Desert Biome Locations
The desert biome is located between 15 degrees and 30 degrees latitude in both northern and southern hemispheres. The desert biome can be found in North America, North Africa, west and central Asia, parts of Australia and the southwestern United States.
The desert is very dry and hot and is a harsh place to live. Abiotic factors of the desert include sunlight, precipitation, temperature, humidity and wind.
Barrel Cactus: The Barrel cactus usually grows along desert washes, gravely slopes and beneath desert canyon walls in all of the hot desert of North America from the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southern California, southern Arizona west to Texas and south into Baja, California and central Mexico. Yellow-green or red flowers grow at the crown near the top of the stem. The spines of the cactus act as their leaves. They are so sharp and prickly to reduce the amount of surface area so they don't lose too much water in their native dry hot climates.
Popcorn Flower: The Popcorn Flower is found in Mojave and Sonoran deserts throughout California, Arizona and into northern Baja. It is mostly found in Open, sandy, gravely desert areas. The Popcorn flower is able to survive in the desert because it has longer roots then most flowers that allow the plant to get water and nutrients from the deeper soil.
Fairy Duster: The Fairy Duster is found in Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southern California to southwestern New Mexico and northern Mexico. It is mostly found in Open hillsides, sandy desert washes and slopes. The Fairy Duster provides food to many desert animals, birds and insects. The Fairy Duster survives in the desert because even during the worst droughts it can maintain some of its leaves and continue to survive in conditions that would kill other plants.
Mormon Tea: The Mormon Tea is a shrub that is found in all four of the southwestern deserts of the U.S. It is found in plains and sandy soil including dunes. The Mormon Tea provides small flowers for birds and insects to eat. The Mormon Tea has been used for various medical purposes that also helped the Native Americans.
Organ Pipe Cactus: The Organ Pipe Cactus is found in a small area of the Sonoran Desert only from southwestern Arizona to western Sonora, Mexico. It is found on south facing, hot, sunny slopes. The Organ Pipe Cactus is able to survive in the desert because its tall trunk stores water for droughts.
Armadillo Lizard: The Armadillo Lizard’s body length is 15-17 inches, the tail is 14-16 inches long, and it weighs 8-17 lbs. Its back legs are a little shorter than the front. The head, body, and club-like tail are all flattened, enabling it to wriggle easily into rock crevices for shelter. It may also adopt a curious defensive posture when threatened by rolling itself up like an Armadillo, with its tail tightly held in its jaws, presenting a spiny ring to the predator and protecting the softer, vulnerable belly area. That's why its called the Armadillo Lizard. The armored Armadillo Lizard has protection all around its body so that predators can't harm any of its under parts. Also squeeze into small places for escape. Another protection is their spiny scales that go all the way around its body. Their tails and spines also can be used to defend themselves as well. The nostrils of the Armadillo Lizard are formed into little tubes. The tubes help the Armadillo Lizards smell for food or predators. A ground dwelling lizard, it is active in the daytime and feeds on a wide variety of insects, as well as on spiders and other invertebrates. The Armadillo Lizard can be found in the deserts of the southern tip of Africa.
Coyote: The Coyote has a tan coat mixed with hairs of rusty brown and gray, and the ends of the hair may be black. The different colors help to hide the coyote in the underbrush, rocks, and grasses. The coyote has large, pointed ears and a bushy tail. Coyotes are known for their sharp eyesight, keen hearing and a keen sense of smell. Adult coyotes can grow to be 4 feet long (including the tail which can be 11 - 16 inches long). They can be 2 feet tall and weigh up to 30 pounds. Coyotes once only lived in Western America, but people have forced them to find other habitats. Coyotes can be found in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They live in all kinds of habitats including deserts, prairies and mountains.
Desert Bighorn Sheep: Desert Bighorn Sheep is a subspecies of the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. It's preferred habitat are steep slopes on, or near mountains, with a clear view of the surrounding area. They have excellent eyesight and can spot predators from a long way off. They live in small pockets of dry desert mountain ranges, foothills near rocky cliffs, and water when it is available. They exist in a barren, mostly waterless environment in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts on the North American continent
Kangaroo Rat: The Kangaroo Rat lives in the desert scrub of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of California and Arizona, and western through southern Nevada.These are the most arid desert regions in the United States.They live in large dens with wide openings which they dig themselves at the base of bushes or in the banks of wind drifted sand. There may be 6 to 12 entrances which they block off during the day. Their burrows are up to 4 1/2 feet (1.5 m) deep, with many passages which connect to food storage rooms and a nest chamber. The nest is made out of grass and other plants. It spends most of its day underground sleeping, and comes out to feed at night when it is cooler. The Kangaroo Rat defends itself by kicking sand into it's predators face.
Desert Tortoise: The Desert Tortoise can be found in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of southern California, two of North America's four deserts. They inhabit semi-arid grasslands, gravelly desert washes and sandy canyon bottoms below 3,500 ft. The Desert Tortoises is a land dwelling turtle. Its front legs are muscular and flattened with long claws, and are very well adapted for digging deep burrows. Desert Tortoises can make hissing, popping, and poinking sounds, usually out of fear or distress. Its domed, brown shell can grow to be 9-15 inches in length, 4-6 inches high, and the tortoise can weigh from 8 to 15 lbs. They usually live to be about 80 years, but some have been known to be a 100 years old.
Competition in The Desert
This food web shows the competition different species share to find food.
Cooperation in The Desert
Examples of cooperation between and among species is several populations sharing a small habitat. Different types of birds living in one cacti. Different species of plants also compete for water and space. Plants are also a good source for animals to find shelter. Plants don’t grow very close together because they need to absorb as much water as they can get.