Comparing two habitats
Biology · Key Stage 1 · The School
Two very different places
A desert is hot and dry. There is very little water. A rainforest is warm and wet. Rain falls almost every day. Same warmth, completely different amount of water. Both places are full of living things adapted to survive there.
Who lives in the desert
A camel stores fat in its hump. It can go days without water. Its wide feet do not sink into sand. A cactus stores water in its thick stem. Both are built for dryness.
Who lives in the rainforest
A sloth moves slowly and stays hidden in the leaves. A tree frog has sticky feet for climbing wet branches. Rainforest plants have huge leaves to catch what little light reaches the ground. Rainforest plants and animals depend on daily rain to survive.
Why they could not swap
Put a camel in a rainforest. Its body cannot cope with constant wet heat. Put a tree frog in a desert. Its skin would dry out fast. Each animal is suited to its own habitat, not to habitats in general.
Comparing conditions side by side
Desert: very little rain, huge temperature swings between day and night, sandy ground. Rainforest: rain almost daily, warm both day and night, thick plant cover overhead. A camel's body solves the desert's problems. A tree frog's body solves the rainforest's. Neither body solves the other place's problems.