Desert Biome (Essay Sample)

Life dependency in the desert biome
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Life dependency in a desert biome
The figure above shows a food chain in a desert biome
The desert biome usually covers around one-fifth of the entire earth’s surface. Rainfall rarely occurs in the desert biome, and it is estimated to receive about 50 centimeters per year in rainfall. Most deserts like those in Africa occurs at low attitudes, whereas, another type of desert, cold desert, usually occurs in the basin region like Nevada in western Asia. There is considerable vegetation in most deserts, as well as both vertebrate and invertebrate animals. The soils in deserts contain abundant nutrients, but they lack water. Deserts are also characterized with little or no organism. Temperatures in deserts are usually high because the atmosphere contains little humidity to block the sun’s rays (Hogan, 2013)
Interdependency in the desert
Animals and plants that exists in the desert depend on each other for food, shelter and most importantly protection from the high temperatures that characterizes the desert biome. Despite the extreme heat in deserts, animals and plants survive by interdependency as illustrated in the figure above. In the food web illustrated above, we can see that grasshoppers feed on plants; the scorpions eat grasshoppers while the foxes feed on scorpions. The golden eagles happen to be the predator in this simple food chain. The food web, therefore, shows that the life of plants and animals within the desert biome is that of interdependence. Animals mostly find food and shelter from the plants whereas desert plants need the animals to assist them in pollination and developing flowers. Animals in the desert environment are very significant in fertilization and the spreading of plant seed across the desert. This biodiversity of plants and animals is important for life existence in the desert.
As illustrated in the figure above, plants are the firs organisms in the desert biome because they produce energy for the entire food chain. They are therefore referred to as the primary producers. Plants in the desert biome, just like in any other ecosystem, happens to be the main source of food in the ecosystem (Bailey, 2015) The energy from these plants are required to maintain and support the entire food web. In the desert biome, plants as the primary produce have abundant sunlight as a source of energy. However, the existence of few water resources usually inhibits the photosynthesis in plants. This is what makes the desert biome to be characterized by less plant life unlike fertile ecosystem like the rain forests. Plants like cactus and thorns make a large percentage of the desert vegetation because their leaves lose less water and thus they can survive in such an environment with less water (Jansen, 2015).
Herbivores like squirrels and rats consume plants. The energy they find from these plants is less than what the plants find from the sun. It is estimated that between 15-70 percent of the energy that desert plants find from the sun is lost in respiration. This means, less energy is available for the herbivores in the desert biome. Due to this reason, the desert biome cannot maintain a large number of herbivores. Herbivores like squirrels and rats can still survive in the desert biome because their small bodies need less food to support their life.
The carnivores make the third category in the desert biome. The carnivores are very few in the desert biome due to the less energy that is available to them than what was originally gained in the ecosystem through photosynthesis. Snakes, foxes and birds of prey like hawks are the common herbivores of the ecosystem.
Adaptations
Due to the harsh conditions in the desert as a resul...