UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information
What/how is the photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the desert?
Question Date: 2020-12-08
Answer 1:

Hi Flannery! I'm not sure whether I understand your question, but my guess is that you are asking how plants and animals survive in deserts.

Generally, the process of either photosynthesis or cellular respiration should be the same regardless of where you are, but your ability to perform this process well will change depending on the environment you are in. As you can imagine, there are quite a few reasons why deserts are unpleasant to live in. First, the temperature during the day can soar to as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit (I usually already feel uncomfortable at 80 degrees so 120 is a lot!). What's worse is that the deserts can get very cold at night. And by definition, deserts are areas where there is very little rainfall, so no water source.

But despite all these reasons, there are plants and animals that have adapted to survive in the deserts. The goals for these plants and animals are conserving water and avoiding extreme temperatures. Plants often have thin leaves or succulent stems (think cactus) to store water, while animals survive by living underground during the heat of the day and only going out and about at night. Some animals like camels also evolve to live in deserts by reducing the amount of sweat and metabolism (to conserve water) and having heavy fur (to protect against extreme heat).

Hope this helps. Please reach out again if this does not answer your question.

Note from ScienceLine moderator:
Your would like to read the following links about photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
link 1.
link 2.

Best,


Click Here to return to the search form.

University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use