Desiccation facts for kids
Desiccation means becoming extremely dry. It's like when something loses almost all its water.
A desiccant is a special substance that loves water. It pulls water out of the air or from other things in a closed space, making them very dry. Think of those little packets in new shoes – that's a desiccant!
Biology
Some living things can handle being super dry. This ability is called desiccation tolerance. It means they can survive even when there's very little water, like during a drought.
Plants and animals that live in dry places, or in areas where water sometimes disappears (like temporary streams or ponds), need special ways to survive. They have developed amazing adaptations, either in their bodies (physiological) or in their actions (behavioural). For example, insects live in many different environments and have lots of tricks to avoid drying out.
Scientists often measure how well insects resist drying by checking their weight. If an insect loses a lot of weight in dry conditions, it means it lost a lot of body water.
Extreme Cases of Survival
Cryptobiosis is an amazing state where an organism seems to stop all its life processes. It has no detectable metabolic activity. This happens when conditions are extremely harsh, like being super dry or super cold.
Anhydrobiosis is a type of cryptobiosis. It means surviving the loss of almost all body water. It's like putting life on pause until water returns.
Tardigrades
Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are tiny creatures that can live in places most animals can't. In 2007, scientists found that some tardigrades could even survive 10 days in outer space! They can also live for more than ten years without any water.
Rotifers
Rotifers are tiny animals that are experts at living in places where water often dries up.
Some rotifers, called Monogononta, produce special 'resting eggs' when conditions get dry. These eggs can resist drought for a long time.
Another group, the Bdelloids, don't have males. When their habitat dries up, they curl into a tiny ball and lose almost all their body water. This is a form of cryptobiosis. Bdelloids can stay in this dry state for many years. The longest recorded dormancy was nine years! Once water returns, they can wake up and become active again.
Images for kids
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Desiccation cracks in sludge
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A vacuum desiccator (left) and desiccator (right). Silica gel with cobalt chloride indicator placed in the lower shelf is used as the desiccant.
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Callistemon hybrid desiccated by heat and dryness (Sydney)
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Desiccation of the L4-L5 and L5-S1 spinal discs are evident on color MRI as loss of blue color visible on these levels.
See also
In Spanish: Desecación para niños
