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Adapting to a DESERT HABITAT.(Brief Article)
A desert is one of the most difficult habitats for plants and animals to survive in. Those that are able to survive have biological adaptations that help them cope with intense daytime heat and constant dryness.
Some plants, like the cactus, store water in their stems. Others have deep root systems that spread over a wide area under the ground. Still others simply drop their leaves during especially dry periods, since the leaves are plant parts that supply water.
Most animals in hot deserts are small, and they are nocturnal. That means they move about only at night. During the days, they sleep in burrows they have made under the ground, away from the heat of the sun. Desert animals get most of their water from the seeds, or insects they eat. One of these animals, the kangaroo, rat, never drinks a drop of water. It gets the water it needs from the seeds it eats.
The kangaroo rat also has body adaptations that help it retain water. For example, the kangaroo rat has a very long nasal passage, so little water is given off when it breathes.
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Source: HighBeam Research, Adapting to a DESERT HABITAT.(Brief Article)