Overview
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.
It is often believed that savannas feature widely spaced, scattered trees. However, in many savannas, tree densities are higher and trees are more regularly spaced than in forest. Savannas are also characterized by seasonal water availability, with the majority of rainfall confined to one season. Savannas are associated with several types of biomes. Savanna covers approximately 20% of the Earth's land area. The largest area of savanna is in Africa
Water or the rainfall in the savanna in a year,
The light he open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceouslayer consisting primarily of C4grasses.
The ph andsc in savanna
Classification of Living Organisms
Classify at least eightof the living organisms found in the allocated ecosystem into the categories below:
Producers
Plants of the savannas are highly specialized to grow in this environment of long periods of drought. They have long tap roots that can reach the deep water table, thick bark to resist annual fires, trunks that can store water, and leaves that drop of during the winter to conserve water.
Primary Consumers
The African elephant is the largest mammal that lives on land. They weight 15,000 - 20,000 pounds. They eat grass, fruit and the bark of trees. The female elephants live in herds with their calves and the males live in bachelor herds or alone.
Giraffes can grow up to 20 feet tall , with a neck that is 8 feet long.they eat the leaves from the top of
trees with their long tongues . they live together in herds.
Zebras live in large herds of 100 or more. They eat the coarse grass of the savanna. They can see, hear and smell very well to help them avoid enemies like the lion.
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Secondary Consumers
Cheetahs are the fastest mammal in the world. They can run up to 70 miles an hour to catch their prey. That is as fast as cars go on the highway! Click to learn more about the cheetah.
Tertiary Consumers
Lions can grow to about ten feet long. The male lion has a big shaggy mane around his face. The female lion is smaller without the mane. Lions live in groups called prides. Most other cats like to live alone.
Decomposers
Bacteria are important decomposers; they are widely distributed and can break down just about any type of organic matter. A gram of soil typically contains 40 million bacterial cells, and the bacteria on Earth form a biomass that exceeds that of all living plants and animals. Bacteria are vital in the recycling nutrients, and many steps in nutrient cycles depend on these organisms.
Food Web
Interrelationship in Ecosystem
Give at least one example for each of the following relationships in the ecosystem:
- Predator-prey relationship-a lion(the predator)huants on a zebra(the prey)
- Parasitism-doddler vines that attaches to a tomato plant, sucking out the water and nutrients
- Mutualism-clownfish and sea anemones.The clownfish benefits by having a protected home territory while the sea anemones has a higher chance for catching preys.
Interesting videos
Useful Links
Comments (1)
Mr Justin Thong said
at 4:24 pm on Mar 14, 2012
Dear group 6, a gentle reminder that the deadline is this Friday. From the look of it, your group is still far from completion and I do not see much progress. Is everything ok?
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