Tropical Rainforest

Tropical Rainforest By Blake, Jack, Ricky and Bella

Geography (Blake) I will teach you where this biome is found, a map that clearly identifies where this biome is, a description of the physical landscape and a explanation of how humans use the Tropical Rainforest.

Where is this Biome found? Tropical rainforest are usually located near the equator. Fifty seven percent of all tropical rainforest are found in Latin America. One third of the world’s tropical rainforest are in Brazil. Here is a map of where this biome is found.

Physical Landscape The tropical rainforest has dense and lots of thick trees. The tropical rainforest has most of the biggest trees in the open. They can go from 100-200 ft tall, they are exposed to dry winds. And they have a unusual root system compared to trees in the cities.

Human uses Humans use the tropical rain forest for many things, one thing that they use it for is for medicines. Did you know that 25% of all the medicines in the world come from the plants in the Rainforest. Also the tropical rainforest are home to many tribal groups, they are not named, but there are about 600 people that live in the rainforest.

Meteorologist (Ricky) Hi, I’m going to teach you about the climate and environment about Tropical Rainforests.

Weather and Climate Tropical Rainforests are very humid, receiving 250cm of rain each year. Tropical Rainforests are very wet because of the hot and cold weather near the rainforests. These rainforests are mostly found on or near the equator. The water on or near the rainforest evaporate so very quickly because of the heat of the sun. Because of the elevation the clouds can’t hold that much water vapor.

Temperature The average temperature of these rainforests, is about 77 degrees fahrenheight. Water can not freeze in these temperatures. The reason Tropical Rainforests are so hot is because there is so much radiation on the equator. Temperatures have never gotten below 64 degrees fahrenheight.

Environment You would die in 2 hours in a Tropical Rainforest without shelter because of the heat. You still die eve if the weather was humid. Certain animals have many sweat glands so they can withstand the heat.

Zoologist (Jack Cu) I will teach you about the A biotic an Biotic factors to help these types of animals. I will identify three herbivores, carnivores, omnivores rain forest food chains and decomposers. I also will teach you about adoptions and abiotic and biotic

Herbivores Howler monkey, howlers live high up in the forest canopy they eat fruits and nuts. Capybara, the worlds largest rodents lives on the forest floor and spends a lot of time in the water. They eat leaves and fruits and also plants from the bottom of rivers and lakes. Tapir, found on the floor also spend some time in ponds Amazonian tapirs are considered browsing herbivores feeding on herbaceous vegetation fruits they really like bananas and even aquatic plants.

Carnivores Green anaconda, at the top of the food chain and one of the larges snakes in the world. lives on the banks of the Amazon river and spends time in the water they eat large rodents small mammals, frogs fish. jaguar, the largest and most powerful member of the Amazon cats top of the food chain and among the largest living cats in the world Harpy hawk, lives in the emergent layer. Eats mostly small birds. This eagle eats anything and only a few animals are not thretend.

Omnivores Toucan, toucan live in the forest canopy. Eats tropical fruits spiders lizards frogs snakes and even plunder nests. Poison dart frogs lives in the leaves and plants on the floor of the rain forest near streams and rivers. White faced monkey, they quietly roam around the middle canopy in small groups looking for food.

Rain forest food chains As there is a plentiful and constant supply of food from the producers. This means that there are more primary consumers (an animal that that depends on plants e.g. caterpillar or katydid) here than any other ecosystem. This then means that there are more carnivores (secondary consumers) and thousands of decomposers to recycle the dead material. This means the rainforest the most complicated food web on earth. In order to survive then the insects have developed many defenses such as camouflage and poisons.

Decomposers Termites Termites make nest in the rain forest trees. They eat wood. They are eaten by frogs, birds, and giant anteaters Termites have a important job to eat dead trees

Adaptions Bark In drier, temperatures deciduous forest a thick bark helps to limit moisture evaporation from the tree trunk. Since this is not a concern in the high humidity of tropical rainforest, most trees have a thin smooth bark. The smoothness of the bark may also make it difficult for other plants to grow on their surface.

biotic Biotic factors are living things in an environment. Tropical rain forest is full of life with

Botanist (Bella) I will teach you about some of the plants in a tropical rainforest and how they adapted to life there.

Plant Factors Soil: The soil here is very poor and infertile so plants and tree’ s roots aren’t deep down. This is way some trees in the rainforest form buttresses and some plants grow prop and stilt roots. Climate: The climate here is warm and humid. This makes the plants decompose making new, fresh soil on top of the old for more plants to grow on. Also it is warm here all year round. Sun: The sun is bad here because all of the sun is being taken up. What I mean is that all the plants race up high to get the sun, that’s why rainforest have tall trees, etc. This means all the plants below don’t get as much sun resulting in them decomposing. Plants: The plants here are full of life usually with big, green leaves or small. Some plants here such as flowers are very colorful.

Plants Madagascar Rosy Periwinkle: It has white petals, a pink center, and glossy, green foliage It can be used a drug to cure childhood leukemia and cases of Hodgkin's disease Orchids: Common in tropical regions They grow on other plants Colorful flowers that come in white, pink, purple, etc.

Plants continued… Raffles’ Pitcher Plant: A pitcher plant It is carnivorous Found in Southeast Asia Can grow up to 30 ft. tall with the pitcher at 12 in. tall It is full of insects and sometimes small mammals and reptiles try to steal the insects but the plant gets them Bromeliads: Related to the pineapple family Has thick, waxy leaves Catches rainwater Provides homes to frogs and their tadpoles, salamanders, snails, beetles, mosquito larvae, etc. It is like a mini ecosystem

Plants continued… Lianas: Woody climbing vines that drape rainforests Adapted by having roots in the ground and climbing up to reach the sunlight Sometimes starts in trees and goes down Maidenhair Fern: Grows in the shaded parts of the rainforest Withstands hot summers by curling its fronds Very delicate Grows from 1 to 2 ft. in height Used to create herbal medicines

Plants continued… Elephant ears: Ground plant Massive leaved Mango tree: Green leaves Grows mangoes Mangoes turn reddish orange when ripe Animals such as monkeys eat the mangoes on the trees

Plants continued… Bird of Paradise: lives mostly in South Africa Has orange and blue petals Thrives in humid climates like the rainforest Red Passion Vine flower: Attracts birds and insects to it from its bright color Looks like it has 10 petals but it has only 5

Adaptations Bark: The trees have thin, smooth bark helping to adapt to other plants trying to grow on it. It makes it harder for plants to grow on the trunk so that they can reach the sunlight. Drip Tips: Leaves in the rainforest have drip tips helping to get the rain off the plant, considering this biome gets lots of rainfall. Plants also need there drip tips because if the rain stays on the plant bacteria and fungus can grow in the water infecting the plant.

Adaptations continued… Buttresses: These are massive ridges that form at the bottom of trees. They can grow up to 30 ft. tall before blending in the tree. Trees have these because the soil is unfertile and poor making the not being able to have deep roots. Buttresses provide support to the tree. Prop and Stilt Roots: These roots provide support to tropical palms in wet, shallow soils. These roots grow above ground but these roots grow very slowly sometimes only getting to 28 in. high in 1 month.

Adaptations continued… Epiphytes : These plants have adapted by growing on other plants like tree trunks and branches. They do this so that they can reach the sunlight at the top of the rainforest. Other tiny plants that live on the leaves of an epiphyte are called epiphylls.

Plant Pics Madagascar Rosy Periwinkle Orchids Raffles’ Pitcher Plant Bromeliads

Plant Pics continued… Lianas Maidenhair Fern Elephant Ears Mango tree

Plant Pics continued… Bird of Paradise Red Passion Vine Flower

Sources www.rainforest-australia.com www.aboutferns.com www.srl.caltech.edu Google images

Tropical Rainforest