Tropical Rain Forests began to form roughly one hundred and forty million years ago. Today, tropical rain forests contain more animals than all habitats in the world combined. In the rain forest, the temperature varies from a hot to a warm climate. Rain is constantly falling on the basin of these forests, all year round. One of the largest remaining rain forests in the world is the Amazon Rain Forest which is located in Brazil. This area of forest continues to decline along with most of the other forests around the world.
In the map above, all the green shows where the Tropical Rain Forests are currently located. All parts of the map that are brown, are places where the Tropical Rain Forests have been destroyed.
Geography: The Amazon is located in the northern part of South America, most of the land belonging to Brazil. The tropical rain forest biome, is also located in parts of Central Africa, most of Papua New Guinea, Central America, Malaysia, Indonesia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, the Phillipines, and Brunei. In all these places, the biome is generally located near water. They are also located along the equator, so the climate doesn't vary much throughout the year.
Weather Cycle: The sun and the rain are both key factors in the survival of the tropical rain forests. Around two-hundred to four-hundred centimeters of rain fall on the forest each year. The immense amount of sunlight that shines on the forest, is responsible for more than ninety percent of photosynthesis that occurs. Photosynthesis produces food for the plants.The biome keeps a steady climate every day, and it also rains about every day.
Survey of organisms: Life is extremely abundant in the tropical rain forests. It is a host to more than thirty million species. There are many variations of organisms and diversity of organisms is great in the rain forest. Three organisms from the Kingdom Plantae, are tree ferns which are large woody vines, Lianas, which are also large vines of wood and moss. Mushrooms are all over the rain forests. These organisms are from the Kingdom Fungi.
Classification of animals: Invertebrates are animals that have no backbones. One invertebrate phylum found in the rain forest is Nematoda (roundworms), they have a digestive system that has two openings- a mouth and an anus. An example of the Nematoda is the human ascarid, otherwise known as Ascaris lumbrricoides., which is found in the Amazon Basin. Another invertebrate phylum is Annelida (segmented worms), that have a body that is composed of segments separated by internal dividers. An example of Annelida is the earthworm, whose Latin name is Tubifex. Vertebrates are animals that have backbones. One class of chordates found in the rain forest, is Class Amphibia (amphibians), these animals are adapted primarily to wet places. An example of an amphibian is a salamander (Urodela), these creatures possess tails, four legs, and are usually aquatic carnivores. Another vertebrate is found in Class Reptilia (reptiles), these animals are adapted fully to terrestrial life, are covered in scales, and can live in dry and/or wet places. An example is the crocodile (Crocodilia). The crocodile is an aquatic or semiaquatic carnivore, that has a four chambered heart. One more example of a vertebrate located in Class Aves is the birds, who are endothermic and feathered over much of the body. A specific example is the toucan, which is a bird that is very colorful and spends most of its time high up in the tree tops of the rain forest.
Adaptation: Most organisms have to adapt to the conditions in the rain forest, in order to survive. Lianas are rope like, woody plants. Like all plants, the Lianas need sunlight to stay alive. However, it is extremely hard to get it because of the 80 meter high trees that steal most of the sunlight in the rain forest. The Lianas adapts to this problem, by rapping itself around the trees, and winding up to the top where the sunlight can hit it. On the floor of the rain forest, endless predators kill their prey for food. One animal, such as the squirrel monkey, has adapted in a way that enables it to escape these predators. It does this by living high up in the trees, and living on the fruits that live on them.
The drawing above shows how the Lianas, which are large woody vines, have adapted to the conditions in the rain forest by winding up the tall trees so it is exposed to sunlight.
Environmental Issue: For years and years, the rain forest has been cut down at a pace of 25,000 kilometers a year. It is being destroyed for its great deposits, such as: manganese, gold, bauxite, nickel, and other minerals. These minerals are taken, in order to help a constantly growing population. If the Amazon continues to be demolished at the current pace, it will be completely destroyed in a few years, which will mean the death of millions of species that inhabit the rain forest. Also, the planet will lose a lot of oxygen that is produced from the vast variety of plants in the forest.
Symbiosis: Symbiosis means living together. Lichens, which are plants, grow on huge tree limbs and leaves from trees in the rain forest. The Lichen lives off the nutrients and moisture of the limbs. Without the Lichens, the tree limbs would be bare and unable to attract sunlight. The Lichens, which contain chloroplasts, help the tree limbs gain sunlight which helps both the lichens and the tree limb survive.
