Tropical Rainforest & Intertidal Zone

1. Tropical Rainforest & Intertidal Zone

2. Tropical Rainforest • is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator • Rainforests are home to half of all the living animal and plant species on the planet • It is likely that there may be many millions of species of plants, insects and microorganismsstill undiscovered in tropical rainforests.

3. Types of Tropical Rainforest • Lowland equatorial evergreen rain forests: These forests occur in a belt around the equator. • Moist deciduous and semi-evergreen seasonal forests: Some trees in these forests drop some or all of their leaves during the winter dry season. • Montane rain forests: some of which are known as cloud forests • Floodedforests

4. ForestStructure • Forestfloor: Only plants adapted to low light can grow in this region • Understory Layer: is home to a number of birds, small mammals, insects, reptiles, and predators • Canopy Layer: is the primary layer of the forest forming a roof over the two remaining layers. • Emergent Layer: contains a small number of very large trees, called emergent

5. INTERTIDAL ZONE • is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide • A typical rocky shore can be divided into a spray zone or splash zone also known as the supratidal zone • The intertidal zone is one of a number of marine biomes or habitats, including estuaries, neritic, surface and deep zones.

6. Zonation • Marine biologists and others divide the intertidal region into three zones: • Low • Middle • High