Patagonian Desert

Antonaeshia A. Biology p.2 Janurary 21, 2011

The Patagonia Desert is the largest desert in the USA. It is also the 7th largest in the whole world. It is located in Argentina as well as in some parts of Chile. It lies between the Andes Mountains, which is to the west of it, and the Atlantic Ocean, which is to the east of it. The Andes Mountains is the cause for the rain shadow that is responsible for the deserts formation and the reason why it is such a large desert in that area. The deserts temperatures exceed to 53oF and averages to 37oF. Patagonians winters last for seven months and its summers last for five. Patagonia is composed mainly of plains, plateaus, and sandstone canyons. All of those futures are formed by the deserts wind. The wind is caused by the rain shadow and because of it being so windy it is one of the largest dust sources in the world. The desert has many diverse futures such as temporary rivers and lakes. It also has a temporary drainage deposit from the Andes Mountains spring. Glacial and volcanic deposits are also found in the area; therefore, the deserts climate is radically affected over time. Species/Pl ant Adaptation Niche Autotr Visuals ophs/ Heter troph s Heter otrop hic

Jaguarundi

Their whiskers help them adapt. They have acute sight, hearing, and sense of smell. It is nocturnal.

Found in lowland habitats found mostly close to water. Great at catching fish. It hunts alone. It climbs well in trees but is terrestrial in hunting. They have 1-4 kittens. Reach maturity at 22-24 months.

Guanaco

They can go days without water.

Balaenidae

They have no teeth but have large plates that are used to pull food from the water. Some of them have strong hind claws, which help them dig. Their forefeet have four toes, which are used for grasping. It is mainly nocturnal.

Chinchilla

Found in small herds. They share a warning call to the herd when they feel they are in danger. One of the largest Feed on mostly plankton and krill, Found near land in most waters. Feed near the surface. Live I small groups of 3-4 individuals. Found in foothill habitats. They can climb and jump. Found grouped together with 100 individuals. They fight. Life span is 10 years. They breed seasons last from May to November. One or two offspring is produced in a litter and

Heter otrop hic

Heter otrop hic

Heter otrop hic

there are two litters per season.

Puma

They have claws that they hide when they walk but use them when grasping prey. They have to adapt to the lack of water as well as all the other species/animals in the desert.

Heter otrop hic

Copihue

Autotr ophic

Lenga

It is able to grow high in the mountains and also as trees in lower places.

Autotr ophic

The Balaendidae also know as the Right Whale has bumps on their face and on their head. These bumps are where organisms live. These organisms are called whale lice. They are parasites; however, they dont affect the whale. This is a commensalism relationship; therefore, one is benefited and the other is not affected. The one being benefited is the whale lice because it has a place to live. The whale is being unaffected though because the lice does not harm it in any way.

Puma Population-N/A Birth Rate-41% July-September Death Rate-N/A Ecological Status-Endangered Balaendidae Population- About 10,000 Birth Rate- 0.37 Death Rate-N/A Ecological Status-Endangered

During the 1980s and early 1990s was an oil spill. This oil spill affected the penguins in my biome. Because they get in the water everyday they are still being affected by this oil spill. This oil spill is an abiotic factor. Also these penguins have been declining in population size so much that they have become threatened. Being threatened means they are very close to being extinct. The animals such as puma and Red Foxes are being poisoned and killed for their fur. This is a biotic factor that is affecting my biome. The more they are killed and poison the closer they could get to being threatened; however, the puma is already endangered because of this. They have been getting killed for their fur for years, but now it needs to come to and end. Because of the killings, as the years go by the population of these animals decline, for the population should be staying stable and not declining every year. Before they become extinct the killers should think about how it would mess up the food web. The most important limiting factor in Patagonian is indirect rain through plants. This limiting factor means that precipitation doesnt hit directly on the plants. Because the rain doesnt hit the plants directly doesnt mean they are harmed. The indirect precipitation actually increases their richness. Although the canopy closure has a negative impact on herbs and shrubs richness it doesnt affect any other plants. I have learned that the most human interaction with my biome is hunting. From my research the hunters hunt mostly Chinchillas, Pumas, and Red Foxes. They are the most animals killed by hunters. The hunters usually kill them for their fur. Because of their hunting the populations of those animals have declined. Also people travel there for vacations. Reference http://uncoma.academia.edu/AdrianaRuggiero/Papers/194301/ORIGINAL_ARTICLE_ Plant_species_richnessenvironment_relationships_across_the_Subantarctic_Patagonian_tra nsition_zonehttp://web.hcsps.sa.edu.au/projects/deserts/projects/group17/index.htm http://mesh.biology.washington.edu/penguinProject/Magellanic http://www.mundoandino.com/Argentina/Patagonian-Desert http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/publications/fauna-ofaustralia/pubs/volume1b/52-ind.pdf http://www.conservapedia.com/Right_whale#Ecological_Status http://www.arkive.org/long-tailed-chinchilla/chinchilla-lanigera/#text=Threats http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/18868/0 http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=A046

http://www.chinformation.com/taxonomy.html