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Tropical Rainforest Biome - Coggle Diagram
Tropical Rainforest Biome
locations:
Amazon Basin
Congo Basin
South East Asia
are usually located within the latitudes of 28 degrees north or south of the equator. In the equatorial zone between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.
Characteristics:
Warm and wet
temperature exceed 18 degrees C during all months of the year.
Average annual rainfall is no less then 168cm and can exceed 1,000 cm
high level of precipitation often result in poor soils due to leaching of soluble nutrients
equatorial climate
parameters
temperature
rainfall
dry season intensity
many trees
mostly tall trees
layers of the forest:
Strata (layers) organized from top of soil to the canopy. Vertical pattern
Forest floor:
bottom most layer, receives 2% of sunlight.
only plants adapted to low light can grow here
Understorey Layer
Usually 6m to 15m.
Trees have narrow, oval-shaped crowns.
Most sunlight is blocked by the canopy
Canopy layer
Primary layer of the forest forming a roof over the two remaining layers.
Contains the majority of the largest trees typically 30-45m in height
Most amount of sunlight
Emergent layer
Contains a small number of very large trees called emergents,
grow above the general canopy, reaching heights of 45-55m tall. Can sometimes grow 70-80m tall depending on species.
Animal Adaptations
Camouflage
In order to hide from predator animals such as the Green-eyes tree frog developed flaps of textured skin around its body to resemble the bark of trees in which it lives.
Mimicry
Due to the very dense vegetation and little sunlight some animals adapt using mimicry, which is where the animal tend to look like something that is intended to be seen rather then camouflage itself.
an example is a katydid, which appears and behaves like a stinging wasp that has a venomous sting, although in reality it is a harmless grasshopper.
an example is the Browerian mimicry which involves an animal copying other animals of the same species. It is believed that it reduces the possibility of the predator eating its potential prey.
Having a limited Diet
Even though the rainforest is full of natural resources, the competition is also very hight. To avoid competition animals have developed adaptation in which they reduce the choice of food they consume.
An example is the Toucan, in which it only consumes fruits that other animals or other bird species cannot access.
a Toucan has also adapted in a way that they are able to crack open these particular fruits by means of their long narrow beaks.
Poison
Some animals produce poison and they tend to be brightly colored and have distinct patterns.
Example is a poison Dart frog, in which its bright color scares predators away in fear they will be poisoned. This way they can hop freely without being bothered.
Deduction of Size and Stature
The tropical rainforest mostly favors smaller animals because it is so dense and large movement are hard to execute.
The jaguar, being the worlds largest cat species tends to only grow less than 6 feet long and weight about 200 pounds. Its small build allows it to acquire the speed needed to hunt for food.
An exception to this rule is a snake. In the rainforest a snake can grow up to 20-30 feet long because it is able to fit in spaces between trees and even underground.
Nocturnality
Animals are active during the night and sleep or rest during the day.
Example would be the bearded pig, they travel in herds through the rainforest at night. This helps to reduce predators because most predators hunt during the day.
Additionally because of nocturnality some animals develop stronger senses such as smell and hearing since sight is almost useless. As well as other organs like heat sensing ones.
Changing of Habitats
Some animals change on where they reside to avoid great competition and maximize their protection.
The spider monkey lives in the tree canopies to avoid the understory competition.
They have tails that are capable for grasping so they can swing freely among the trees.