Tropical+Rainforest

By April Sun
 * Tropical Rainfo[[image:rainforest.png align="left"]]rest **

The Tropical Rainforest biome is found in various locations near the equator. It is characterized by a year-round warm and humid climate with high levels of rainfall. Although this biome only encompasses about 6%﻿ of the earth’s surface, this it supports more than half of the world’s species and produces 40% of the oxygen in the global atmosphere.

Within a Biome or Life Zone describe: 1. A geographic location where the biome or aquatic life zone can be found The Tropical Rainforest can be found in the Amazon Rainforest of South America. This rainforest stretches across a majority of the Amazon Basin, and consists of countries such as Brazil and Peru.

2. Describe the general abiotic conditions of the biological community that exists in the biome or aquatic life zone. -hot and humid climate -high levels of rainfall (between 50-260 inches annually) -humidity between 77-88 percent -temperatures between 68 and 93 degrees Fahrenheit -abundant sunlight (above the canopy) -located near the equator -little seasonal variation

3. Give specific examples of:

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">a. Native species

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Bengal Tiger (Tigris tigris), a large, carnivorous predator that feeds on boars, wild oxen, and monkeys. This animal is native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia.



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Golden Lion Tamarin (Leontopithecus Rosalia)- an extremely endangered monkey, highly valuable for its exquisite mane (a bright gold and reddish-orange hue). This mammal is native to the tropical rainforests of Brazil.



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- an interesting tree that begins as an epiphyte, growing on another plant while taking in nutrients and moisture from the atmosphere, eventually growing aerial roots which extend to the ground and become accessory roots.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-This tree is native to the tropical rainforests of India and Pakistan.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">b. Non-native or invasive species- what impact does it have on the area?



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Native to Australia but accidentally introduced to the rainforests of Guam through imported cargo in the 1950s

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Devastated the local bird, lizard, and bat population

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Because the island lacked predators, the Brown Tree Snake population increased to extraordinary levels



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-This caused the extinction of several native species, as well as an extensive loss of domestic birds and pets

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Also traumatized residents and children by invading domestic areas



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Tropical Ash (Fraxinus udhei)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- introduced to Hawaii as a potential timber tree

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">- displaces native species such as the slow-growing Ohia Tree

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-can completely disrupt the ecosystem by supplanting keystone species

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">c. Indicator species- desccribe how it behaves as an indicator

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Glass frog

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-they are extremely sensitive to environmental conditions

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-global warming causes their normally humid habitats to become too dry

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-this leads to a decrease in the population



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Poison Dart Frog

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-sensitive to a number of environmental factors <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-pollution, loss of habitat, change in atmospheric conditions…etc can affect Poison Dart Frog populations <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-the Poison Dart Frog is an excellent indicator of environmental health

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">d. Keystone and/or Foundation species- explain importance



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Strangler Fig (Ficus destruens)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-the Strangler Fig is a keystone species because many species such as parrots, hornbills, toucans, monkeys, gibbons, and fruit-eating bats, feed on the fruit of this tree

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-if this species were to disappear from the Tropical Rainforest biome, many animal populations would crash or become extinct, as the fig is a crucial resource for many species

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">e. Interspecies competition avoidance – describe how resources are shared without direct competition

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Rainforest Tree Squirrels in Makokou, Gabon <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-9 species were studied and exhibit resource partitioning <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-2 species were restricted to specific habitat types <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-the other 7 species were split into sections on a vertical vegetation column <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-4 species tree feeding, 3 species ground-foraging <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-some are frugivores, some are omnivores <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Source: []

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">f. Give an example of a predator-prey relationship- give details on the relationship



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja), Sloth (Bradypus variegatus)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-the Harpy Eagle preys on the Sloth

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-the sloth is slow, allowing the Harpy Eagle to easily swoop down and snatch it from from amongst the branches

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">g. Symbolic relationship (parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism)- give details on the relationship

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Mutualism

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Brazil nut trees (Bertholletia excelsa) and the Agouti (Dasyprocta leporine) rely on each other in a mutualistic relationship.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-the Agouti is the only animal with teeth strong enough to pry open Brazil nut seed pods.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-as it feeds on the tree’s nuts, the Agouti also buries caches in various locations around the rainforest <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-this disperses the seeds, allowing the Brazil nut tree to grow in a broader area



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Commensalism

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-Epiphytes such as bromeliads grow on a host tree

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-however, these plants do not deprive the host of nutrients

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-they instead acquire moisture and nutrients from the atmosphere



<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Ticks (Acari Ixodidae)

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-will attach themselves onto a mammal by inserting its chelicerae into the skin, and will proceed to drink the blood of the host

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-the host does not benefit

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">4. Current event article (within the past five years) that describes the health and current state of a specific location related to biome/ aquatic life zone- write a brief description of the main focus of the article and include URL to it.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">"Amazon Rainforest destruction accelerated due to fragmentation"

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-animal and plant species are becoming extinct in the Amazon more rapidly than ever. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-this is largely due to forest fragmentation, which benefits fast-growing tree species <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">-this does not allow for slow-growing tree species, ones that bear fruit and provide habitats for a variety of animals, to grow <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">-William Laurance’s team of the Smithsonian record that the rainforests have been severely depleted within the last few decades.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">article: []

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Sources: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">[]

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 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Photos: **