Roundworm Landforms

The nematode or roundworm is a parasitic multicellular organism which inhabits a diverse range of environments including mountains, deserts and oceans. This ecology based seminar was about nematodes predominantly inhabiting bio crusts and desert landscapes and the research that was done by a grad student in the Mohave desert. Topics that were covered were the introduction of the love triangle (aka the study system), the landscape side of the relationship, bio crust side of the relationship, and finally the nematode side of the relationship. To begin, integrative studies were discussed which allow a holistic understanding of ecosystems. Landforms are the natural shapes or features of the earth's surface formed over time. There are a variety of distinctive types of landforms found on the earth including plateaus, hills, mountains, valleys and canyons. The love triangle (aka the study system) consists of the landscape, primary producers, and consumers. In the middle of the triangle is the complex problem.

It's useful to look at the surface especially in the desert and then try to go underneath. Sites where data was collected was the Mojave Desert. The climate data from the Mojave Desert had a network of weather stations. Two precipitation patterns were blue: 70% of stations west of 117 degrees and red: 90% of stations east of 117 degrees. There were diverse landforms on foot to meter scale. Desert pavement consists of a surface covered with rocks and pebbles touching each other so there are no spaces in between. The end result is very fine soil covered in salt. Water does not penetrate. Due to the saline solution plants cannot grow. In the pockets thousand year old shrub islands are found. The active channel is the surrounding network of channels which is non flat and is covered in rock fragments underneath. It looks like two landforms that are