Transcript Tropical Rain Forests

Tropical Rain Forests
Tropical Rain Forests
What are they?
Where are they?
How are they structured?
What plants and animals live there?
What
are
Tropical
Rain Forests?
Tropical Rain Forests are
characterized by:
Tall trees
Warm climate
Lots of rainfall
Where
are
Tropical
Rain Forests?
There are Tropical Rain
Forests in many places:
There are Tropical Rain
Forests in many places:
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central America
South America
Peru
Brazil
Marquesas Islands
Are there Tropical
Rain Forests in the
United States?
The United States does have
Temperate Rain Forests.
(But those are different from Tropical
Rain Forests.)
How are
Tropical Rain Forests
structured?
A Tropical Rain Forest
is made up of three layers :
Canopy
Understory
Forest floor
Canopy
The top layer
The branches and leaves of tall trees form a
canopy — like an umbrella — that shades the
forest floor
Epiphytes (air plants) thrive here
Tree frogs, swallowbill butterflies, howler
monkeys, jabirus, and long-tongued bats live
here
Epiphytes (Air Plants)
Tree Frog
Howler Monkey
Jabiru
Understory
The middle layer
Vines, trees, bushes, palms, and ferns
thrive in this hot and humid layer
Flowers do not tend to bloom here
because there is little sunlight
Flying foxes, spider monkeys,
kinkajous, and leaf butterflies live here
Flying
Fox
Ferns
Kinkajou
Forest Floor
The bottom layer
Only 1% (that’s 1/100th!) of the sunlight
actually reaches this layer
Wet leaves (“leaf litter”) are everywhere
Moss, fungi (mushrooms), and herbs
thrive here
Tarantulas, anteaters, leafcutter ants,
and peccaries live here
Anteater
Moss
Leafcutter Ants
Peccary
Now, turn to the person
next to you and tell them
something new you’ve
just learned about
Tropical Rain Forests!
Credits & Sources
Gibbons, Gail. Nature’s Green Umbrella:
Tropical Rain Forests. Singapore: HarperTrophy,
1997.
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