Tropical Rainforest
Kyle, Carly, Owen, Emily Room 3
Introduction
Location
The location of the tropical rainforest is one of the most important parts of a biome. The tropical rainforest is found in one area stretching across the globe. The tropical rainforest is found at thirty degrees north and thirty degrees south latitude, fairly close to the equator. The tropical rainforests are found in South America, Africa, Southern Asia, and the Philippines. All together these rainforests cover 6-7% of the Earth’s land.
Climate
Plants
The tropical rainforest has many fascinating kinds of plants that have adapted to live in this biome. An adaptation is when a plant or animal changes in order to survive in its habitat. Plants in the rainforest have adapted to their surroundings and to exposure to different amounts of sunlight and rain. There are four layers in the tropical rainforest, and each gets a different amount of sunlight. The four layers of the rainforest are the emergent layer, the canopy, the understory, and the forest floor. The emergent layer is the top of the rainforest where tall trees emerge out of the canopy below. This layer receives the most sunlight. The next layer down from the top is the canopy layer. The canopy layer has 60 to 150 feet tall trees and the sunlight is shaded by the taller trees. The canopy shades the understory and the forest floor from sunlight. The second to last layer is the understory. The understory has smaller trees that don’t get much sunlight. The understory is also a dark, cool place. The final layer is the forest floor. The forest floor has dead trees lying on the ground where the decomposers can get to them. The decomposers break down dead leaves and trees, making the soil healthier for plants to grow. There is almost no sunlight on the forest floor because it is covered by the trees at the top getting more sunlight. One plant adaptations that trees in the rainforest have are Tree buttresses. These are large branching ridges near the base for support because their roots are often shallow and they grow tall to reach the sunlight. Another adaptation that many plants have is adapted leafs shapes that helps water drip off the plant to avoid too much moisture, bacteria and fungus growth.
Animals
Did you know that the tropical rainforest is home to half the plant and animal species on earth? Some animals that can be found here are mammals, (such as a New World Monkey) birds, (a parrot), reptiles (alligator), and amphibians like a poisonous dart frog. Different animals eat different kinds of food so they have to adapt to eating a certain kind of plant or animal. There are so many animals in this biome that they have a huge competition for food, sunlight and space. One example of an animal in the luscious tropical rainforest is the intelligent three-toed sloth which lives in the emergent layer. Have you recently thought of how long it takes for a sloth to digest its food? Well, in case you didn’t know, it takes a sloth nearly a month to digest its food since the sloth is the slowest-moving animal in the world. Also, a sloth moves so slowly that it uses its slowness to escape its own predators. The three-toed sloth hangs from branches in the canopy so still that the sloth’s predators (such as jaguars) do not see the sloth. Isn’t that amazing! In addition, green algae grows in the three-toed sloth’s fur which helps it camouflage in forest canopy. Another interesting animal that lives in the tropical rainforest is the toucan. The Toucans bright colors have good camouflage that blend in with the dappled light in the canopy. It’s good to note that the toucan’s bill helps them to reach fruit on thin branches that are too light for toucan’s to stand on. Moreover, the bill also helps toucans to skin there pickings. Some animals like the toucan adapt to eating their food. When this happens , the animal is specialized. All in all, all animals have ways to adapt to their environment.
Conclusion
Overall, the Tropical Rainforest is an amazing place. Being so close to the equator is what lets it be so hot here. There are many plants and animals at the Tropical Rainforest , But in order for them to live, they have to adapt to their environment. Digging and living underground is an adaptation for many animals. The Tropical Rainforest is a magnificent biome. What is your favorite?