Acting Locally Part 1 Bio 280

The Chihuahuan desert is large area of the northern Mexico and runs into the southern part of the United Stated which include west Texas. The region of the desert has a high altitude of 1000 to 1500 meters which fall to about 350 meters along the Rio Grande River. Summers are very hot and the winter are somewhat cool, which some night frosts. Rainfall in this area is about 20-30 cm which mostly happens during the summer time. In most of the Chihuahuan Desert most of it has calcareous soil that are derived from the limestone beds. The Chihuahuan Desert has many types of vegetation such as Yucca, such as Torrey yucca or the banana yucca, they are very difficult in telling them apart because of hybridization, because they are group with a common name of Spanish daggers because they have sharp pointed leaves. In the event of a drought or freezing temperatures these plants are able to tolerate it. Other types of species in the Chihuahuan Desert is the greater roadrunner and reptiles such as the western diamondback rattlesnakes. A common bird species in the Chihuahuan Desert is the greater roadrunner which is a large, ground-dwelling cuckoo with brown, white and buff streaked look. They have a long tail, there face is blue and have an orange bare patch of skin behind their eyes. They eat insects, lizards, snakes, small birds as well as fruits and seeds. They are able to run as fast as 15 mph. There habitat is in the desert region of southern the United State and Central America, they are most common in the Chihuahaun Desert of the West Texas and the South Texas brush lands. There habitat consist of shrubs and thickets, the desert scrub and open lands. The western diamondback rattlesnake is one of the largest rattlesnakes in the Chihuahuan Desert, they are most common species of rattlesnakes in the lower desert. There length consist of more than seven feet in length and is considered the king of its species of the South western desert rattlers, not

References: Arkive, W. (2015). Widescreen Arkive. Retrieved from Western Diamond-Back Rattlesnake: http://www.arkive.org/western-diamond-backed-rattlesnake/crotalus-atrox/image-G56630.html Green, N. (2013, March 21). The Encylopedia of Earth. Retrieved from Rio Grande River: http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/155748/ Jr, R. H. (2014, April 28). Encylopedia Britannica. Retrieved from Rio Grand River, United States-Mexico: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/504243/Rio-Grande