Savanna

 

 

 

 

General Information

 

A Savanna is a rolling grassklad scattered with shrubs and isolated trees. You can find Savannas in Asia and Africa. They are drier then most rainforests. Savannas are found in a wide band on either side of the equator. A very well known example of a savanna is the Serengeti in Tanzania. Savannas are a beutiful sight too see and can offer many things to do.

 

Climate

Savannas have a warm temperature year round. There are two different seasons in a savanna. There is a long, dry season(winter), and a very wet season(summer). During winter there is only about 4 inches of rainfall. It's still around 70 degrees fahrenheit during the winter. In the summer there is about 15 to 25 inches of rainfall.

 

Plants and Animals in the Biome

 

Animals- african elephant, african wild dog, black, mamba, nigriceps ants, and the nile crocodile.

Plants- senegal gum acacia, baobab, candelabra tree, elephant frass, kangaroo paw, umbrella thron acacia

 

Yearly Weather and Rainfall

graph.xlsx- here is a link to a graph of both yearly rainfall and yearly climate

 

Envoronmental Threat

 

A big problem in the savanna is that there is a danger of overgrazing. With so many animals reproduces there is a high risk of an overflow of population. As more and more animals reproduce there will become less food for the animals to survive off of. With scarce food the animals will not have the proper nutrients to live. Now there would be so many animals that it would leave many of them homeless. Eventually with what can possibly happen, the animals will run out of resources to  live on.

 

Agencies Involved

Akran Zoo

Jacksonville Zoo

GAC Animals

Animal Protects

Animal Charities of Americas

 

 

Sources

www.savannahenvironmental.com

www.savannahsa.com

http://savenv.com/

 

 

 

Symbiosis

 

A form of parasitism is with a lion and a zebra. The lion kills the zebra and recieves the nutrients it needs to survive, but the zebra dies and its populaion becomes smaller.

 

 

Red: Rebecca Gerson period 3

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In the savanna there is animals like: African Elephant, Anteater, Antelope, Ant, Asian Elephant, Black Caiman, Boa Constrictor, Cheetah, Earthworm, Giraffe, Grasshopper, Hippopotamus, Lion, African Wild Dog, Black Mamba, Caracal, Chacma Baboon, Egyptian Mongoose, Emu, Grat's Zebra, Koala Bear, Nigriceps Ants, Nile Crocodile, Leopards, Impala, Wildebeest, Jack Rabbit, Mice, Buffaloes, Snakes, and Squirrels.

 

Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Crocodylia

Family: Crocodylidae

Genus: Crocodylus

Species: niloticus

 

Physical description: They are large reptiles, and look like big lizards. They have a big mouth and scally skin. They are around 10 ft long. Young crocodiles are yellowish color, and adult ones are green.

 

Habitat: They live in places like still water, lowland westlands, rivers, rain forest, and savannas.

 

Location: African Savanna

 

Nutrition: Young crocodiles eat insects, custaceans, and fish. Adults eat fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals.

 

Reproduction: Several reproductions occur. When the female crocodile is pregnant other males protect her.

 

Vital statistics: They are usually around 10-16 feet, 500 lbs, and a lifespam of 45 years.

 

Conservation: They are an endangered species

 

Economic importance: Their eggs are considered exotic food. Their skin is used to make clothes and shoes.

 

Other interesting information: They lay up 25-80 eggs. After they lay them they have to take care of them for 3 months. In mythology a crocodile represents protection

 

Adaptations for Nile crocodile are:

Behavioral adaptation- when they have eggs they protect their eggs, this prevents from other animals eatting the babies.

Structural adaptation- they have strong jaw, which helps them to crush almost everything.

Physiological adaptation- they have a very powerful immune system, that helps them to survive for a longer time.

 

Lion (Panthera leo)

 

 

Kingdom: Animalia

 

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Felidae

Genus: Panthera

Species: leo

 

 

Physical description: They have a big body, they look like big cats. They have mane, whiskers, tail, triangular nose, pointy ears and round eyes. They are usually goldish yellow.

 

 

 

Habitat: Savannas, scrubland, tropical forest, and some grasslands.

 

Location: African Savanna

 

Behavior: They are nocturnal and they like being together in prides.

 

Nutrition: They eat mainly large hervibores, like zebra or impala, small roedents, and reptiles too.

 

Reproduction: Sexual reproduction, they are mammals.

 

Vital statistics: They weight around 420 pounds and they are about 6 ft long, their lifespam is about 16 yrs.

 

Economic importance: People hunt lions to make clothes with their skin.

 

Conservation: Lions are not an endangered species yet.

 

Other interesting information: Only males have manes. There is different subspecies of lions.

 

Adaptations for Lion are:

Behavioral adaptation- they are nocturnal, which helps them hunt easier since it is dark.

Structural adaptation- males have a mane, which helps protect its neck from other lions when they fight.

Physiological adaptation- they have good sense of hearing, which helps them to get out of danger easier.

 

Red-billed oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus)

 

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Sturnidae

Genus: Buphagus

Species: erythrorhynchus

 

Physical description: Has grey feathers all around body except the underside which is white and the beak is orange. They are small.

 

Habitat: Savannas, grasslands, and forests.

 

Location: African Savanna

 

Behavior: They live in the same area,so they never migrate.

 

Nutrition: They eat skin parasites like ticks and fleas, also flies, and death host skin.

 

Reproduction: Sexual reproduction. It occurs in different times.

 

Vital statistics: They are about 20 cm long and they weight around 2 kgs. Lifespam is about 15-18 yrs.

 

Economic Importance: They don't really have importance in the market

 

Conservation: It is not an endangered species

 

Other interesting information: It lays 1-5 eggs, one at a time.  They like blood. It helps other animals, because they suck the blood of the animals, and that helps them becuase bacteria doesn't inside the cut.

 

Adaptations for Red-billed Oxpecker are:

Behavioral adaptation- They eat thick and fleas, that reduces the amount of think and flea in their bodies.

Stuctural adaptation- The shape of their beak is kind of pointy, which helps them to eat insects more easily.

Physiological adaptation- They have a really good vision, that helps them to see small insects easily so they can eat.

 

Symbiosis:

Mutualism symbiosis- This relationship is very common in South American savannas, the ant hollows out the large thorns of the plant for nest, feed on sweet secretions from the nectaries at the base of each petiole and it provides a complete diet for the ant. The ants in return protect the trees form herbivores.

 

 

Animals: Jose Ricardo Silva

 

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THE SAVANNA

& ITS PLANTS 

 

 

THE BOABAB TREE

class: adansonia

specific name: digitata

 

The Boabab Tree is native to both Africa and India. It is usually found closer to the equator where the climate is warm.  In order to withstand the harsh heat it has learned to store water within its large, fireproof, trunk. It can grow to be up to 25 meters tall in height. Due to the hot weather in the savanna the boabab tree does not have leaves for a majority of the year. It does bloom white flowers for one or two months out of the year. This tree does however have hairy pods containing seeds for reproduction.  Those seeds are dropped to the ground and dispersed by the animals that eat them.   

 

ELEPHANT GRASS

class: liliopsida

scientific name: pennisetum purpureum schumach

 

Elephant grass is found mainly in the savannas of Africa. It is called elephant grass because it is the main source of food for the elephants that are native to the savanna. It grows mainly in hot, humid climates and can withstand a lot of heat. The edges of this grass are extremely sharp and rigid to help protect it from pretadors. The yellowish or purple leaves are about an inch wide and its coarse hairy stems can grow to be two to three feet tall.

 

KANGAROO PAWS

Kingdom: plantae

order: commelinales

family: haemodoraceae

genus:anigozanthos

species: A. manglesii

 

The red and green colored kangaroo paws are most commonly found in western Austrailia. It got its name for is green, unscented, paw shaped flowers. It can grow to be up to ten centimeters tall and produces leaves near the bottom of the stem. There are small wooly hairs on all the flowers that have a repulsive taste to drive away pretadors, they also help the plant to contain water. Reproduction occurs when birds and bugs take the pollination from one kangaroo paw to another.

 

Other plants of the savanna include:

               -acacia senegal

               -bermuda grass

               -candelabra tree

               -gum tree eucalyptus

               -jackal berry tree

               -jarrah tree

               -manketti tree          

               -river bushwillow

               -umbrella thorn acacia          

               -whistling thorn

 

Pink: Brie Cordier Period 5