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10/10/10
P. 3
Tropical Rain Forest
All of the tropical rain forests are located between the Tropic of Cancer, which is 23 degrees
north latitude and the Tropic of Capricorn, which is 23 degrees south latitude. All land through which
the equator (0 degrees latitude) passes, with the exception of neighboring portions of grasslands in
Africa and South America, are rain forests.
The largest portions of land containing rain forests are the Amazon, located in the northern half
of South America; Zaire, located in a small portion of West Africa; the east coast of Madagascar; New
Guinea and Indonesia, which are located in Southeast Asia.
Average rain fall per year in the rain forests can range from any where between 100 to 250
inches. This goes for rain forests both consisting of cooler and warm temperatures. Temperatures are
typically maintained between 68 and 93 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year.
The seasons of the rain forest are separated into two categories: April through September is the
wet, rainy season and October through March is the dry, (relatively) sunny season. It has been realized
through recent studies that the Amazon, for example thrives and grows faster during the dry season.
Below the canopy created by the tree tops, the humidity is almost always present, measuring around
80% all year.
Seventy percent of all plant life in the rain forests are trees. The tallest trees in the forest are
between 150 and 250 feet tall and create an umbrellalike canopy above most of the rain forests. This
layer, called "emergent," does not allow for much sunlight to reach the "forest floor," the lowest layer,
causing the soil to be infertile and thin for other plants to grow. The layer with the most flourishing
animals is the upper canopy, consisting of 60 to 100 foot tall trees. Much of sunlight that makes it
through to this layer doesn't get past to the lower canopy or "understory" layer. For this reason, little air
movement and much humidity occurs here. The animals that make up the majority of the rain forest,
live in the upper canopy because of the sunlight and water drainage into the understory, and most of
these animals rarely visit the forest floor.
The plant life below the emergent layer have interesting ways of coping with the strange living
conditions, therefore they are very unique. The most normal trees that grow the tallest and receive the
most sunlight are the Evergreens, towering over all other plant life forms and acting as the first layer of
the rain forest. Another tall tree, considered part of the emergents, is the Kapok tree. Because it is so
large, it relies on an adaptation called buttress roots, which support existing shallow roots and
sometimes grow to be a tenth the height of the entire tree, in order to keep it standing tall.
Digging deeper into the layers, are found Lianas, which are the most common type of vine in the
forests. Because they start out on the forest floor, without access to much sunlight, it is necessary for
them to climb up trees and use them as support to grow to the next levels in order to reach the light
needed to grow. For this reason, they can stretch to be several thousand feet long. Mangrove trees,
which are typical to the muddy, swampy areas of the rain forest floor grow "Stilt" or "prop" roots which
are very thin and help support the tree. Similar to tent poles or stakes, they extend from the trunk of the
tree out and down to the grounds surrounding the tree and help stabilize it.
One of the most interesting plants that grow in the tropics is the Pitcher plant. Because these
plants have very little sunlight to depend on and can't stretch up to it like the Liana vines, they must also
depend on an alternate food source: insects and the other small creatures that try to steal the digesting
insects.
Shifting from plants or the rain forests to animals, there are many animals that are native to one
rain forest of the world and not to any other, as are the animals of the others not native to the one. For
example, contrary to popular belief, the Toucan only lives in the rain forests of South America,
particularly in the Amazon. The toucan is especially known for it's long, brightlycolored bill, better
used for feeding than fighting. The bill helps to reach for food on high branches and skin their catch.
Another bird worth mentioning is the Eclectus parrot. Only native to New Guinea and the
northern tip of Australia, these strikingly colorful birds thrive in the treetops of the rain forest and live
long lives, sometimes 50+ years. While male Eclectus parrots are bright green with hints of blue and
red on their wings, the females have bright red heads, blue bodies and purple tinted wings.
One creature that can be found throughout every rain forest is the Tarantula. Being that there are
many different species of spiders that are large and hairy, they are all generally categorized as
Tarantulas for their size and appearance. Many tarantulas aren't harmful to humans unless provoked,
however they do possess defenses such as poison and sharp spikes. The tarantula, upon capturing it's
food, which can be anything from another spider to a frog, to a baby snake, it secretes a fluid which
"liquifies" the prey in order to be more easily eaten.
A larger animal, the Leopard, is among few animals that are versatile when it comes to living
habitats. The leopard can transition from living in the grassland plains of Africa to prowling in the
jungles on the edges of the rain forests. The leopard often prefers to spend its time resting in trees
before, after or sometimes during its meal time. It hunts it prey, either in the early morning or early
evening and spends most of the rest of its day lounging around. This large beautifullyspotted cat can
sometimes have a black coat instead of brown and blackspotted and are sometimes called black
panthers, however they are still leopards.
The Orangutan, which is specific to Borneo and Sumatra, is the most well known, for its being
an endangered species. Surviving in the treetops of the rain forest, these primates swing from tree to
tree on vines, which they have adapted to by having the longest, strongest arms of all apes. These
creatures do not often socialize, feed on vegetation and within a family unit, and they are known as
endangered because of decreasing forestation in the areas in which they live.
A rain forest food chain might consist of grasses, leaves, and buds being the producers, being
eaten by lizards such as chameleons, which are the primary consumers, which are eaten by birds such
as parrots, which are the secondary consumers, which are eaten by large snakes such as anacondas,
which are the tertiary consumer and so on and so forth.