Savannah
Julia Nardone and Jennifer Thai
Part 1: Brief Description & 5
Abiotic Characteristics
Savannas are grasslands with some scattered trees and
shrubs.
-Most savannas are between rain forests and deserts.
-They are located close to the Equator, both North and
South.
-Most receive about 30 to 40 inches of rain per year.
-There are dry seasons (which can last up to 5 months) and
wet seasons.
-The temperature is always warm, around 70 degrees F.
Savannah Locations
-Savannahs cover large
portions of Africa,
Australia, India, and
South America.
Savannahs are in
orange.
Climatograph
The dry seasons are
June through
September, and the
wet seasons are
October through
March.
3 National Parks
- Maasai Mara National
Reserve, Kenya
- Kidepo Valley National
Park, Uganda
- Central Kalahari Game
Reserve, Botswana
Come to the Savannah!
Come to the Savannah, where everything is
green; you’ll enjoy all the animals, it is quite
the scene.
Part 2: Biotic Factors/Food Web/Food
Chain
15 organisms that live in the Savannah: Antelope, Zebras, Cheetahs, Hyenas,
Lions, (African ) Elephants, Gazelles, Rhinoceros, Crocodiles, Acacia Trees,
Baobabs, Palms, Bermuda Grass, Plasmodium, and Trypanosomes
Adaptations that help with survival in the Savannah:
● Drought-resistant: Plants survive with little water from rainfall during the
long dry seasons
● Camouflage: Animals avoid predators in the open areas by blending in
with their surroundings
● Nocturnal: Animals that are nocturnal can burrow underground during the
day to escape predators, and come out to find food at night when it is safer.
3 Food Chains
1. Red oat grass
Zebra
Lion
2. Gazelle
Cheetah
Vulture
3. Bermuda Grass
Wildebeests
Termites
Food Web
Ecological Pyramid
Tertiary
Consumers:
Snakes, Predatory
Birds, Hyenas
Secondary
Consumers: Lions,
Birds, Leopards,
Baboons, Foxes,
Snakes
Primary Consumers:
Antelope, Zebras, Giraffes,
Gazelles, Rhinoceros,
Mice, Grasshoppers
Producers: Grasses (Red
Oat, Bermuda, etc), Trees
(Baobab Acacia)
Part 3: Symbiotic Relationships
and Competition
Mutualism: The oxpecker
and rhinoceros mutually
help each other. The
oxpecker eats the ticks off
of the rhinoceros’ backs
Commensalism
The egret benefits
from the buffalo, and
the buffalo remains
unaffected. The egret
rides on the backs of
the buffalo.
Parasitism
Plasmodium is a parasite to the mosquito.
Because it lives inside digestive tracts of
mosquitoes, it can withstand the dry season.
Competition
Cheetahs and lions compete for
food since they both prey on
zebras and other large animals.
Part 4: Human Impact and
Conservation
Threatened Species:
The African Wild Dog is
threatened/endangered in the African
Savanna. The number of African Wild
Dogs is declining due to disease and
loss of habitat. Also, farmers fear that
African Wild Dogs will kill their
livestock, so they hunt them in large
numbers.
Environmental Issues
One environmental problem that impacts this biome is overuse of land for
agriculture and grazing. These activities result in desertification and infertile
soil. Some possible solutions to address this problem would be to create more
parameters for appropriate distribution of the land for farming, and to
designate certain areas populated with a lot of wildlife as “no agriculture areas”.
References
African savanna. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/african_savanna.htm
Burke, C. (n.d.). What are some protists in tropical dry biomes? Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/
info_8713858_protists-tropical-dry-biomes.html
Edgar, T. (n.d.). African savanna animal adaptations: camouflage. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/savanna-animal-survivors/
Eveleigh, M. (n.d.). Africa’s 10 best safari parks. Retrieved from http://travel.cnn.com/
africas-10-best-national-parks-218773
Savanna animals. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna_animal_page.htm
Savanna biomes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna.htm
Sims, P. (n.d.). Savanna. In World book online. Retrieved from http://worldbookonline.com/student/
article?id=ar492880&st=savannah
Weaver, M Searching the Savanna. (n.d) retrieved October 2 2014, from ASU School of Life Sciences Web Site:
http://askabiologist.asu.edu/animals-savanna