Tropical Rain

Forest

Characteristics

▪ Climate

▪ 250 cm per year of precipitation

▪ Humid

▪ rarely gets higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F (20 °C)

▪ Location: The area between the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N latitude) and the Tropic of Capricorn

(23.5° S latitude)

▪ Rainfall: rainforests receive at least 80 inches (200 cm) of rain per year.

▪ Canopy: rainforests have a canopy, which is the layer of branches and leaves formed by closely

spaced rainforest trees. Most of the plants and animals in the rainforest live in the canopy. The

canopy may be 100 feet (30 m) above the ground.

▪ Biodiversity: rainforests have a high level of biological diversity or “biodiversity”. Biodiversity is

the name for all living things—like plants, animals, and fungi—found in an ecosystem. Scientists

believe that about half of the plants and animals found on Earth’s land surface live in rainforests.

▪ Symbiotic relationships between species: species in the rainforest often work together. In a

symbiotic relationship, two different species benefit by helping each other—you can think of it as

a partnership. For example, some plants produce small housing structures and sugar for ants. In

return the ants protect the plants from other insects that want to feed on the plant’s leaves.

Tropic of Capricorn

Tropic of Cancer

Equator

Tropical Rain Forests

Worldwide

Typical Flora and Fauna

▪ Contains up to 30 million species

▪ Around 15,000 tree species – more than

10% are threatened

▪ Over 900 threatened bird species

▪ 4 layers: emergent layer, canopy layer,

understory layer, and forest floor

▪ Many species are located ONLY here!!!

Plants

▪ Cecropia Tree: Sprays formic acid and

are covered by armies of ants.

▪ Matapalo Strangling Fig: Grow up and

tangle around the trunk of the host tree.

▪ Heliconia Flower: It’s shape fits the

hummingbirds bill. Hummingbirds

pollinate these flowers.

▪ Rafflesia: Produces largest flower in the

world. One of the worst smelling

flowers.

▪ Stag’s-Horn Fern: Epiphyte. Forms two

types of fronds

▪ Amazon Basin’s Royal Water Lily:

Support a child’s weight. Has spikes on

the bottom to keep away predators.

Animals

▪ Armadillo: It’s scaly surface protects it. Rolls up for

protection.

▪ Gorillas: Endangered species. Largest of the apes.

▪ Mandrill: Males have elaborate face patterns. They have long

mobile snouts and sharp claws for digging.

▪ Macaw: Brightly colored parrots. Crack hard nuts with their

big, strong bills.

▪ Peacocks: Males have a remarkable tail that it uses during

mating displays.

▪ Quetzal: They have emerald green heads, black and green

tail feathers, and the under parts are red, black, and white.

▪ African Snake Millipede: Reaches eleven inches. Bright red

with black head. Squirts out a stinking and irritant liquid

called benzoquinone.

▪ Ogre-Faced Spider: Makes webs above a regularly used ant

trail and hangs from the web to capture them.

▪ Theraphosa Leblondi: One of the largest spiders. Have a

potent venom and only attack if severely provoked.

▪ Darwin’s Frog: The males takes protection to an extreme

level. It holds the fertilized eggs in the mouth for protection.

Adaptations

▪ Animals – must be able to live in a warm climate with lots of annual rainfall

▪ Many animals (and reptiles, insects, etc.) disguise themselves in the forest by blending in with their surroundings

▪ Plants – must be able to live in warm climate with lots of annual rainfall, lack of sunlight (forest floor), or a lot of sunlight (emergent and canopy layers)

Dominant Species: Plants

▪ Bengal Bamboo

▪ Often grows as an undergrowth

scattered or in patches in the

forest.

▪ It likes temperatures between 40

degrees Fahrenheit and 100

degrees Fahrenheit.

▪ Coconut Tree

▪ Grow to be 50-80 feet.

▪ They all have a tall graceful trunks

topped by a crown light feathery

leaves that are 15-17 feet long.

Dominant Species:

Animals

▪ Bengal Tiger

▪ The weight of the tiger can be up to 575

pounds.

▪ The Bengal tiger can get up to ten feet long

and three feet tall.

▪ Chimpanzee

▪ Chimpanzees are about 3 to 5 feet tall and

weigh from 99 to 176 pounds.

▪ The favorite food of chimpanzees are fruits

and young leaves, but they like many

different types of food.

▪ King Cobra

▪ Adults weigh 12-20 pounds.

▪ Their fangs can grow a 1/2 inch.

▪ The King Cobra can grow up to 12-18 feet.

Food Web

Coconut TreesOrchids Seeds Banana Trees Bamboo

Macaws Fruit Bats Monkeys Insects

Chimpanzees Parrots

Vampire Bats Iguanas Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Python Jaguar

Great civilisations

▪ Today most forest dwellers live in

small settlements or practice nomadic

hunting and gathering. In the past,

tropical rainforests and surrounding

areas supported great civilizations like

the Mayas, Incas, and Aztecs that

developed complex societies and

made important contributions to

science.

▪ These great civilizations faced some

of the same environmental problems

(excessive forest loss, soil erosion,

overpopulation, lack of water supplies)

that we face today. For the Maya, the

damage they caused to the

environment apparently was great

enough to cause their downfall.

Tilak

Machu picchu

Rainforest peoples

▪ Tropical rainforests are home to tribal peoples who rely on their surroundings for

food, shelter, and medicines. Today very few forest people live in traditional ways;

most have been displaced by outside settlers or have been forced to give up their

lifestyles by governments.

▪ Of the remaining forest people, the Amazon supports the largest native, or

indigenous populations, although these people, too, have been impacted by the

modern world. While they still depend on the forest for traditional hunting and

gathering, most Amerindians, as American indigenous people are called, grow

crops (like bananas, manioc, and rice), use western goods (like metal pots, pans,

and utensils), and make regular trips to towns and cities to bring foods and wares to

market. Still, these forest people can teach us a lot about the rainforest. Their

knowledge of medicinal plants used for treating illness is unmatched, and they have

a great understanding of the ecology of the Amazon rainforest.

▪ In Africa there are native forest dwellers sometimes known as pygmies. The tallest

of these people, also called the Mbuti, rarely exceed 5 feet in height. Their small

size enables them to move about the forest more efficiently than taller people.

Housing in rainforests

What they want to say about this?

We don't need walls on our houses for

anything. It doesn't get cold here, and we

don't need much privacy at all. Privacy to

us is a lot different than what you may be

used to.

If you came here and built a simple

house, put walls around it, and wrote

your name on the door, that doesn't

mean that it is “off limits” or “private”. But,

we do practice privacy when we bathe in

the river. Even though we don't wear a

lot of clothing usually, the women bathe

at one time or place and the men at

another.

Are you used to having your own room at

home? Well, you sure wouldn't get your

own room around here!

To build our house, we put up some

poles to support a thatched roof. Since it

rains here so much, we do a good job in

making the roof to have as few leaks as

possible.

Advantages of a rainforest

• help stabilize the world’s climate

• provide a home to many plants and animals

• maintain the water cycle

• protect against flood, drought, and erosion

• are a source for medicines and foods

• support tribal people

• and are an interesting place to visit

Random Facts

▪ Rainforest occupy 6% of the Earth’s surface

▪ 350 million of the world’s poorest people depend on forests for their subsistence & survival

▪ Rainforests produce 20 – 30% of the world’s oxygen

▪ U.S. National Cancer Institute has identified over 1400 tropical forest plants with the potential to fight cancer

▪ Rainforests are the source of an estimated 2500 edible fruits

▪ Every year at least 50 million acres are destroyed – an area the

size of England, Wales, and Scotland combined

▪ Over 900 threatened bird species

▪ U.S. imports over $20 million worth of rainforest plants for

medicinal purposes annually