Tropical Rain Forest
by Caleb and Tyler
Rain Forest
The tropical rain forest covers nearly 2% of Earth and can be found in Central America, South America, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and West Africa near the equator in the tropics. Tropical rain forest also have very high temperatures with the average annual temperature in the daytime being 93 degrees and nighttime being 68 degrees with the mean temperatures never falling below 64 degrees. The rain forest also gets lots of rain with the average rain fall being around 157.5 inches a year. The rain forest also creates a lot of the worlds air through its abundant amounts of trees, about 40%. Diversity isn't uncommon either, the rain forest hosts about 50% of Earths plants and animals.
Plants
A typical four-square-mile patch of the rain forest can contain as many as 750 species of trees and 1,500 flowering plants! Competition for food and light at ground level has lead to the evolution of plants which live on the branches of other plants and get nutrients through the air or strangle trees for survival causing the amount of rain that reaches the ground to be reduced as much as 90%. Did you know that the rain forest also provides timber, coffee and cocoa beans, and many medicinal products, some of those used in the treatment of cancer, and that 70% of the plants identified by the U.S. Nation Cancer Institute are useful in cancer treatments and are only found in rain forests. Here is one plant that lives in the tropical rain forest, epiphytes. This plant grows in the upper canopy on larger trees to get sunlight a couple examples would be orchids or bromeliads. Other random plants include Bananas, rubber trees, sapodillas, heliconias, cacao, coffee beans, Brazil nut tree, and the poinsetta.
Animals
The tropical rain forest is home to an ideal number and variety of animals. This may be because of the constant warmth and water supply as well as a rather large selection of food for the animals. Small animals and monkeys, birds, snakes, rodents, frogs, and insects are the most common animals in the tropical rain forest. Most of these animals NEVER set foot on the ground! Larger animals live on the forest floor such as hippos. Some live on the forest floor and the understudy such as gorillas or ocelots. Most birds live in the emergent or canopy levels. Some random animals are: Fish- electric eel and piranha. Reptiles- anaconda, iguana, boas, coral snakes, python, green tree snake, and gecko. Amphibians- poison arrow frog, giant tree frog, dainty tree frog, and turtle. Insects- monarch butterfly, Julia butterfly, slug, tarantula. Mammals- jaguar, ocelot, didelphid opossum, sloth, howler monkey, spider monkey, capybara, tigers (Asia) tapir, and many types of bats. Birds- quetzel, macaw, tinamous, humming birds, eagles, toucan, emerald dove.
Interesting Facts
- Rain forests help regulate temperatures around the world!
- The Amazon rain forest is the worlds largest rain forest.
- About 90% of 1.2 billion people living in poverty depend on rain forests for their every day needs.
- Trees are so dense in the tropical rain forest that it takes about 10 minutes for rainfall to reach the ground from the canopy layer.
- Scientists believe that there may be millions of plant and insects that are yet to be discovered!
Living things of the tropical rain forest
Rafflesia
Weight: 24 pounds.
Length: 1 yard (across).
Color: red-ish or purple-ish brown.
Fruit: Its fruit is a berry containing sticky seeds.
BIGGEST FLOWER IN THE WORLD
Giant Red Cedar Tree
Length: 213 to 230 feet.
Diameter: 9.8 to 13.1 feet (trunk).
Life expectancy: oldest verified 1,460 years.
keel billed toucan
Diet: fruit, insects, eggs, and lizards.
Size: about 17 to 22 inches (including bill).
Bill Size: about 4.7 to 5.9 inches.
Sources
Britanica, srl.caltech.edu, nature.org, cotf.edu, ecorazzi.com, blueplanetbiomes.org, enchanted learning.com, mrsgebaur.com, conserve-energy-future.com, mbgnet.net, sciencekids.co.nz.