Waypoint-Interesting

 A seguaro cactus takes ten years to reach one inch in height but is over forty feet tall after two hundred years of growth

Waypoint-Tourism

 1. Long Odds- Despite being the second harshest environment in the world the desert is full of life even sustaining herds of larger animals such as prong horns.
 2. Amazing Plants- These seguaro are giants in a land where  you're lucky if your grass stays green for a week. ( By the way those are only about one hundred years old so they aren't full grown.)
 3. Astounding Landscapes- This Australia's world famous wave rock, yes this is a rock. This is just one of the beautiful landscapes in the desert biome.
 4. Diversity- These are all species native to deserts. They have been there for thousands of years and are adapted for the harsh desert life style.
 5. Deserts are Fragile- They are a delicet ecosystem.  All biomes have endanger species but the desert is one of two biomes that are endangered themselves but this one is not being stripped of resources but is being ripped up for fun. Protect the world's sandy gem.

Waypoint-Damage

Sandstorms- Believe it or not this could be our fault. Human actions like off roading destroy plants and scar the earth. The dry soil of the desert is quickly eroded by the wind. Plants hold the dirt together so it doesn't blow away. These plants can take years to regrow. A saguaro cactus takes two hundred years to fully grow. Humans play a hand in the problem by off roading off the cleared trails. The destruction of plants not only adds to the frequency of sandstorms but hurts the animals.

Waypoint-Ecological Succesion

Primary Succession- Due to the common occurrence of mountains bordering deserts they are vulnerable any reactivation of volcanoes that may surround them. An eruption can destroy acres of land. This results in the repopulation of pioneer species such as the above lycan.
Secondary Succession- The desert is a hot and arid in the daytime, a perfect location for a wild fires to break out. Desert plants are a hardy lot capable of retaining water in this harsh environment. Unfortunately during prolonged droughts they can dry up and catch fire. In areas containing patches of plants the fire can last for several hours. The fire sometimes has positive effects such as allowing grasses to grow and some plants can't release their seeds without fire.

Water Cycle
 Nitrogen Cycle
 Carbon Cycle
 Phosphorus Cycle

Waypoint- Introduced Species

 Argentine Cactus Moth- The Argentine cactus moth a small, brown moth that is native to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It is almost impossible to be recognise as an adult but is bright orange-red as a larvae and lays its eggs in rods. Its caterpillars naturally eat prickly pear cacti and are capable of destroying entire plants easily. They were taken to Australia, Africa, and Asia to deal with invading prickly pears because there were no natural consumers in these areas. Unfortunately North and Central America naturally have both prickly pears and organisms to eat them and are a crash crop in certain regions. The reason for the arrival of the moths in North and Central America is unclear. The moths could have came on imported goods or by natural occurrence. The eggs are layed on the cacti in chains. Upon hatching the larvae borrow into the cactus and proceed to eat the insides of it. This effectively hollows out the cacti to the point of destruction. They are out competing natural consumers and destroy entire crop production.

Waypoint- Limiting Factors

Space Requirements (density independent)- Cacti have a dominating presence in the desert. Cacti literally dominate where ever they are because they have roots that spread out from the cactus not far from the surface. This is an adaptation that lets the cactus collect more water during the rare periods of rain but prevent things from growing near them.  

Competition in Ranks (density dependent)- Some animals compete within their own groups for rank. The coyotes fight to see which is stronger because only the alphas, who are the strongest, are allowed to breed and are the first to eat. This infighting increase when the pack hits hard times of being unable to feed the entire pack on average kills.

 Competition outside of species (density independent)- Both humans and coyotes hunt some of the same animals. In this case the prey is big horn sheep
 Growth (density dependant)- Plants like these wild flowers grow in patches. The reason for the patchy growth pattern is because they can't get the necessary nutrients in to large of groupings.

Waypoint- Coevolution

 Mimicry- The king snake (left) uses mimicry to look and act like the highly venomous coral snake (right) to avoid being a meal for others.
 Camofloage- This horned viper is a master of camofloage that uses it to avoid predators while on the move in the desert and will borrow under the sand leaving only its eyes above the sand to watch for prey. It preys on small vertibrates and is more noticable at their level than from above when it is above ground.

Waypoint- Predation

 Coyotes hunt rabbits, rats, lizards, birds, antelopes, big horn sheep, and livestock
 Mountain lions hunt rabbits, birds, sheep, antelopes, and livestock
 Scorpions hunt insects, small lizaerds, and other arachnids.