BIOLOGY INVESTIGATORY

PROJECT
Adaptations in plants and animals of
xerophytic condition

SUBMITTED BY:
CLASS: XII
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this “Biology Investigatory project” on the topic

ADAPTATION OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN XEROPHYTIC
CONDITION has been successfully completed by -----------------of
class XII under the guidance of ---------------------in particular
fulfillment of the CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
leading to the award of annual examination of the year---------------

TEACHER IN CHARGE: EXTERNAL EXAMINER:

PRINCIPAL:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This project would not have been possible with the help of my
Parents, my biology teacher ------------------------and my
Friends.

I sincerely thank our biology teacher ----------------for her

continuous support.

Arunima.R
 S.No CONTENTS PAGE No
1. Certificate 3
2. Acknowledgement 4
3. Introduction 6
4. Xerophytic Adaptation 7
5. Xerophytic plants and their 8
adaptation
6. Species and special 17
adaptation
7. Xerophytic animals and 22
adaptation
8. Some special features of 31
xerophytic animals
9. Species and special 33
adaptation
10. Summary 41

INDEX
INTRODUCTION
 Plant and animal bodies are made up of a number of complex
biological processes which take place within a narrow range of
temperatures. If the temperature increases or drops below this
range, the organism dies. The problem with a desert ecosystem
is that temperatures reach or sometimes exceed the limits that
are conducive for carrying out life sustaining processes.

Add to it, the scarcity of water, which translates to the scarcity

of the very basic requirement for every living organism. To
survive in such harsh environment, animals have developed
certain features that have enabled them to not only survive but
thrive in the desert. Plants and animals living in the desert must
be able to adapt to extreme heat and dryness, and the desert’s
harsh environment. The deserts are very hot during the day but
will cool during the evening. There is constant sunlight almost
daily. Plants and animals also need to be able to adapt to strong
winds, limited access to water and extreme temperatures.

XEROPHYTIC ADAPTATION
What are xerophytes?

There have been many interpretations of the term xerophytes,

sometimes they are loosely defined as plants and animals of dry
habitats.

Xerophytic plants and their adaptation

In arid zones, all plants not confined to the margins of streams
or lakes have been considered as xerophytes, whereas in regions
of heavy rainfall the class would be represented only by shallow-
rooted plants of sandy soils, by ' plants of dry ridge tops, and by
algae, mosses and lichens which grow on trees barks or rock
surfaces etc.
The true nature or xerophytes is not clearly understood. For
example, it is difficult to decide whether a xerophyte is really
xerophilous and occurs only in dry habitats and deserts or it is
merely drought-resistant.

ALEO EUPHORBIA OPUNTIA

 1. Morphological features

a. Roots
In contrast with hydrophytes which develop in conditions with
plenty of water, Xerophytes develop under water deficient
conditions. The main purpose of roots is to secure water, which is
present in fewer amounts and in deep layers of soil. The root system
is the most important organ for the survival of plant and thus is very
well developed. The roots have following characteristics.

1. It is very well developed and in some cases is several times longer

than shoot. Roots are long, tap roots with extensive branching
spread over wide areas.
I

2. Root hair and root caps are very well developed.

b. Stems
1. Mostly the growth of stem is stunted, woody, dry, hard, ridged
and covered with thick bark

2. in some as Saccharurn stem becomes underground, whereas in

opuntia if becomes fleshy, green, leaf-life (phylloclade) covered
with spines. In Euphorbia also it becomes fleshy and green.

3. on stems and leaves, there are generally hairs and/or waxy

coatings.

c. Leaves
1. Leaves are very much reduced, small, scale-like appearing only for
a brief period sometimes modified into spines. Lamina may be
long, narrow or needle-like as Pinus or divided into many leaflets
as in Acaia.

2. Foliage leaves when present may become thick, fleshy and

succulent or, tough and leathery in texture.

3. Leaf surface is mostly shiny and glazed to reflect light and heat.

4. In some species leaves become folded and rolled in such a manner

that the sunken stomata become hidden and thus rate of
transpiration is minimized.
2.Anatomical features

a. Roots
1. Root hairs and root caps are well developed. In Opuntia root
hairs develop even at the root tips.

2. In Asparagus roots may become fleshy to store water .

b. Stems

1. in succulent fleshy xerophytes, such as Casuarina, following chief

characteristics is present (Fig).
a) Cuticle is very thick,
b) Epidermis is well developed, with heavily thickened cell walls,
c) Hypodermis is several-layered and sclerenchyrnatous.
d) Stomata are of sunken type
e) Vascular tissues are very well developed, differentiated, and
heavily lignified. Vascular bundles have well developed several
layered bundle sheath.
f) Mechanical tissues are very well developed
i) Bark is very well developed
ii) Oil and resin are often present
T.S OF A STEM
c. Leaves
1. In succulent leaves of malacophyllous xerophytes, such as
Peperomia, epidermal cells of leaves serve as water-storage organs.
Similarly, succulent leaves of Aloe have prominent water-storage
regions in their mesophyll. The cuticle is thick and outer walls of
epidermal cells are heavily deposited with cutin and cellulose.

2. Non succulent xerophytes, such as Nerium and Pinus have following

characteristic features:

a) The cuticle is heavy and well developed.

b) Epidermis is several layered in Nerium and in Pinus hypodermis is
several layer.
c) Mesophyll is very well differentiated into palisade and spongy
parenchyma.
d) Stomata are of sunken type confined to lower epidermis, in some
xerophyte, for example in Nerium stomata are situated in pits lined
with hairs.
e) Vascular tissues are very well developed, differentiated into xylem
with lignified elements and phloem.
f) Mechanical tissue is very well developed, including several kinds of
sclereids.
T.S OF LEAF
FEATURES OF A XEROPHYTIC PLANT

XEROPHYTIC FLORA
Palo Verde Tree

The leaves are very small (and fall

off quickly in dry times). Leaves
lose water far more easily than
bark, so this helps the tree survive
in arid environments.

Prickly Pear

They have no leaves, their roots are

shallow, their stems are shaped like
pads and store water, and they
have spines for shade and waxy
skin to seal in moisture.

SPICIES AND SPEACIAL ADAPTATIONS

Saguaro

Aside from their taproot that extends

2 feet or more into the ground, the
rest of their roots are rarely more
than 4 inches deep. They radiate
horizontally about as far as they are
tall.

Agave

They have a rosette (rounded) shape.

This shape helps capture rainwater
and channel it to their base.
Ocotillo

They are drought–deciduous which

means they can produce full grown
leaves within 3 days of summer rain,
but they turn yellow and fall off after
a couple of weeks of dry weather.

Jojoba

The vertical orientation of their leaves

is an adaptation to the extreme desert
heat. This means the largest surface
of their leaf is facing the sun most
directly in morning and late
afternoon and the smallest surface is
facing the sun in the hottest parts of
the day.
Brittlebush

They have fuzzy, light colored leaves

that reflect sunlight. This helps
reduce their leaf temperature and
helps them conserve water.

Creosote

They can live for at least 2 years with

no rain, losing their leaves and even
shedding branches to reserve the last
bits of water and nutrients for the
crown. Sometimes people say they
smell like rain.
Palo Verde Tree

Their leaves are very small (and fall off

quickly in dry times). Leaves lose water
far more easily than bark, so this helps
them survive in arid environments. The
bark is green.

Mesquite Tree

They have adapted to desert

conditions by developing an extremely
long root system to draw water from
deep underground near the water
table. Their roots are considered the
longest of any desert plant and have
been recorded as long as 160 feet.
Xerophytic animals and their adaptations

Animals of the desert need to adapt to intense heat and lack of

water and shelters. Many of the desert animals are only active
during the evening when the temperatures are cooler. Other
animals burrow during the day to avoid the harsh conditions
during the day. It is difficult for large animals to survive the desert
due to the lack of shelter to hide from prey. Some animals don’t
need to drink water as they get all the water they need from the
insects, plants and seeds that they eat. Many desert animals don’t
have sweat glands which lets them retain moisture eliminating
the need to drink. Birds have feathers that keep them insulated
from the strong heat of the sun. Some rodents have specialized
kidneys that return their water to the bloodstream instead of
losing it through urination.
Desert animals include many reptiles, insects, birds and small
mammals. Camels, Frogs, Lizards, Bobcats, Golden Eagles,
Kangaroo Rats, Spade foot Toads.
 Adaptive features of Desert animals

To Avoid Heat

 Most animals avoid being out in the sun during the hottest part of
the day.

 Many mammals, reptiles, and amphibians live in burrows to escape

the intense desert heat. Rodents also plug the entrance of their
burrows to keep the hot and dry winds out. Most animals either
come out during the early morning or in the evening.

 Some animals like snakes, foxes, and most rodents are nocturnal.
They sleep during the daytime in their burrows or dens and hunt
only during the night when the temperatures drop.

 Certain animals like the round-tailed ground squirrel resort to

aestivation (a long state of inactivity) when they slow down their
metabolism to conserve water and energy when the days become
very hot.
To Dissipate Heat

Due to constant exposure to high temperatures, these animals need to regulate their
body temperatures, to carry out the various processes that are important for their
survival.

 Some have developed long body parts that provide greater body
surface to dissipate heat. For example, jackrabbits have large ears
that are supplied with a large number of blood vessels that
enables excess heat to be dissipated easily. It is a known fact that
light colors are poor absorbers of heat.

 Most desert animals are pale in color which prevents their bodies
from absorbing more heat in the sun.

 Turkeys and black vultures are dark in color and hence they
absorb considerable amount of heat during the day.

 To prevent their bodies from overheating, they undergo the

process of urohydrosis. They urinate on their legs that have
numerous blood vessels. The heat gets absorbed as the urine
evaporates, thereby cooling their bodies.
To Absorb Water

 Insects and reptiles of the desert have impervious integument and

excrete nitrogen in the form of uric acid.

 In desert insects, the evaporation from respiratory surface is reduced to

the minimum the internally invaginated spiracle system.

 Where water is scarce, plants like cactus is a main source of water. These
succulent plants have developed their own ways of storing water to help
them tide through the dry days of the desert. Certain insects also depend
on nectar from flowers and sap from stems to get water.

 Kangaroo rats are known to produce water by digesting dry seeds.

 Many rodents have extra tubules in their kidneys that help them extract
most of the water from their urine and return it to the bloodstream. They
also filter the moisture out of their exhaled breath through specialized
organs in their nasal cavities.

 A camel can tolerate a greater degree of water depletion of the body, and
when water is available, it may drink more than one third of its body
weight.

 Hibernation is necessary for many ectodermic animals of the desert.

To Preserve Water

 Reptiles, like the Gila monster, are known to store water in the fatty
tissues in their tails and other parts of the body. Also, the hump of the
camel has fatty tissue. When this fatty tissue is metabolized, it produces
energy as well as water.

 The reptiles have minimized the loss of water by excreting waste in the
form of an insoluble white compound uric acid. This adaptation ensures
very little wastage of water.

 Most of the scavengers and the predators have evolved ways of extracting
water from the food they eat.

 Rodents of the desert stay in burrows during the day to avoid

evaporation and water loss and conserve water by excreting highly
concentrated urine and by not using water for temperature regulation.

 Rodents of the desert can live on dry seeds, succulent cacti and other
plants that store water and do not require drinking water.
Some special adaptive features

 Poikilothermic animals, which match their internal temperature to the

external, are adapted to live easily in the desert.

 Protection of eye, ear and nostril against the sand is an important

adaptation. In the burrowing snake, Typhlops, the eyes are covered by
minute shields.

 In camel, the eyes are well protected by long eye lashes and are kept high
above die ground by long neck.

 The ear opening of desert animals are also well protected by hair or scales.

 The presence of poison glands is also an adaptive feature of desert animals.

 Protection against natural enemies is achieved through protective

colouration or spiny covering. Their colour generally matches with their
surroundings.

 The so-called homed lizard, Phrynosoma, of the western American deserts

and the spiny devil, Moloch horridus, of Australia are classical examples of
the desert animals having a spiny covering on their body.
  Lizards use saliva regurgitated from the mouth over the throat region to
achieve cooling.

A camel (Camelus dromedarius) in the desert uses several methods to

reduce heat gain. Firstly, the heat is stored by an increase in body
temperature. In camel deprived of water the body temperature in the
morning may be about 34°C, which rises to 41”C in the late afternoon. This
7°C increase in body temperature corresponds to about 29000 kcal of heat,
which equals a saving of 5 liters of water.

 Further adaptations to desert life are splayed hooves, which are ideal for
walking on sand and the hump which stores fat.

Thus, adaptations of desert animals are actually the

adjustments to protect themselves against high temperatures,
to live without water, and to conserve water as far as possible.
Sonoran Desert Tortoise

They store water in my bladder where it

can be reabsorbed for use by their body
during dry times.

Sonoran Desert Toad

They can survive in the desert because of

their ability to excavate a burrow as much
as three feet deep where they spend nine or
ten months at a time. The spring rains
"wake" them and they emerge from their
burrow.

SPECIES AND SPECIAL ADAPTATION

American Kestrel

Scientists think that the dark colored

patches under their eyes serve the same
purpose as the black smudges athletes put
on their face before playing outdoors. The
black color absorbs bright sunlight so it
does not reflect back up into the athlete's
or the bird’s eyes. This allows me to be an
active daytime hunter.

Kangaroo Rat

They do not ever need to drink water, even

though their diet is almost entirely
composed of dry seeds.
Jackrabbit

I have very large ears that are supplied with

many blood vessels. This adaptation helps
me to lose excess heat from my body.

Black Vulture

I will urinate (pee) on my legs if the daytime

temperatures are over 70 degrees F. The
urine will evaporate, cooling my legs and
drawing more heat away from my body.
Bighorn Sheep

They have enlarged stomach

compartments which can store enough
water to last for several days, allowing
them to go 2 or 3 days without a drink.

Gambel’s quail

Their “normal” body temperature is

107 degrees. This means that they can
continue to be active during the heat
of the day while losing body heat to
the air until the outside temperature
reaches 107 degrees.
Harris’ Antelope Ground Squirrel

They hold their tail arched over their

back; this shades them, keeping them
cooler. During hot weather they seek a
cooler, shaded spot and will lie down,
spreading their legs out to dump heat
from their body.

Gila Monster

Their tail is a good indicator of their

physical condition. A plump, well-
rounded tail is the sign that they are a
well-fed, healthy animal. A skinny,
triangular-shaped tail indicates that
they may be starving and dehydrated.
Serving as a fat storage-locker, their
tail is not detachable as is the tail of
many other species of lizards. They
can survive several years on the stored
fat in their tails.
Costa’s Hummingbird

They begin breeding and nest

building in late winter then migrate in
late spring when temperatures
become too hot.

Round-tailed Ground Squirrels

Because they are very dependent on

succulent vegetation for moisture,
they aestivate in their burrows for a
few weeks during the summer
drought, until the summer rainy
season again brings new growth.
SUMMARY

The Xerophytes are subjected to extreme heat and dryness, and the
desert’s harsh environment. The deserts are very hot during the day
but will cool during the evening. There is constant sunlight almost
daily. Xerophytes exhibit a range of adaptations that enable them to
survive in this arid environment.
The plant adaptation includes modification of stem and
leaf to avoid evapouration and unwanted water lose. Succulents ,like
the cactus, store water in their leaves or stem. In many plants the
leaves are modified to form spines. This helps them to deter
browsing animals and avoids excess transpiration during day time.
The anatomical features of these plants include the presence of
cuticle,heavily thickened cell walls, fleshy roots to store water etc.
The adaptations of xerophytic animals include Hygroscopic
skin ,presence of cuticle,spines and poison glands. Many animals are
nocturnal ,i,e.they are active during night.They dig holes and
burrows in the sand and live within. They also have good water
storage system. The xerophytic animals includes camel, kangaroo rat
,black vulture etc.