The Desert Biome
The desert biome is a typically dry biome with hot days and cold nights. It includes a variety of diverse species. This website will demonstrate the relationships between the different species, environmental changes, and the energy flow in the Gobi Desert. The Gobi Desert is in northern China and southern Mongolia.
Energy Pyramids and Food Webs
The food web shows the relationship of the species and energy flow of the desert biome. It also shows the producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers, as the different plants, insects, specifically ants and cockroaches, lizards (plate-tailed gecko), and snakes (gopher snakes).
This energy pyramid shows the kilocalories with every level and what animals are the producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and the tertiary consumers. One particular food chain is the cactus (producer), the kangaroo rat (primary consumer), the gopher snake (secondary consumer), and the hawk (tertiary consumer).
SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
One symbiotic relationship found in the Gobi Desert is between the gopher snake and the rat. This relationship demonstrates commensalism because the rat has done something to benefit the snake, but the rat is unaffected by what the snake does. When the rat moves out of its home that it digs in the ground or dies, the gopher snake then uses its abandoned home for its own shelter. The gopher snake receives shelter, but this does not affect the rat because it does not use the hole anymore.
PREDATOR/PREY
A predator and prey relationship is found between the hawk and the snake. There are more snakes than the hawks so the hawks can feed on the snakes and get energy.
Environmental Changes
There is a lack of natural resources in the Gobi Desert. This has caused a lot of competition between the different species. Two specific organisms is the gopher snake and plate-tailed gecko. Both animals rely on kangaroo rats for food, but due to a lack of natural resources, there aren't enough rats for food and that disrupts the food chain. On the positive side, some animals may decide to move out due to lack of resources and that will create less competition. Another species that it harms is the kangaroo rat. With a lack of water, plants in the desert cannot grow very well. This harms the rat because plants are what it relies on for food. However, this can lower the population so that animals aren't constantly competing.
This energy pyramid shows the kilocalories with every level and what animals are the producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and the tertiary consumers. One particular food chain is the cactus (producer), the kangaroo rat (primary consumer), the gopher snake (secondary consumer), and the hawk (tertiary consumer).
SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
One symbiotic relationship found in the Gobi Desert is between the gopher snake and the rat. This relationship demonstrates commensalism because the rat has done something to benefit the snake, but the rat is unaffected by what the snake does. When the rat moves out of its home that it digs in the ground or dies, the gopher snake then uses its abandoned home for its own shelter. The gopher snake receives shelter, but this does not affect the rat because it does not use the hole anymore.
PREDATOR/PREY
A predator and prey relationship is found between the hawk and the snake. There are more snakes than the hawks so the hawks can feed on the snakes and get energy.
Environmental Changes
There is a lack of natural resources in the Gobi Desert. This has caused a lot of competition between the different species. Two specific organisms is the gopher snake and plate-tailed gecko. Both animals rely on kangaroo rats for food, but due to a lack of natural resources, there aren't enough rats for food and that disrupts the food chain. On the positive side, some animals may decide to move out due to lack of resources and that will create less competition. Another species that it harms is the kangaroo rat. With a lack of water, plants in the desert cannot grow very well. This harms the rat because plants are what it relies on for food. However, this can lower the population so that animals aren't constantly competing.