3 of 3 results for "arid ecosystems"
Student Article
10 Remarkable Desert Plants That Survive in the Harshest Places on Earth

The article "10 Remarkable Desert Plants That Survive in the Harshest Places on Earth" from BBC's Discover Wildlife is an exploration of extraordinary plant species uniquely adapted to life in deserts. Highlighting everything from the ancient date palm to the fog-harvesting tara tree and water-storing saxaul, the article showcases the ways that desert flora thrive in places with extreme heat, dryness, or even cold.

Video
A Locust Invasion in the Deserts of Peru

In A Locust Invasion in the Deserts of Peru, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how sudden rains bring life to the otherwise arid deserts of Peru, creating a burst of vegetation. Swarms of locusts take advantage of this new growth, consuming the vegetation and causing a dramatic impact on the desert ecosystem. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth II, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.

Playlist
Desert Animals Around the World: A BBC Video Playlist

Deserts look empty. They are anything but.

From the sun-scorched dunes of the Sahara to the scrubby plains of Australia, desert animals have cracked one of nature's toughest puzzles: how to survive where water is scarce, temperatures are brutal, and food is hard to find. In this playlist, you'll meet the remarkable species that call these landscapes home — from the iconic camel and the lightning-fast hawk to the bounding kangaroo and the armored pangolin.

Each clip, drawn from landmark BBC series including Seven Worlds, One Planet and Planet Earth II, puts you face-to-face with real desert survival in action. Some animals store water and energy for enormous journeys across open terrain. Others hunt by night, move in short bursts, or use camouflage so good they practically disappear. Every strategy is different. Every one is extraordinary.

As you watch, think bigger: How do animals adapt to temperatures that would stop most creatures in their tracks? What physical traits make desert life not just possible, but thriving? And how do these species — predator and prey, reptile and mammal — depend on each other to keep desert ecosystems in balance?

This playlist won't just teach you about deserts. It will make you see them differently.