Grassland notes: Notes on world's grassland types & organisms' adaptations to surviving there, including symbiotic relationships with video links

Notes on world's grassland types & organisms' adaptations to surviving there, including symbiotic relationships with video links

1. Grasslands
PPt. by, Robin D. Seamon

2. Other words for grasslands:
•Plains: means flat land
•Prairies: N. America
•Steppes: N. America
•Savanna: Africa
•Pampas: South America
•Campos: South America
•Veldts (veld): South Africa

3. Animal Relationships:
•Symbiosis- a relationship between two different
kinds of animals that lasts over time
•Commensalism: a symbiotic relationship
where one animal benefits & the other is
unaffected
•Parasitism: a symbiotic relationship where one
animal benefits & the other is harmed
•Mutualism: a symbiotic relationship where
both animals benefit
ADVANCE

4. COMMENSALISM:
•Hyena/vulture & lion:
lion kills his meal, this leaves food for scavengers
Hyena/vulture
Benefits: gets food
lion
Not affected
BACK

5. MUTUALISM:
•Non-toxic acacia trees & ants
most acacia trees have toxic thorns. Some that do not, have ant
defenders! The ants are nourished by sugar-water produced by the
tree just for the ant & the ant viciously attacks anything trying to
feed from its host plant!
Acacia tree
Benefits: no herbivores
ants
Benefits: no herbivores
BACK

6. PARASITISM:
•Cowbird & other grassland birds
brown-headed cowbird is a notorious brood parasite. It will lay its
eggs in another bird’s nest so that the other bird will hatch & raise
its chicks.
cowbird
Benefits: its eggs get
hatched & raised
Other bird
Hurts: its eggs get ruined
BACK

7. •Grassy, windy, partly dry, “sea of grass”
•Between dry, arid land and warm, humid land
(Usually separates deserts from forests)
•Deep-rooted grasses, few trees and shrubs
•TWO TYPES:
•Tropical grasslands: hot all year with a wet
and dry season (savannas) closer to equator
•Temperate grasslands: hot summers, cold
winters, higher than equator

8. Tropical grassland: (savannah)
Africa
3
Surviving savanna predators
2Survival in
the savanna
4
Survival in the S: shelter
Surviving
Mosquitos

9. Temperate grassland: (prairies, pampas)
North America

10. Grasslands may also be divided into these
two groups:
•Steppes: short grasses, more dry, hot
summer, cold winters
(Great Plains of US), dust storms (Dust
Bowl from overgrazing, plowing, wind)
•Savannah: tropical grasland, dry season
& wet (monsoon) season, less season
change, shrubs & small trees, grasses
(Australia, India, S. America, Africa)
--watering holes

11. Plants: grasses, sm. trees & shrubs, palms,
acacias, boab tree
Animals:
•hyenas, antelope, zebra, gazelle, lion,
rodent, bird, reptile, cheetah

12. Savanna
Plants
Boab tree
Acacia tree
Palms

13. Savanna
Animals:

14. •Prairies: tall grasses, more humid,
hot summers(100degrees F)
cold winters (-40degrees F)
(US midwest- fields of corn, wheat,
“sea of grass”
veld-S.Africa
pampas- Argentina
•Plants: grasses, flowers
•Animals: coyote, fox, skunk, badger, hawk,
snake, grasshoppers, insects, field birds,
prairie chicken, prairie dog, bison

15. Prairie Plants

16. Prairie
Animals:

17. Animal Adaptations:
•Animals have adapted to dry, windy conditions
•Grazing animals (eat grass)
•Browser animals (eat leaves & twigs)
•Burrowing animals
•Predators
•Insects
•Savannahs: watering holes

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