzanita, and Mountain Mahogany (W, Sofia, 2002). Other common vegetation in Chaparrals around the world are drought-resistant pine, scrub oak trees and agricultural plants such as olive, carob, and vineyards (Raven, 116-117). The vegetation in Chaparrals are characterized by being lush and green during the rainy winter, and dull and unsaturated during the dry summer (Raven, 116). Thus, the vegetation in chaparrals must be able to resistant into these changing conditions for long term survival in this

First off, the wildlife in this beautiful landscape is absolutely astonishing. In the months of July and August the floor of the canyon is covered in a rare plumleaf azalea. In fact this is the world's largest known colony of this plant. This flower is only

The ecosystem is a dry desert that covers four states California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah and is know as the smallest

The California Chaparral is an example of a chaparral biome, and is located in Western North America along the coast of California. This chaparral is a mix of grasslands, woodlands, and mountains. The mountains in the California Chaparral are steeply sloped and are as high as 5,000 feet above the sea level. There are two main season climates in this area which include: rainy and wet, and dry and hot. The climates are one of the main factors that determine what plants and animals are found in the California Chaparral. There is a variety of different animals and approximately 2,000 different kinds of plants that are found in this area that have all learned to adapt to the dry and arid climate of the Chaparral.

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms coinciding with the nonliving components of a specific environment. One example includes the freshwater ecosystem contributing to Earth’s aquatic ecosystems. They include lakes and ponds, rivers, streams, springs and wetlands consisting of low salt concentrations (University of California

A biome, also known as life zones, consists of all plants, animals, and other organisms, as well the physical environment in a particular area. A biome is characterized by its’ plant life, climate, and location. The climate and physical features determine the boundaries of a biome. A biome is made up of many different ecosystems. The ecosystems tend to have the same pants and animals as neighboring biomes around the boundaries. The major biomes are the tundra, taiga, tropical rain forest, temperate forests, desert, grassland, savanna, chaparral, and marine. Each biome has it’s own characteristics such as the tundra.

Biomes are all over the world, that’s why they are considered the “world’s major communities.” Biomes are large areas scattered around the earth, filled with animals and plants acclimating to their environments. You can classify biomes in many different ways, by their climate, their biodiversity, human activity, their animals and plants, and their habitats. There are only five conspicuous types of biomes, Grassland, Tundra, Desert, Aquatic, and forest. Without biomes, the earth would be unbalanced. Throughout the years, we have cause a lot of damage towards our earth, such as causing pollution, and abolishing natural habitats. If we continue living like this, there might be more serious or severe implications on the biomes. Knowing that we share the world with so many other species of plants and animals, we should consider the consequences of our actions.

Biodiversity presents occurrence of variety of species and their natural community in which they live. By the definition it is “The degree of variation of life forms within a given species, ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. It is a measure of the health of ecosystems and is in part a function of climate.” (Rutherford) Ecosystem is on the other hand, “ community and its abiotic environment”( Rutherford). Biodiversity exists in every ecosystem, weather it is big one, or just ecosystem of one garden, it has the same importance because without it nature loses its ability to perform major functions needed for life on Earth, as it is oxygen production. Trough this investigation, two different ecosystems will be explored and