1.3 Fauna.
Because Uluru is a rock there is actually no animal living on it. However, when the rain appears and the water gathers in pools atop Uluru, some crustaceans hatch from their eggs and reproduce to lay more eggs. In this way some different species are created e.g.: fairy or brine shrimp, shield or tadpole shrimp and clam shrimp. However, when the pools dry up, the eggs lie inactive until the next rains. [21] Nevertheless, there is a great number of animals living around or in the vicinity of Uluru. Fauna plays an important role as a great variety of animals has been a source of food for local tribes. Mammals, red kangaroos, marsupial mice and spinifex hopping mouse belong to the most popular. Dingo is one of the largest predators in Australia. It is a hunter but it can also feed on insects and plants. Aborigines treat it as a camp dog. [22] There is also a considerable number of species of birds and species of reptiles together with thousands of species including bugs, spiders and ants. [21].
1.4 Flora.
What influences the growth and reproduction of plant communities most is irregular rainfall. Some plants cannot reproduce without water, however other are able to survive fire. Plants have a great meaning for Tjukurpa, as some of them are associated with ancestral beings.
Around rocky areas there are plants that grow in shallow, sandy soils e.g.: bush plum or rock fig. [picture 2] So called ˜Puti' (scrubland) can be found in a ring around Uluru. Mulga or Centralian Bloodwood belong to the most common trees there. They are used to make tools such as spearheads, boomerangs and bowls. [16].
1.5 The climate and seasons.
It is surely not surprising that it can get exceptionally hot in the desert. Maximum temperatures in summer average 37.8 °C. However, at night in winter it can get quite cold " the average low temperature is 4.7 °C. The average rainfall is 284.6 mm per year.
Local aboriginal people distinguish more than four seasons.
