A Sonoran Desert Community

[Sean Nash]

*A simulation... doggone it!

On October 15th, we will be conducting another species diversity study. However, unlike the deciduous forest and freshwater pond communities here in our own town... this task will be to examine data from a Southern California desert community. This will be done using detailed maps from MWSU. I am pretty excited about seeing this one play out, as I have yet to see the actual maps.

The actual diversity index will be done in much the same way as our field study from this week. However, we will dive more deeply into the meaning of the data from this lab. Makes sense to progress, right?

We will use this thread to do some pre-studies in order to familiarize ourselves with this ecosystem. It will help to be able to have a picture of the Sonoran desert in your head while conducting the simulation. More specifically, we will be comparing two sub-zones of this community, the bajada zone and the wash zone. We will be evaluating species diversity using a quadrat sampling method.

As we are accustomed, we will also revisit this same thread to reflect on both the content of the lab as well as the process of the learning event. A few questions to ask yourself as you process this new ecosystem might be... What do I expect to find living there? What are the most common plants and animals of the Sonoran desert? How do the bajada and wash zones typically differ? What might a typical food web for this community look like? What might approximate a trophic pyramid for this system? How does this community compare to the terrestrial habitat (deciduous forest) we sampled this week? How are they different? Perhaps even more challenging... how are they the same? What is truly unique?


.

[Sean Grinstead]

I think that the desert will be just as if not more diverse than the forest ecosystem. the forest had a way more dense population over a few square miles if that. the desert going to be thousands of square miles.

the species, however will be completely different than the forest. The desert is much drier than a forest obviously. so the species will be less water dependent. they will have to be able to keep themselves cool during the day and at night they would have to be able to keep warm, as oppose to the forest where the temperature is about constant

[Ally S]

In the study of the Sonoran Desert, I thnk that there will, obviously be more differences than similarities than differences in the two environments.

My inference with the two sub-zones' names is this:
I looked up the word bajada, via Dictionary.com, and my results were, an alluvial plain formed at the base of a mountain by the coalescing of several alluvial fans.

Some words in there that I didn't quite understand, so I looked those up and I basically could infer that it's basically a valley in one way or another. It said something along the lines of a sloping surface that was due to flooding. And THAT, right there, threw me WAY off. Flooding? In a desert? Something's not right here. I am quite curious to find out how these two places in the Sonoran Desert are different.



When I thought about the life there, in the form of animals, my thoughts were that there won't be huge variety of animals there, because not many animals can adapt to desert conditions. Only certain animals have the systems and specialties that can help them survive in such intense conditions. The animal life in the desert compared to a plant-filled forest is going to be radically different. The forest (deciduous) could house many more animals, because most require water and vegitaiton for living, while animals in the desert don't need as much water and shade. The vegitation will be widely unlike the other environment as well. The desert plants, such as cacti and creosote bush scrub, obviously don't need as much water to survive out in the desert. The thick forests of the midwest are there, however, because of the great amount of rainfall.


Here's a map of the Sonoran Desert. I saw Sean had one, so I thought it would be a good idea, too. :)

[Ally S]

After watching the Planet Earth: Deserts video, I learned some new things.

First, I wasn't aware that deserts made up so much of the planet. 1/3 of all land is deserts; I found that to be incredible. I also didn't know that cacti had flowers that grew on them. I've been to Arizona every year of my lifetime (with the exception of last year), and I guess I had never really noticed it.

Also, they showed us mountain ranges by deserts, and Mrs. Nash said it was pretty common. Looking back on it, when I went to the Sonoran Desert, there were a few mountains and hills by it. I think it's neat that I have a connection with this lab, and I'm looking forward to it.

[Sean Grinstead]

yea and it floods because the ground has a lot of clay in the soil and it doesnt obsorb the water as fast as it would in the forest

[Shandis Cruz]

As Sean mentioned...I agree that there will be quite a diverse population to be found. I think there is a misconception when it comes to its hot and dry climate and lack of living things that ihabit this area. From previous science classes and readings, I have learned that organisms can really be found anywhere. I first realized this two years ago in Zoology when we were discussing the different organisms that can be found in the greatest depths of the ocean and how they have adapted to their environment, this really secures my thoughts that lead me to belive that the same can be concluded about the desert.

While researching this topic I found an awesome website that stated, The Sonoran Desert is home to "2,500 plant species grow in the harsh conditions..." My initial reaction- wow. I figured that there would be a reasonable amount of some form of vegetation, but 2,500, that's seems like a ton! Another really interesting fact partaining plant species that I found is that, "more than 160 plant species depend on other plants, like the nitrogen fixing desert ironwood, mesquite, and palo verde trees, to germinate and grow into mature plants."

I don't know about anyone else but I thought that was totally awesome, not only does my sterotypical view of a desert get thrown out of the window, but the fact that plants are depending on one another to receive something that their surroundings aren't providing, completely helps me gain a whole new understanding into how plant life is obtained.

After reading about the plant life, I couldn't help but want to read into animal life. When I think of a desert I think of it as deserted- after all "desert" is the root word. It's the truth. I really can't imagine many animals living in a super hot dry climate. It didn't take long to prove myself wrong. I found that the desert is indeed home to many animals, such as, pronghorn antelope, pocket mouse, and bighorn sheep.

The same site that I linked to earlier completely helped me understand how these animals survive in the desert conditions. "[The animals use] cacti and other vegetation as a shelter from harsh weather and as a source of water. The bighorn sheep has adapted to the desert, because it has big feet, good for the rough terrain, and only needs to drink every few days. The pocket mouse has adapted to the desert, because it is very small, is sand colored, and can run fast from predators. It also doesn't need to drink because it gets all the water it needs from the food it eats and retains its urine."

Based on the information dealing with bajada and wash zones I think they typically differ because bajada zones deal with a broad slope of debris that is spead throughout the lower slopes of mountains via streams and wash zones are the zones that are disturbed sediments beacause of wave action. These defintions are really throwing me off because I'm really not relating either of these to a desert setting. This just makes me even more curious to find out how they will relate to our further research!

Comparing the two communities I think that it all goes back to the surroundings. The animals have learned to adapt to their surroundings, taking in what is necessary based on what is avaliable to them. I think an obvious difference is the amount of water that was availble for the forest life. There were ponds and streams surrounding the area, making for easy plant and animal access. Also, the forest is obviously a pretty shady place, which makes the animals less exposed to direct sunlight, something that a desert animal would have to adapt to.

In conclusion, during our lab next week I think that we will discover a few shocking similiarities along with just as many differences!

[Shandis Cruz]

The desert video that we watched in class today was awesome!! I didn't realize that deserts are formed by lack of water. I gained an even greater understanding for all types of deserts. The quote that really stuck out to me was, "everyday is a battle to stay alive." To me, that's amazing, I can't imagine having to battle every single day just to make it to the next. Seeing these animals and the way they have to live is crazy, walking miles and miles in one-hundred plus degrees, searching for some form of moisture to simply stay cool.

Another awesome fact that I learned was that not all deserts are hot. I had no idea. When I thought of deserts I though of super hot sandy dunes, I never thought that snow can also blanket the sand. I found out this is because large mountain ranges can usually be found by deserts. Water from the mountains make their way to the deserts, providing moisture.

Although some moisture can be found in deserts, the sun forces all creatures to adapt to its harsh conditions. One example of this adaptation is camels long eyelashes that keep large amounts of sand from their eyes. In the deserts of Australia, where you could die within hours if you aren't hydrated and the temp. increases seven degrees every hour, kangaroos lick their forearms to cool down their body.

Switching back to facts pertaining the Sonoran Desert I discovered that rain does fall in this area, just not very often. Something that I found out that was super interesting was that Giant Saguro Cacti that are found in the Sonoran Desert store water by expanding their pleats. For some reason I always thought that cacti produced their own liquid, so this made me realize something I never knew!

All in all this video really sparked my interest regarding deserts and I can't wait to do our desert lab now and even further my knowledge!

[Sean Nash]

Here is a copy of the poem we read aloud to begin the lesson...

[Hunter Ewart]

Just because it's hot and dry there that doesn't mean that there isn't any animals living there it just means that there are different types that what we have living around us. i liked the picyure of the map Sean put up because it gives me an idea of what actually the desert looks like compared to the forest. There is a night and day differents between the two. With that animals being different there will also be a differents in the plants and soil to. Such as cactus and maple tree. The lack of shade make for a hot climate. The animals and plants there are built and can handle the toll that it takes on there bodies. Such as cactus depending on there size can hold up to 90% of it is water and holding the water in.

[Hunter Ewart]

Here are some more pictures of animals that you could see in the Sonoran Desert.

[Hunter Ewart]

I definitely didn't know that not all deserts were not hot. I guess that's another stereo type we have. Honestly i was surprised by the lack of knowledge i have about the desert animals and the environment they live in. That Earth plant move really taught me a lot bout the animals and the struggle they have to simply survive. The Deserts actually cover one third of the earths surface.
I also had never hear of the rain shadow effect until the movie but now that i think about it it does make since. Most mountain ranges have deserts right next to them.
Cacti soak up the water and in doing that the thorns on the out side of it stick out even father.
Animals such as the Saguaro Camel eats the blooms from the cactus because they have juices inside of them.
Desert or lack of water, but doesn't count snow because it melt to fast and then becomes vapor in the hot air.
Bats are attacked to the cactus flowers but these flowers only bloom at night, and this only last for a week. They eat the nectar from the inside of the plant.
Lizards are the deserts specialist that probably have the best seat as far as the tropic pyramid goes because they have a good number of bugs that are supplying then with plenty of meals.

[Amanda Dixon]

when i researched this dessert i found out a lot of different things that i had no idea about.

there are 7 different sections. 1. Lower Colorado River Valley 2. Arizona Upland 3. Plains of Sonora 4. Central Gulf Coast 5. Vizcaino 6. Magdalena 7. Foothills of Sonora

There all very different from each other. Some have winters where they frost witch i found very odd for a dessert. Some parts get quite a bit of rain witch i found odd because i alway thought of deserts being dry.

Bajada - im not quite sure what this exactly means but compare to the wash zone i believe the bajada zone is more moist and wet while the wash zone is dry and extremely hot.

[Kylie Warner]

When I researched dessert, I was amazed by how much variety one can have. It would be easy for one to assume that maybe the dessert doesn't have as many animals or living organisms than a pond, but now after looking I think that there could be more. When people think of the desert, or at least when I do, the very first things that come to mind are snakes, scorpians, birds. And the only thing that pops into my head is hot. But after looking around, deserts get freezing at night. I guess in a sense I knew that, it was just in the back of my mind.


http://www.world-builders.org/lessons/less/biomes/desert/hot-desert...


This link is a really cool example of maybe what the food chain looks like in the desert. I think in away, compared to forest pyramid, they're the same because at the bottom of it all is the plants. And then at the top are the animals that dominate. And of course a major way that the differ is the animals. I think that it is possible to have more of say, the base of the pyramid in the pond than the desert just because it's much easier to have plant life with water so close as opposed to the desert where it can be scarce.