1. Deserts, Nevada Ecology

2. Desert Biome  Less than 25 cm rain/year  May be hot or cold  Animals: scorpions, lizards, snakes, birds  Plants: cacti, sagebrush, grasses  Both flora and fauna are adapted to conserve water.

3. Fun Facts  3,872 known species in Nevada  2,875 are plant species  309 species found only in Nevada  Only 10 states are richer in biodiversity than Nevada *Endemic: term used for a native species not found anywhere else

4. *Major Ecoregions  *Great Basin  *Mojave Desert  *Columbia Plateau  *Sierra Nevada Fun Fact: 68 Percent of NV is covered by which ecoregion??

5. Great Basin Ecoregion  *“Cold desert” - Most precipitation falls in the winter  *Landlocked drainage basin - Rivers have no natural outlet to the ocean  *Bordered by mountains (Rockies, Sierra Nevada)

6. Great Basin Fauna rattlesnake sound http://www.californiahe rps.com/snakes/pages/ rattlesnakesounds.html *Rattlesnake *Mountain lion Lizards Bighorn sheep

7. Mojave Ecoregion  *Located in southern NV (Las Vegas)  Fewer mountain ranges and broader valleys than Great Basin  Temperatures range from 110 degrees in the summer to 25 degrees in the winter  *Receives less water than the other NV ecoregions  Usually less than 5 inches of rain, can get several feet of snow at the higher elevations

8. Lower Sonoran (below 400ft) Upper Sonoran (4000-5000ft) *Joshua Tree White Bursage *Yucca  Also numerous cacti throughout the ecoregion *Desert Tortoise Barrel Cactus Flora and Fauna of the Mojave Creosote

9. Columbia Plateau  *Located in northern NV  *Contains tablelands, intermountain basins, dissected lava plains and scattered mountains  *Cooler climate

10.  *Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Lower elevations – *juniper Higher elevations – *Douglas fir and aspen Flora and Fauna of the Columbia Plateau

11. Sierra Nevada Ecoregion  *Higher in elevation, receive more precipitation than the other regions  Rivers like Truckee and Walker provide water to Great Basin  Many mountain lakes and meadow/prairie areas  At the highest elevations, alpine conditions exist

12. Eastern slopes – white fir and lodgepole pine Western slops - Jeffery pine and lodgepole pine Higher elevations – red fir, mountain hemlock, western white pine Flora of the Sierra Nevada *Primarily Coniferous forest

13. Fauna of the Sierra Nevada  Black Bears  Clark’s Nutcracker