Day 6: Threats to The Desert

      The desert is a fascinating place, but even it struggles to survive.  There are many threats that can destroy it if they continue.  Some of them are: city development, little rainfall, off-road vehicle use, and global warming. 

First of all, there used to be very few people in the desert, but all of that changed soon when people started claiming that there were certain health benefits of living in the desert.  People soon started to make cities in the desert, causing the destruction of many plants and animals.

With little rainfall to leach away minerals, mining became common in desert areas.  Many areas are irrigated for agricultural purposes, which causes more destruction.  If enough water is not supplied to flow off the land and carry away salts, then those salts will build up, soon leading to the salinization of the soil.  This will cause salt levels to become so high, that plants will not be able to tolerate it and will die. 

Off-road vehicle use may kill or crush plants and animals in the way.  Also, since there are no roads in the desert, vehicles have the freedom to travel wherever they wish.  They disturb the desert pavement and varnish, leaving the soil underneath open to wind erosion.  Since the plants in the desert take a long time to grow, damage can remain for a long time

            We can help save the desert in many ways.  First, you can donate money to good organizations such as WWF (World Wildlife Fund) so they can save the animals.  You can also choose what animal you would like to save.  In this case, you could donate money to a desert animal such as the desert tortoise.  Another way is to sign and participate in petitions that try to stop building projects going on in the desert.  You could even start one yourself!  If you want to go to the extreme,  you could even participate in protests against these projects!  Well, today is my last day in the desert.  I sure did learn a lot! I am going to leave in a few hours.  Stay tuned for my next series!   

-Kiran

Day 5: Pancake Prickly Pear Cactus

Hi everyone!  I’ve also recently seen a lot of plants around here.  They have all made adaptations so that they can survive for long periods of time without water.  Some of them are the barrel cactus, brittle bush, crimson hedgehog cactus, jumping cholla, and the pancake prickly pear cactus.  I'll tell you about the pancake prickly pear cactus.  It is found in the Sonoran and the Mojave deserts.  It can grow up to 7 feet tall!  It has circular pads arising from a thick, round trunk..  They have pads sticking out at all angles covered with spines.  These cacti are used in many different ways.  Some examples are that they are used as food.  One of their adaptations is that they have turned their leaves into spines to reduce water loss.  The spines can also be used to protect the cactus from predators.  Roots of the prickly pear cactus can survive in immense heat and can absorb  water.  The pads of the cactus are used to store water for when they need it during a drought.  Luckily, this plant has no threats.  Well, I'm looking forward to tomorrow  morning!

-Kiran

Day 4: Barrel Cactus (Compass Cactus)

          Today, I found another plant, the barrel cactus.  It can be found in the Mojave, Sonora, and the Chihuahua deserts.  The barrel cactus grows in the desert washes and slopes, but can also be spotted growing along canyon walls.  It is distinguished from other cacti because of it cylinder-shaped body.  They usually reach approximately five to eleven feet tall.  They are the largest cacti in the North American deserts!  This cactus has several parallel ridges that run down the sides. These ridges are topped with dangerously sharp 3-4 inch spines.  These control the amount of water in their body, prevent water loss, and allow the plant to survive without water for long periods of time.  The spines are also used as a defense mechanism to protect itself from any predators.  This cactus can be used as provisions.  People also stewed the Barrel Cactus to make a cabbage-like food.  The pulp could also be used to get fresh drinking water and make"cactus candy".  

A Barrel Cactus

-Kiran

Day 3: The Thorny Devil

I was just taking another walk, when suddenly, out of nowhere, I saw another animal.  First, I had thought it was a spiky rock!  I took it back to camp and my friends and I studied it.  Its body has conical spines all over, including spines above each eye and a hump behind its head which is spiny. The color on its body changes from yellow, to reddish brown, to black, depending on which type of soil it is crossing.  This feature helps it camoflauge.  It is a heliotherm, which means that it needs sunlight to warm itself up.  They can grow up to 20 cm and they are very slow.  They lay about 3 to 10 eggs underground, between September and January.  Then, the eggs hatch 3 to 4 months later.  Their life span is 20 years.  It has many adaptations and defenses.  Its movement is very slow and looks like a leaf, and it often freezes (stops moving) instinctively.  It is a very harmless reptile.  It can change colors to match environment. It hides in small shrubs to protect itself.  Also, if a predator tries to flip it over, it puts its spine and curved tail against the ground to prevent it from falling over.  They also have the ability to puff themselves up like a ball, which makes them look bigger.  This can intimidate their enemies.  It usually eats ants, and whenever it does, it eats about 600 to 3000 of them in a single meal!  Although they can only eat one ant at a time with their sticky tongue, they can still eat at a rate of up to 45 ants a minute.  They live in arid scrubs and spinifex (grassy bushes).  When it goes to sleep at night, it digs up the soil and covers itself with it to stay warmer during freezing cold nights.  It also sometimes digs underground burrows (sometimes under scrubs) to provide protection from the intense heat.  Sadly, this creature isn’t as fortunate as the sidewinder snake.  It is endangered.  People have been trying to save the Thorny Devil's nests and eggs by placing wire enclosures around them.  This way, predators can’t disturb the nest and the eggs are be safe.  Its hunters are humans, bustards (a type of bird), and others.

-Kiran

Day 2: The Sidewinder Snake

I'm back!  This is Kiran.  The desert has a lot of animals!  Some of them are snakes, rats, kangaroos, hyenas, squirrels, owls, lizards, and more!  A few hours ago, I was taking a walk, when "Whoosh!”  A snake jumped out of nowhere and bit my leg!  In rage, I captured the slithering vermin.  I quickly ran back to my camp howling in pain.  Boy, did that snake bite hurt!   My friends then studied the dangerous snake.  It was a sidewinder viper rattlesnake!   They swiftly applied medicine dine to my wound and I started to feel much better.  This snake's venom could do a lot of damage to someone, but it could not kill them.  Still, without medicine, you would suffer a lot of pain.  That is when I got interested in them.  I let the snake out of the jar and observed it.  I was expecting to see it slither around, but it started jumping in a sideways motion!  "So that's where they get their names!" I told my friends.  It had some scales above its eyes creating a horn like appearance.  Those structures actually helped protect its eyes  from sand and other projectiles.   I then decided to capture some more to compare them.  I found four other snakes.  Their skin colors varied from pale to brown.  They were very small, but agile.  Fully grown ones could reach from 1.5 to 2.5 feet.  The sidewinders eat small rodents (such as the kangaroo rat) and lizards.  They are often found buried in the sand or in animal burrows.  These snakes are also mostly seen at night.  Luckily, this animal is not endangered or threatened.  Some of its hunters are birds, roadrunners, men, and others.  Well, I’ll see you tomorrow! 

 -Kiran

The Desert

Hey Everyone!  This is Kiran here!  I have finally reached the desert!  The sand here is burning hot!  I have been here for almost a day researching.  I've made some measurements.  Throughout the whole year, it usually averages between 21-27° C. Sometimes, it can go up to 38° C!  Although the desert is very hot, evening temperatures are still cool, at around 10° C.  As everyone knows, there is barely any water in the desert!  The yearly average rainfall is about less than 1 inch!  And whenever there is rain, it so hot that it usually evaporates before it can hit the ground (depending on the desert)!  Something very cool and interesting about the desert is that the sand dune (mounds of sand) constantly shift  around and change their shape!  Well, it has been a very long, long, day.  This is Kiran signing out.   

Me at the desert

-Kiran

The Desert Biome

          Hello everyone!  My name Kiran Kunigiri and I'm a research scientist.  As you all know, this is my sixth blog series.  I've already done ones about the sea, tundra, rain forest, and many others.  Today, I'm starting my 6th blog in the desert.    I have packed supplies for the intense heat.  I am going to need a lot of water!  I am very excited for the trip!  See you tomorrow!

- Kiran