Biodiversity of the Tropical Rainforests of the Americas
You will use Internet, video, and print resources to collect
information about tropical rainforests in general and the rainforests of Costa
Rica in specific. Research work will be
done as homework. All research will be
brought to class on November 14. During
class periods November 14-15, your group will work together to create a poster
that will include maps, illustrations, and text to answer the questions that
follow.
Video
A national geographic video about Costa Rican rainforests
will be shown during class periods November 1 and 2. Take notes during the video.
Print Resources
Use the school library after school to do print media
research. The North Arlington Public
Library also has books on the rainforest.
Internet
You are at the special project page, titled "Rainforests," that has
all the active links to websites for research.
The links are as follows.
Start at the Missouri Botanical Gardens- http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest/index.htm. Use the links there to answer the following
questions.
What is a rainforest?
Where are rainforests located?
What are rainforests like?
What are some examples of tropical rainforest plants?
What are some examples of tropical rainforest animals?
What adaptations have helped plants and animals survive in
the rainforest?
After learning about rainforests in general, begin your
research into Costa Rican rainforests also known as moist forests or cloud
forests.
Go to "Science in the Rainforest" at http://www.pbs.org/tal/costa_rica/index.html.
Use the topic links to answer the following questions:
Why are rainforests important?
What are some of the plants and animals of the Costa Rican
rainforests?
What habitats are found in Costa Rica?
Under "Habitats" there is a general rainforest
food web. Do some additional research
to create a food web showing specific animals.
Choose a discussion question from the "Rainforest
Issues Forum." Use the supporting
links to write an original response.
To obtain a printable habitat map of Cost Rica, go to http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/terrestrial.html. Type Costa Rica into the Ecoregion
box. Select the country from the pop-up
window. Click on the numbers on the map
that's generated. You will find
additional information about the habitats of Costa Rica and the different
rainforest types there.
For specific information about the cloud forests of Costa
Rica, use http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/10/1019_costacloud.html.
