Plant & Animal Life in the Great Salt Lake Desert
Utah’s intense Great Salt Lake Desert has a harsh climate. It is difficult to believe that any life form could survive for a long period in its extreme conditions. With no cities or rest stops, even driving across the desert is a test of human endurance. However, the Great Salt Lake Desert is home to highly adaptive plant and animal life that has existed for thousands of years. Does this Spark an idea?
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Geography
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The Great Salt Lake Desert in northwest Utah is a 4,000 square mile dry lake. It borders the Great Salt Lake and extends to the Nevada border. The landscape consists of evaporated salt deposits from extinct lakes, and receives about 5 inches of rain annually. The arid environment, where 10 percent humidity or less is common year round, has summer temperatures that reach more than 100 degrees. Winter months average 30 to 40 degrees with some snow. This intense climate tests the survival abilities of its diverse plants and animals.
Plants
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The Blue Grama’s root system is extremely resistant to the salt environment making it an important grass for food. Utah’s state flower, the Sego Lily, has paper-thin white petals and silky bulbs that provide a diet for birds and insects. The tumbleweed dispenses its seeds, about 200,000 per plant, as it rolls. The desert has its share of flowers like the bright yellow Buckwheat, the Golden Poppy and the Wallflower with its dark orange petals and spicy fragrance.
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Winter Grazing Plants
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The extreme desert temperatures can deplete food sources in the winter. Winterfat is a prized plant for its white blossoms and fruit-flavored leaves for birds. Cheat grass and Foxtail provides food for rabbits and gophers. Saltgrass and Sagebrush is adequate for food if other vegetation is bare.
Features
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Desert plants, called xerophytes, have special features necessary for survival. Spines instead of leaves, such as on the Prickly Pear, reduce water loss. Plant stems that retain moisture as found in the aloe vera. Thin hairs on a plant, trichomes, reduce the flow of dry air that slows evaporation. The fibers also reflect the sun’s heat. Plants that grow most of its leaves underground like the living stone plant. Desert plants also have a slower growth rate to conserve water and nutrients.
Animals and Birds
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An abundance of wildlife supports the desert’s ecosystem. The coyote eats lizards, mice, birds and larger prey like the gray fox, a smaller carnivore. The zebratail, spiny and Great Basin lizards feed off insects like cicadas and Mormon cricket. The lizards are a favorite food for the hawk and roadrunner that runs up to 17 mph. The western jay favors flowers and berries of desert plants. The white dove prefers the fruit from the Saguaro cactus.
Features
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The desert wildlife has developed distinctive attributes that add their survival. A main feature for many animals is a nocturnal lifestyle that allows them to rest during the day and hunt at night. Reptiles have long slender bodies that are aerodynamic and cool faster. Rodents burrow into the cooler soil while lizards have recessed eyes and thick eyelids that slow evaporation. Longer eye lashes on the fox and coyote shield their eyes from the sun. Most desert wildlife gets moisture from the food it eats.
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References
- Photo Credit desert plants image by Carol Tomalty from Fotolia.com
