Commensalism-21°07′S 14°33′E / 21.117°S 14.55°E / -21.117; 14.55

A desert holly shrub provides shade for young creosote bushes. In this the Creosote bush benefits, and the desert holly shrub is not effected.

Mutualism-35°03′09″N 118°10′26″W / 35.0525°N 118.17389°W / 35.0525

Mutualism



Owls nesting in cacti is an example of mutualism because the owls get a safe place to nest and protection from the cactus, and the cactus is not affected by the owls action.

Introduced Species-S 33° 51' 41.10, E 151° 12' 17.85.

The Cactus Moth

The cactus moth is an introduced specie to the desert biome. It is native to South America and is a moth that eats the prickly pear cactus. At first it was brought to the Carribeans to contorl the prickly pear cactus population, and it came to the U. S. either naturally or by cargo imported from the Carribean. Now they are destroying populations of prickly pear cactus which serves as landscaping and for food for humans and animals. 2% of the value and production from agriculture in Mexico is the prickly pear cactus.

http://www.desertmuseum.org/invaders/invaders_cactusmoth.php

Limiting Factors-30°0′0″N 27°5′0″E

A Limiting Factor is a factor or resource that controls a process. A density-dependent  is where a large, crowded population is more affected by a limiting factor than a small, less crowded population. Some examples are parasites, competition for the little vegetation avaliable in the desert, and diseases.

A density Independent factor is an abiotic factor like weather that affects an environment regardless of its size. Some examples of density independent factors are the high temperatures of the desert, the lack of water in a desert, and wind causing sand storms.

Predators of the Desert Biome-35°03′09″N 118°10′26″W / 35.0525°N 118.17389°W / 35.0525

The Mojave Rattlesnake is a predator to rodents, lizards, other snakes, birds and their egges, and some insects

      

The Coyote is a predator to mice, rats, ground squirrels, lagomorphs, and carrion.

The Golden Eagle is a predator to lagomorphs and rodents.

Endangered Species of the Desert- 44° 0' 0 N, 105° 0' 0 E

The Bactrian Camel

The Bactrian Camel is on the endangered species list and can be found in remote areas of the Gobi and Taklimakan Deserts. Some reasons for their extinction are hunters, competion with domestic animals for water and land, settling of oases by pastoralists, prospecting for oil and gold, and the hybridization with domestic camel stock.

 

 

Food Chain- 21°07′S 14°33′E

Desert Biome Food Chain



Precipitation and Temperature-27°40′31″N 8°07′43″W

 

Deserts receive less than 50 centimeters a year.

Its temperature ranges from 20 to 25 degrees celsius. Its extreme temperatures can get up to 43.5 and 49 degrees celsius and can reach as low as -18 degrees celsius.

A cold desert, such as the Antartic, Greenland and Neartic is betwen -2 and 4 degrees celcius. In the summer it can be 21 to 26 degrees celsius. Cold deserts recive 15 to 26 centimeters of precipitation in a year

Desert Soil Type and Geographic Features-32° 15′ 36″ N, 112° 55′ 34″ W

The soil of deserts are course, shallow, rocky, and very nutrient because all they need is water to be productive. There is little to no organic matter within the soil of deserts. The soil type allows good drainage when it does rain and there is no subsurface water.

One geographic condition that affects the desert biome are mountains. Mountains cause rain shadow deserts by blocking rain from the deserts. Another geographic condition affecting deserts are cold water upwells along a cost. These stabilize the air and also prevent mosture from foming, therefore creating a cool coastal desert.