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 50-260 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 broad-leafed 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 • Agouti (small rodent) • Brazil nut trees depend on them to open their seed pods • 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 • Jesus Lizard • Capybara • Satanic Leaf Tailed Gecko • Proboscis Monkey • Rhinoceros Hornbill • Aye- Aye • Bornean Flat-Headed Frog • Okapi • Glass Frog Unique Creatures

Endemic Species • Jaguars • Ocelots • Cougars • Wetas • Macaws • Toucans • Gorillas • Kiwis • Orangutans • Tree Kangaroos • Platypus • Sugar Gliders • Dingoes • Tasmanian Devils • Kookaburras • Tuataras • Poison Dart Frogs • 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!

Food Web

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

Tropical Rainforests