... over its effects on plants, animals, and people. The Mojave Desert covers parts of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Ivanpah, located in California's Mojave Desert, began producing electricity this January. Some animals that live in the hot desert are cold-blooded, like snakes, insects, and lizards. Some of these habitats are being destroyed or altered by humans. Many of us think of the desert, no matter which desert we are talking about, as a wasteland where nothing exists. Nocturnal animals include most desert rodents, bats, owls, mountain lion, skunks, and foxes. This list may not reflect recent changes . Its otherworldly beauty shelters a huge range of unique plants and animals, and its 20 million acres provide for people in a multitude of ways: clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, energy to power our lives, and economic opportunities from recreation to military training. The desert environment may seem an unlikely place for animals to thrive or even exist. Most of them are nocturnal, and come out at night, when is is much cooler in the desert. Because of its variety of habitats, the Mojave Desert is home to a tremendous diversity of plants and animals. The Mojave Desert makes for a suitable locale for a wide array of different reptile species, from lizards to snakes. Nocturnal animals include most desert rodents, bats, owls, mountain lion, skunks, and foxes. Other animals are crepuscular, active at dawn and dusk. Other animals are crepuscular, active at dawn and dusk. To survive in the Mojave Desert, the plants and animals here have to adapt themselves to some harsh abiotic factors that exist here. course.) Over 4,600 mammals have been documented worldwide in habitats that range from mountain, ocean, forest and desert. The desert tortoise is a land-dwelling turtle that only seeks out water when it needs to drink or bathe, and it can store up to a quart of water in its bladder during periods of drought. Most of them are nocturnal, and come out at night, when is is much cooler in the desert. Animals in the Mojave Desert. It is home to the desert tortoise, which is a threatened species. Mammals that live in the desert are usually small, such as the kangaroo rat and kit fox. Predatory animals include everything from snakes and reptiles to mammals and insects. This list may not reflect recent changes (). Diurnal animals, active during the day, are the most dynamic in that their activity periods change based on temperature and season. Mostly because of all the plants and animals that call the desert "home". Seemingly unrelated to dolphins both share echolocation, which is a form of communication through sound waves. This classic dry and arid desert environment spans portions of California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. Sometimes it's hard to survive in the desert. Creosote bush, shadscale, big sagebrush, bladder-sage, bursages and blackbush are common shrubs of the Mojave Desert. However, desert animals have adapted to their environment, and each fills an important niche in the desert … Its otherworldly beauty shelters a huge range of unique plants and animals, and its 20 million acres provide for people in a multitude of ways: clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, energy to power our lives, and economic opportunities from recreation to military training.