Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Fire adaptations are traits of plants and animals that help them survive wildfire or to use resources created by wildfire. These traits can help plants and animals increase their survival rates during a fire and/or reproduce offspring after a fire. Both plants and animals have multiple strategies for surviving and reproducing after fire.
For example, plants of the genus Eucalyptus contain flammable oils that encourage fire and hard sclerophyll leaves to resist heat and drought, ensuring their dominance over less fire-tolerant species. [17] [18] Dense bark, shedding lower branches, and high water content in external structures may also protect trees from rising temperatures. [19 ...
The fennec fox's large ears help keep it cool: when the blood vessels dilate, blood from the body cycles in and dissipates over the expanded surface area. [1]A xerocole (from Greek xēros / ˈ z ɪ r oʊ s / 'dry' and Latin col(ere) 'to inhabit'), [2] [3] [4] is a general term referring to any animal that is adapted to live in a desert.
The animals are vulnerable to bushfires due to their slow speed and the flammability of eucalypt trees. [23]: 26 The koala instinctively seeks refuge in the higher branches where it is vulnerable to heat and fire. Bushfires divide the animal's habitat, which isolates them, decreases their numbers, and creates genetic bottlenecks.
For some species of pine, such as Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), European black pine (Pinus nigra) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), the effects of fire can be antagonistic: if moderate, it helps pine cone bursting, seed dispersion and the cleaning of the underwoods; if intense, it destroys these resinous trees.
Other animals that use them are hares, mongooses, hyenas, owls, pythons, and lizards. Without these refuges many animals would die during wildfire season. [35] Only mothers and young share burrows; however, the aardvark is known to live in small family groups or as a solitary creature. [6]
The dens are usually lined with moss plants, thistledown, dried grass, and feathers. These perhaps provide and assist in the insulation of the den, used to reduce heat loss. A cover to the den is usually built afterwards. [46] Eastern gray squirrels also use dens for protection from predators and to help them look after their young.
A so-called "cathedral" mound produced by a termite colony. Structures built by non-human animals, often called animal architecture, [1] are common in many species. Examples of animal structures include termite mounds, ant hills, wasp and beehives, burrow complexes, beaver dams, elaborate nests of birds, and webs of spiders.