Vishal Mehta

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• Vishal Mehta
• Lee Ringer
• Justin Seager

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Just Some Info

• Nicknamed the Mediterranean Biome.
• Found a little bit on every continent, but
  primarily in California.
• Used in Wild West movies.

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Description and General Information

• The Chaparral is located all over the world. It
  is on the west coast of the United States, the
  west coast of South America, near Cape Town in
  South Africa, western side of Australia, and
  coastal areas of Mediterranean.
• Chaparral is a Spanish word that comes from
  chaparro, which means evergreen oak.

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Continued

• Some of the plant life contains poison oak, scrub
  oak, Yucca Wiple, trees and cacti.
• The animal life had to adapt to the warm and hot
  conditions. These animals are coyotes, jack
  rabbits, mule deer, alligator lizards, horned
  toads, praying mantis, honey bee and ladybugs.

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Climate

• The Chaparral, during the winter, is mild and
  moist, but not rainy.
• During the summer it is hot and dry at 40 C, so
  fires and droughts are very common. 
• Over the duration of the year, the Chaparral gets
  about 10-17 inches of rain. 
• Chaparrals are located in prevailing westerly
  winds.  This is why Chaparrals are located on
  western sides of countries. 
• Chaparrals can be found from 30 to 50 N and 30
  to 40 S latitudes.

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Biomass and Productivity

• Biomass is the amount of living matter in a given
  habitat, expressed either as the weight of
  organisms per unit area or as the volume of
  organisms per unit volume of habitat.  
• Productivity is producing readily or abundantly,
  or fertile.  
• The productivity of the Chaparral biome is low
  due to how hot and dry the area is. 
• The soil quality of this biome is very poor in
  nutrients, so it ranks very low in productivity.

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Threats

• The chief threat to the Chaparral biome is human
  development. 
•  Many people wish to live in a warm climate
  situated near the coast. 
• Los Angeles and San Francisco are examples of
  expansion in these biomes. 
• Another threat to the Chaparral biome are fires. 
• Due to the dryness of the air and flammability of
  the plants, it is easy for fires to start
  naturally or by humans.  

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The Aardwolf

• Related to hyenas, but have different
  characteristics and adaptations.
• They have non-retractable claws to dig in the
  dirt for termites, which are abundant in this
  biome.
• Their weak, widely spaced, and rounded teeth help
  them chew the small insects.
• Their acute sense of smell and hearing help them
  find termites that reside underground.
• Has a long, sticky tongue, which is useful in
  lapping up termites in large amounts.
• When under attack, they emit a musky fluid from
  their anal glands, much like a skunk.

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The Blue Oak

• The dry, hot conditions of the Chaparral have
  caused many adaptations on this plant species.
• Can survive temperatures above 100 degrees
  Fahrenheit for weeks at a time.
• Go dormant in extremely dry and hot years by
  shedding leaves.
• Leaves have waxy coating to help conserve water.
• Extensive root system helps to survive in harsh
  and arid conditions.
• Thick, light-colored bark reduces fire damage.