Tropical Rainforest: Amazon

Ariel Pitts

Tropical Rainforest

My biome is a Tropical Rainforest is a forest filled with trees and has year round warmth. Yearly rainfall is 50 to 260 inches and temperatures are usually never higher then 93 °F or lower then 68 °F. And almost all rainforest lie near the equator. Rainforest help us because it makes up 40% of all the earths oxygen and every ¼ medicine we use today comes from tropical rainforests.

Location Of The Amazon

The Amazon is the largest rainforest on earth. It is a vase region that crosses eight developing countries; Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana and some oversea territory in France.

The Amazon rainforest is located in South America and covers 2.1 million square miles of land.

3.1600° S, 60.0300° W are the coordinates for The Amazon

Climatogram The Amazon

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Plants Orchid is the largest family plant coming in all colors except for

black. They grow on rocks, soil and underground relying on certain insects and birds for pollination.

Brazil Nut Tree can reach up to 160 feet and known producing Brazil nuts. The tree relies on the agoutis, bees and other rainforest plants for survival

Cacao grows below altitudes of 1,000 feet in an area that receives about 4 inches of rain per month.

Rubber Tree produces latex and rubber and is a self healing tree and reproduces by scattering seeds about 100 feet from itself.

The Heliconia is a part of the banana family. The plant is also referred to as lobster claws or parrot flowers. The plant structure has bracts which is a colorful leaf that comes in pink, orange, yellow, green, purple or red. Bracts actually hide the plant’s flowers tucked inside of them, protecting the nectar so only certain birds, like the hummingbird, can reach it. Butterflies also enjoy the sweet nectar.

Animals Jaguars are strong swimmers and climbers and require large

areas of tropical rain forest and stretches of riverbank to survive. The Poison Dart frog uses its brightly colored skin to warn

predators that it is unfit to eat. The frog's skin secretes a dangerous poison that can paralyze and kill predators.

The black spider monkey is an essential part of the tropical rainforest ecosystem. They play a key role in seed dispersal, allowing their forest environment to continue to grow and thrive.

Sloths move through the canopy at a rate of about 40 yards per day, munching on leaves, twigs and buds. They live in trees and are great swimmers. They go to floor of the forest once a week to relieve themselves but try not to stay to long because its easy access to their predators.

The river dolphins only live in fresh water and they can found Amazon Basin.

Endangered SpeciesThe Jocotoco Antipitta is an

antbird about the size of a small melon and likes to hop around the forest floor. The bird was recently discovered in 1997 and protected within a reserve just in time. The birds have a very small range and are threatened by deforestation. Their numbers are decreasing.

Invasive Species

The Tropical Ash is an invasion to rainforest and is taller then most of the native trees therefore not allowing them sunlight causing them to die off. The tropical ash was introduced in the 1930's as a timber species to be used for wood products. It quickly spread and killed off many native trees.

Human Imapct

Trees have hidden attributes that play a key role in reducing pollutant levels. Take carbon dioxide (CO2) for example, a gas emitted from both natural and human sources. Over the last 150 years, humans have been pumping massive amounts of CO2 into the air by burning fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas - this is a major driver for global climate change. As deforestation continues the greenhouse affect will be more pronounced and climate change may possibly get worse in the future. As the Amazon Rainforest biome slowly shrinks in size, so does the richness of wildlife found in its forests, along with the potential use of plants and animals that remain undiscovered.

Work cited

2014 World Wildlife Fund http://www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon

 ALLYSON KOERNER FEBRUARY 8, 2012 http://www.ecorazzi.com/2012/02/08/ten-amazing-rainforest-plants/

ANRPC 2012, Bailey et al. 1976, Encyclopedia Britannica 1993, Flora of China 2008, Wikipedia 2012 http://eol.org/pages/1142979/details#habitat

 Jyotsna February 24, 2012http://greenbuzzz.com/nature/most-endangered-species-in-amazon-rainforest/

Lauren Hauberg 2012 http://lo2fosho.blogspot.com/2011/01/invasive-species.html