IDENTIFYING THE DESERT ECOSYSTEM
A desert ecosystem relies on an area that receives little to no precipitation and the temperature is very hot, according to ControllingPollution.com. One small change can affect everything that lives there.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DESERT ECOSYSTEM
Desert plants have adapted to retain moisture for long periods of time. A cactus, for example, has less stomata than other plants, which allows it to breathe without losing a lot of moisture, according to CactusJacks.net. Cacti have also adopted cylindrical shapes to help retain and store water.
EFFECTS OF THE ECOSYSTEM
According to the University of Arizona, deserts are full of burrowing animals. While they are escaping heat that way, they help aerate the soil of the desert with their tunnels and assist in cooling the soil climate.
FUNCTION OF THE DESERT ECOSYSTEM
Many of these plants use the moisture they retain to produce fruit, but are covered with thorns and spines that prevent all but the smallest of animals from eating it. But when animals like the kangaroo rat do eat the fruit, there is a transfer of the moisture from the plant to the animal. Larger animals like coyotes and owls in the desert subsist on eating these smaller herbivores and thus also benefit from the water transfer.
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