This workshop is designed to help students assess the role of native animals within a desert ecosystem and compare them to animals in ecosystems within other biomes.

*Teacher Lesson Plan can be found at the bottom of this page*

**Links work best when signed into a Google Account. Student worksheets are forced copied so students can work directly on the respective Google Documents**

This video gives an introduction to desert animal adaptations showcasing native animals found within the Chihuahuan Desert. Adaptation strategies that desert animals have evolved in order to survive the harsh desert climate are outlined and specific animal species are shown.

Teachers are encouraged to have students consider and discuss how animals have adapted to their specific habitat. Considering climate change and the inevitable changes in habitats, students should discuss the impacts this might have on species' adaptations. Students should think about conditions in other biomes such as the tundra, eastern deciduous forests, and the tropical rainforest, and determine what adaptations help animals to survive and reproduce in those conditions. Students are encouraged to compare these different adaptations and decide/discuss whether animals from one biome could survive in another biome.

After completing this workshop, you should be able to identify and interpret the different types of adaptations in desert animals. You should also be able to decipher how animal adaptations in response to desert environments differ from those in other biomes.