Transcript Tropical Rainforests

Tropical Rainforests
By Harley Nefe, Katie Altabet, and
Sharon Slakter
1st Period
What Is a Tropical Rainforest?
• An ecosystem that occurs
roughly within the latitudes 28
degrees north or south of the
equator.
• Can be found in Asia, Australia,
Africa, South America, Central
America, Mexico, and many of
the Pacific, Caribbean and Indian
Ocean Islands.
Characteristics
• Receives around 50260 inches of rainfall
yearly.
• Temperature is usually
around 68ºF- 93ºF.
•Humidity will be
between 77-88%.
Ecological Services
• Nutrient cycling and soil formation, rain making, regulating
air quality, providing human necessities, and creating a
sustaining culture.
Economic Services
•
Wood sources
Abiotic Factors
• Amount of water
• Sunlight
•Climate
The Layers of the Tropical
Rainforest
• Top-most layer = emergent layer,
where the tallest of the trees reach
•Upper Canopy = 60-130 ft tall trees
that receive a lot of sunlight, blocking
it to areas down below. Most animals
live in this layer
•Understory layer = only a little sun
reaches here, a little wind, and a lot of
humidity. The plants here are broadleafed and do not get tall
•Forest floor = the last layer, no
sunlight, vegetation growth is nearly
impossible
Indicator Species- Animals
• Great Apes &
Monkeys- including
gorillas, orangutans
and spider monkeys
•Sloth
•Toucans
•Tropical frogs
Indicator Species- Plants
• Chocolate tree
•Coconut palm tree
•Strangler figs
•Durian
Keystone Species
1. Agouti (small rodent)
•
Brazil nut trees depend on
them to open their seed
pods
2. Orangutan
•
Dispersing seeds and
keeping diversity
Invasive Species
• Tropical Ash tree- it is taller
than the native trees, therefore
allowing them to receive less
sun, causing them to die out,
which is changing tropical
rainforests tremendously. The
Tropical Ash tree was
introduced in the 1930’s as a
timber species to be used for
wood products.
•Axoltl
Unique Creatures
•Jesus Lizard
•Capybara
•Satanic Leaf Tailed Gecko
•Proboscis Monkey
•Rhinoceros Hornbill
•Aye- Aye
•Bornean Flat-Headed Frog
•Okapi
•Glass Frog
Endemic Species
•Jaguars
•Tree Kangaroos
•Ocelots
•Platypus
•Cougars
•Sugar Gliders
•Wetas
•Dingoes
•Macaws
•Tasmanian Devils
•Toucans
•Kookaburras
•Gorillas
•Tuataras
• Kiwis
•Poison Dart Frogs
•Orangutans •Chimpanzees
Common Animals
• Anaconda
• Jaguar
• Toucan
• Poison Dart Frog
• Boa Constrictor
• Macaw
• Tree Snail
• Morpho Butterfly
• Rhinoceros Beetle
Common Plants
•Bromeliads
•Epiphytes
•Saprophytes
•Buttress Roots
•Lianas
Plant Adaptations
• Bark- helps limit moisture
evaporation from the tree’s
trunk, in the rainforests, trees
will have thin barks
• Drip tips- many trees have
these leaves to allow for rain to
fall off quickly
• Large leaves- to absorb more
sunlight
Animal Adaptations
•Camouflage
• Higher up living- the spider
monkey adapted to living in a
higher layer than most other animals
so there is less competition for food
• Diets- Toucans eat a diet heavy on
fruit to lower the amount of
competition and they have sharp
strong beaks to grab the fruit with
• Bright colors- Poison Dart Frogs
have bright colors to attract animals
but watch out, they’re poisonous!
Symbiotic Relationships
•Mutualism- leaf cutter ants and
fungi
•Parasitism- Strangler fig and
trees- the strangler fig will
eventually kill the tree its been
living on by stealing sunlight
and root space by enveloping it
•Commensalism- Bromeliads
will grow on other high branches
of trees to get enough sunlight
•Competition- Between all the
trees, only the tallest ones will
get the right amount of sunlight
needed
Threats to the Biome
•Human population growth
•Industrialized agriculture
•Logging
•Climate Change & shifting rain
patterns