What Types of Adaptations Must Desert Animals Make to Conserve Water?

Life in the desert is difficult, and animals must make many adaptations to survive in the arid climate. The heat of the sun and the scarcity of water require desert animals to conserve moisture within their bodies, developing methods of storing water internally and keeping it from escaping.

  1. Reducing Sun Exposure

    • The heat of the sun is a constant threat in the desert, causing living organisms to dry out and deplete their water reserves. Desert-dwelling species have developed many means of escaping from the sun. One method is reducing surface area --- a tiny creature is not as heavily impacted by the sun as is a larger animal. The vast majority of species that live in arid climates are very small. Another method is physically escaping the sun's presence. Many desert animals are nocturnal or crepuscular, active only at night or during twilight, and seek shade or underground burrows during the day.

    Preventing Water Loss Through the Skin

    • Keeping water from escaping through the skin is one important way to conserve water --- a method perfected by many desert denizens. Many creatures, such as the sand lizard and horned toad, have developed thick, impermeable skins. Desert mammals usually have fewer sweat glands than their counterparts in temperate climates and can survive much greater fluctuations of body heat. While an increase of just two degrees indicates illness in humans, a camel's body temperature can increase by as much as 14 degrees before it begins sweating.

    Preventing Water Loss Through Excrement

    • The urine and feces of most species contain a great deal of water. Desert animals, needing to conserve as much water as possible, cannot afford this luxury, and thus have developed dryer methods of discarding body waste. Desert birds excrete salt, unmixed with water, through glands near their eyes. The feces of many desert animals are hard, dry pellets, with next to no water content. Camels and kangaroos are even capable of converting urea into a usable protein, reducing the need to urinate.

    Retaining Water in the Body

    • While some creatures, such as desert rats, get all the water they need from the plants they eat, others still need to drink. Such desert animals often must go for a long time without water, and thus need ways to store extra fluids in their body. Contrary to popular opinion, the camel's hump stores fat, not water. Instead, the camel retains extra water by diluting its own blood, and storing the water in the bloodstream as well as in tissues all over the body. The desert lizard uses a similar method, retaining water in its intestinal tract for future use.