Adam White & Rachel Dan Bill George Biology 9 3/16/11

The Savannah Biome

The Savannah biome mainly consists of grasslands. They are usually found between tropical rainforest and desert biomes. Temperatures hover around seventy degrees Fahrenheit during the winter and eighty degrees Fahrenheit during the summer. There are two seasons that occur in the savannah: a very long dry season in the winter and a very long monsoon season in the summer. Rain almost never falls between December to February. During the dry season, only four inches of rain fall on average As a result of minimal rainfall occurring during winter months, savannah animals have adaptive features that help them survive droughts. The average rainfall in the savannah is between ten to thirty inches, almost all occurring during the summer months. During the summer, there is a large amount of rainfall and the weather becomes warm and humid. The largest savannahs are in East Africa, South America, and Australia.

The African Savannah is tropical grassland located in Africa between latitude 15 degrees north and 30 degrees south and between longitude 15 degrees west and 40 degrees west. The largest savanna in the world is the East African savannah. In this savannah, The grassland covers Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic of the Congo, Angola, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique,

Botswana, and South Africa. The savannah has a wide diversity of plants including the acacia Senegal, jackal berry tree, candelabra tree, umbrella thorn acacia, Bermuda grass, whistling thorn, and elephant grass. African savannahs are home to over forty different hooved mammals. The biome is home to many unique species of antelope including eland, impalas, gazelles, oryx, gerenuk, and kudu. Other herbivores in the African savannah include: buffalo, wildebeest, plains zebra, rhinos, giraffes, elephants, and warthogs. Many of these herbivores are herd animals, which feed on the plentiful grasses growing in the savannah. The large numbers of herbivores support many carnivores including lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, and hyenas. The biome also supports scavengers such as vultures, which are able to easily find food in its vast open areas. The savannah supports many diverse species unique to the biome.

Humans have greatly affected the savannah biome. The poaching of the savannahs animals, and the deforestation of its trees pose an immediate threat to the survival of many species. A long-term environmental problem of the savannah is that farmers turn the grassland into desert, by herding their cattle into small areas. Fires caused by humans can burn rapidly during the winter months, destroying the grasslands. Particularly diverse areas such as the Serengeti Plains, located in Tanzania and Kenya, have been designated as World Heritage sites, and are protected in an effort to stop human encroachment on the savannah biome. The Australian tropical savannah is another one of the worlds largest savannahs. Unlike the majority of savannahs, which are located on the equator, the Australian savannah is located south of the equator in northern Australia. The Australian savannah

has two extreme drought and monsoon seasons. Year round, the weather fluctuates between 86 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit. The dry season lasts from May to October. Scientists believe that the frequent fires during the dry season play a crucial role in preserving the biome, by preventing the overgrowth of vegetation. The wet seasons lasts from December to March. The monsoon rains that occur during the wet season can be anywhere from 10 inches to 10 feet, resulting in potential major flooding. Marsupials such as the kangaroo are the most common mammals living in the Australian savannah. Notable examples of marsupials include: the eastern gray kangaroo, the possum, the koala agile, and the golden bandicoot. The worlds largest reptile, the saltwater crocodile, can be found in the Australian savannah. Australias most common tree is the Eucalyptus tree. Many plants and animals living in the Australian savannah are unique to the biome, thus the introduction of foreign weeds to the savannah poses a threat to the survival of its plant species. Australian farmers encroach on the biome by rapidly clearing land to build farms. The South African cheetah has been endangered since the 1960s. Weighting 83 to 145 pounds, this carnivore races over the savannas at 70 miles per hour to catch gazelles, zebras, and wildebeests. The average life span of the cheetah is 20 years, but the high mortality rate of their young is bringing the average down. Loss of habitat, loss of food sources, and poaching are the main threats to the cheetah. The extinction of the South African cheetah would change the entire food web. The herbivores that were formerly the cheetahs prey would overpopulate and overgraze the land, since not as many would die from predation. There are only 7500 cheetahs left on Earth and a domino effect may result.

Works Cited

(http://www.javascriptkit.com), JavaScriptKit.com. Cheetah Outreach - South Africa. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. <http://www.cheetah.co.za/c_info.html>. "Savanna Biomes." Blue Planet Biomes. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. <http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna.htm>. "Savanna_australia." Blue Planet Biomes. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. <http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna_australia.htm>. "Tropical Savannas." Web. 17 Mar. 2011. <http://www.radford.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/savanna/sava nna.html>. "Untitled Document." Northside Independent School District - San Antonio, TX 78238.Web.17Mar.2011. <http://www.nisd.net/ward/Staff/gt_page/gt_page_08_09/webpages_biomes_08_ 09/african_savannah_kendra_5th/african_savannah_index.htm>.