Talk about unique adaptations. Here is a video showing how lungfish and desert frogs are able to survive for years outside of water during periods of drought. The video also shows how thorny devils living in harsh desert environments absorb water through their skin. These adaptations may come in handy with climate change.
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I'd like to give you a very small selection of references and discussions about the link between global warming and drought.
Global warming probably has two major effects. First, more moisture gets into the atmosphere because warmer air passing over the oceans can take in more water. This can…
Back in 2007 a paper, Amazon Forests Green-Up During 2005 Drought, was published in Science:
Coupled climate-carbon cycle models suggest that Amazon forests are vulnerable to both long- and short-term droughts, but satellite observations showed a large-scale photosynthetic green-up in intact…
This is about the paper of the same name by A Dai, available from http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/cas/adai/papers/Dai-drought_WIRES2010.pdf.
To keep things in one place, here is the abstract:
This article reviews recent literature on drought of the last millennium, followed by an update on global aridity…
In the last few months, as the severe California drought has garnered attention among scientists, policymakers, and media, there has been a growing debate about the links between the drought and climate change. The debate has been marked by considerable controversy, confusion, and opaqueness.
The…
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/202/19/2567.full.pdf
Take a look at this and google annual killifish. Because I studied them, I think they are neater than lungfish or frogs. No disrespect intended. I have had eggs go for two years before ready to hatch.
I find this quite interesting. Having been to areas as dry as those mentioned, and living near some of them being from South Africa. You always find the strangest things in places where we wouldn't normally survive if not for ingenuity. It's fascinating that something that normally needs a constant supply of water can adapt to desert conditions. Another notable creature is a fish in death valley, which I ironically found out about before lungfish. Quite a strange occurrence regarding the fact that it lives in one of our planets driest areas. Unlike Africa where lack of water for long periods of time is often caused by drought and is as such abnormal, Death Valley is an actual desert where water is the abnormality.