Adaptations of Australian Animals to Desert Conditions
Australian desert animals are exposed to such conditions as scarcity of food, increased body temperature, and dehydration. However, through behavioral, physiological, and anatomical adaptations, they can survive in the harsh outback. What specific functions allow desert animals to conserve water and reduce heat gain while maintaining homeostasis? How is metabolism affected? For many Australian animals, enzymes or cells are altered and hormones adjusted. Australian Western chestnut mice exhibit a specific physiological adaptation of recent discovery. These mice are able to regain glycogen through endogenous carbon sources after periods of exercise, thereby making up for scarce food resources. Behaviorally, poikilotherms adapt to harsh desert conditions through quiescence, or inactivity during the day, and panting or licking for evaporative cooling. What other seemingly ordinary ways have Australian animals allowed for their survival? Research explains how Australian animals have adapted, such that their physiology and lifestyles prevent susceptibility to harsh desert conditions.
Introduction
What exactly are the conditions to which Australian desert animals have adapted? In the summer, air temperatures can reach more than 110° F, plus intense sunlight can increase the effective temperature to at least 140° F. Also, rainfall is low during this time of year. As a comparison, under these conditions a human would need more than ten quarts of water a day, but red kangaroos adapted to water shortages may only need two to three quarts each week or two. (Dawson, "Red Kangaroos," 44) Also, due to extreme heat, plants sources of food are scarce. (Barboza, 29) How have animals ...
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An adaptation is the characteristic of an organism that makes it likely to survive. There are three types of adaptations: structural, physiological, and behavioural. Structural adaptations are physical features, physiological adaptations are related to the internal body functions, while behavioural adaptations refer to how organisms respond to stimuli (Beavis 2014). This paper will discuss some adaptations that help koalas and eucalyptus trees survive in their environments.
Metabolic rate is directly linked to the core temperature in an animal. An ectotherm, or cold blooded animal, warms its body mainly by absorbing heat from its surroundings. The amount of heat it derives from its metabolism is negligible. In contrast, endotherms derive most or all of its body heat from its own metabolism (Campbells,p899). Because ectotherms do not produce their own heat, they cannot actively ensure their ideal temperature for an ideal metabolic rate (aquacult.htp).
Humans have almost nothing in common with any surviving mammals of the savanna. Most mammals of hot, dry climates do not rely heavily on water for survival. They have a high tolerance to heat, and their body temperatures can fluctuate more than 6oC between day and night. They can bear a dehydration of 20%, whereas 10% or more would be fatal to humans. What little they do drink or consume naturally through food, is conserved because they do not sweat. Hair and fur keeps the sun off their direct skin, while humans would have to sweat 10-15 liters of water to physically cool down. (Verhaegen)
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When diversity is being discussed, there are a plethora of ideas that are associated with it. Whether people are talking being put on a waitlist for college, about people of color, or about representation in the media, the subject of diversity is not rare. Recently, the conversation of diversity has become more common because colleges want to demonstrate that they have diversified campus. How would diversity on campus be defined? Most importantly, diversity is more than having an extraordinary personality. Race, gender, sexuality, and social status are a few of the superfluous traits that make an individual unique in a college’s eyes. In Sophia Kerby’s article, “10 Reasons Why We Need Diversity on College Campuses”, she notes that, while there has already been an effort to diversify high schools and middle schools, accepting students of different backgrounds is not as apparent in higher education (1) . A university desires to diversify its campus in order to benefit the students that are attending the college. Students are not only likely to improve
Australia is home to the great barrier reef which is the world's largest coral reef system, and home to the kangaroo. Australia is the driest continent in the world. The outback is the part of Australia that few live in because it’s a vast desert (“Australia”). The great dividing range is a long chain of mountains that runs along the Pacific Coast of Australia (“Australia”). Australia is the driest inhabitable country in the world (“Australia”). The great barrier reef of Australia is the largest in the world (“Australia”). Australia is already a dry country and if the temperature rises anymore due to climate change than Australia could suffer from more severe forest fires and be doomed.
Diversity in a university is so important. First of all “diversity enriches the educational experience”. Students are able to learn from one another’s experiences. Also diversity helps maturity through most students. With diversity, students are able to learn about the other people’s experiences and are able to break down the stereotypical “walls” that our country has built. While students are breaking down these stereotypical “walls”, students will be able to effectively communicate with others of various backgrounds. As students learn about each other’s hardships or success, they will be capable of reaching a state of mutual respect for one another(On the Importance). “The higher education community stands committed to furthering the goals of equal opportunity and diversity on college...
I also learned that mathematics was more than merely an intellectual activity: it was a necessary tool for getting a grip on all sorts of problems in science and engineering. Without mathematics there is no progress. However, mathematics could also show its nasty face during periods in which problems that seemed so simple at first sight refused to be solved for a long time. Every math student will recognize these periods of frustration and helplessness.
Students have been writing essays since education was formalized centuries ago. There are several formats that they are taught throughout the course of their formal education, two of the most common being; Narrative, and Descriptive. Both of these have distinct characteristics that define them, and while they share many similar qualities and are developed to make the reader immerse themselves in the story. Narratives tend to have the power to capture and persuade on a deeper level than most descriptive papers. Two prime examples are the narrative I Want a Wife by Judy Brady and the descriptive essay Fish Cheeks by Amy tan. While they both do an exceptional job at delivering a lesson Brady’s causes you to think from the beginning, her use of the rhetorical devices such as pathos, ethos, and logos are incorporated with a heavy use of sarcasm and harsh remarks that claws for the reader’s attention.
Strait, David S. "The Feeding Biomechanics and Dietary Ecology of Australopithecus Africanus." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 12 Dec. 2008. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. .
Judy writes in her essay regarding the requirements that are demanded from a wife. She stresses the jobs of a wife are unfair and that there is a clear difference of inequality between a husband and wife. Fatigued by the inconsistency in the household work and the obvious work of a wife that does not get recognized, she communicates her feelings to us the readers. Brady shows her point with examples of household tasks that are mainly accomplished by a wife. Brady lists tasks after tasks which make it seems as being a wife is physically and mentally impossible, Brady then finishes her short story with a cry of desperation , "My God, who wouldn't want a wife?"
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The domesticated Bactrian camel has served as a pack animal in inner Asia since ancient times. With its tolerance for cold, drought, and high altitudes, it enabled travel such as the caravans of the Silk Road. The wild form has dwindled to a population estimated at 800 in October 2002 and has been classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Its range in the wild is restricted to remote regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and Chin...
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