Desert Ecosystems for Ecology Dummies

Antarctica: a cold, but not sandy, desert

We here at the Antisocial Network have yet to figure out just what it is that makes journalism and creative writing graduates think that they can answer any question about anything. Apparently someone teaches them that in Journalism 101… Well, they’re wrong: without either a basic understanding of the subject or a willing “interpreter,” these characters publish some of the most uninformative and uninformed twaddle on the web. Want an example? Let's see what creative writer Jess Kroll did with the question, “What Are Four Nonliving Things in a Desert Ecosystem?” at Sciencing.com…

Your average elementary ecology book will explain that there are both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) elements of an ecosystem, no matter whether it’s a forest, an ocean, the tundra, or a desert. The abiotic elements are those that are essential to life for the plants, animals, and other living things in an ecosystem. Sunlight, air, water, and soil are often cited, as well as climate. Kroll extracted that information somewhere, stating in his introduction that

“Abiotic components are those nonliving things, especially environmental elements that exist within the ecosystem, such as water, dirt and air. In a desert ecosystem, much of what designates the system as desert is nonliving.”

We aren’t sure that we’d call “dirt” an “environmental element,” but otherwise Jess is on the right track. Which is why it gets hilarious when Kroll gets around to listing five, not four, nonliving things in a desert ecosystem:

“Rock: As with most other ecosystems, rocks and other such chunks of solid earth are found all over the desert. Certain types of semi-precious materials such as quartz can be found among the rocks in desert ecosystems.”... Just what are “chunks of solid earth”? Quartz is a “semi-precious material”? What a maroon… “Sand: Made up of fine rock particles, sand is likely the most identifiable element of the desert ecosystem. As wind blows through flat land, with little vegetation to provide a shield, bits of rock break off to form sand.”... Good Lord, this idiot even says that sand is “fine rock particles” (which is only sometimes true), not to mention that he seems to think that 1) all deserts are sandy and 2) wind erosion is responsible for sand. Idiot.

• “Mountains: Although not typically associated with the image of flat, open deserts, mountains are often found within the ecosystem. Carved by strong winds over millions of years, desert mountains are often steep and craggy rather than smooth and rolling.”...  Ummm, no, Jess, mountains aren’t “carved by strong winds”! Think water, dumbass, either liquid or frozen!
• “Water: Although not as abundant in the desert ecosystem as in others, water is still found throughout the desert. The few types of life found existing in the desert depend on the presence of water, from running rivers to rain and runoff.”... “Few types of life”? Idiot – you blew a great chance to discuss adaptation, but you were too ignorant to mention it.
• “Air: Although omnipresent in all other ecosystems, air plays an especially important role in the creation of the desert. The lack of vegetation allows the wind to blow across the land and slowly carve up the rocks resulting in both sand and mountains.”... First off, air isn’t present in “all… ecosystems”: consider the marine ecosystem. And there’s that moronic wind erosion crap again…

Kroll blew the chance to discuss adaptation, even to define a desert on the basis of rainfall. He said zip about climate and sunlight, and bought into the roadrunner cartoon version of desert environments; with mountains and sand. He also missed the chance to disabuse his readers of the notion that deserts are hot (witness Antarctica). No, this scientific illiterate richly deserves his Dumbass of the Day award for this rubbish.

copyright © 2017-2022 scmrak

SI - ECOLOGY