Chaparral

1. Chaparral Amanda Alai Devin Mann Joy Kananian

2. Climate • The chaparral biome is located on almost all of the continents; the west coast of the United States, the west coast of South America, the Cape Town area of South Africa, the western tip of Australia and the some areas of the Mediterranean. • The chaparral biome terrain is made up of flat plains, rocky hills and mountain slopes. • “Wild West” • The temperature ranges from 30-100 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Animals! • Aardwolf -hyena with fur that looks like a dog, with long front legs and short hind legs. -live in underground burrows.   -very small and shy, unlike to its bigger and more aggressive relatives, hyenas -Its tail is 8-12 inches and usually weighs between 50 and 60 pounds

4. Animals! • Black tailed Jack Rabbit -females weigh more than males (11-13lbs, 9-10lbs.) -like to live in open areas to see predators. -a jackrabbits mother will leave the rabbits in different places, and finds them in the evening to nurse each one. This goes on for one month, when they left by themselves. -the first time a jackrabbit poops, they consume it to digest it again -silver and tan color that blends with the chaparral -once female and males mate, they have 1-6 rabbits every 3-4 months

5. Animal Adaptations • Black Tailed Jackrabbit: • They have very large ears to regulate body heat by increasing or decreasing the blood flow through its ears. The jackrabbit can absorb heat or cool off. • They have long legs to run up to 36 mph. This increase in speed helps them outrun many of their enemies. Because there’s hard and hot ground in a chaparral, the bottom of it’s feet are covered with fur, which protects them from the scorching heat of the chaparral sand.

6. Animal Adaptations • Aardwolf The aardwolf has big ears to hear termites underground when it is hunting. The aardwolf loses body heat through its ears. Black, small eyes, that are facing front, for depth perception of the chaparral.   They have non-retractable claws to scratch dirt to dig for termites. They also have a long and sticky tongue to grab termites in the dirt.

7. Vegetation • Blue Oak -David Douglas, a Scottish biologist first named the blue oak in 1831 for the bluish color of its leaves. -Blue Oaks can survive temperatures above 100° F for many weeks at a time. Annual precipitation averages 20 to 40 inches and usually falls in the form of rain. -It is a short tree with a wide open canopy with many crooked branches. -They are about 30 feet tall, but it deep, moist soil, they can be almost 60 feet.

8. Vegetation Coyote Brush • Coyote brush is a woody perennial evergreen that resembles a bush. • Salt spray and winds shape it, it is low on the ground to form a ground cover on dunes, ridges, plains, and chaparrals. • Produces female and male flowers on different plants. The flowers bloom in August, all the way until December. • The female flowers are green, very long, and they bloom on the clusters of leafy branches. • The male flowers are smaller, with a white color, and yellow pollen.

9. Vegetation Adaptations • Blue Oak • Blue oak leaves grow alternately on the twig. The leaves are about 1-3 inches long and have wavy, shallow and irregular margins. They have a blue-green color on top, giving it the name “Blue Oak”, and yellow-green on bottom surface. Since they are tough and thick leaves, Blue Oaks can conserve more water. • The blue oak has a very advanced root system. The roots can grow through cracks in rocks to about 80 feet to reach ground water. This helps the blue oak survive in fire prone regions. They reproduce both through seeds and vegetative from burnt or cut stumps. The light colored bark is thick and helps reduce fire damage.

10. Vegetation adaptation • Coyote Brush -The coyote brush has a huge root system that travels for quite a few yards. These roots grab any and every drop of rain it can to survive the chaparral climate. • Leaves on the brush have a chemical on their leaves so they don’t catch fire as easily as other plants. • An oil like substance coats the leaves of the Coyote Brush on hot days to help it from being eaten by animals.

11. Climatogram