By: Ashlyn J. block 1 Introduction 1
What is a rainforest? If you would like to know keep reading! A rainforest is a forest usually of tall densely growing br leafed trees in an area of high annual rainfall. It is very humid and it has many different animals like the bush baby, the pygmy marmoset, which you’ll learn about later. Did you know the rainforests used to cover 14%of the earth but they only cover 6%.We really need to help conserveit. If you want to learn more about the rainforest, keep reading this book and you’ll feel like you’re taking a walk through the Amazon Rainforest.
Where? Many of you are wondering where the Amazon Rainforest is. The rainforest is located 0 degrees- 15 degrees south latitude to 45 degrees- 75 degrees west longitude. It is in the northern part of South America. The Amazon is in the Northern, Southern and Western hemispheres. The countries that it is in are Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador,
Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. The description of the climate is hot and humid, it also 2
rains A LOT! Theaveragetemperatureis 27degreesCelsius(80.7degreesFahrenheit). Theclimatezoneis tropical climateand the average yearly rainfall is often over 100 inches, that’s over 8 feet tall! ~Climate map~
~Land cover map~
Layers
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The rainforest is the habitat for many of ourorganisms. It has 4 layers. First, is the very bottom layer, the forest floor, it is home to many animals. There are very little plants in this layer. It is very dark, and there is no sunlight. Animals that live in this are ant eaters. The next layer is the understory layer, the bottom middle layer. Plants in this area seldom grow over 12 feet due little sunlight. Animals that live in this layer are jaguars, red-eyed tree frogs, leopards, and many insects. The third layer is th canopy layer, it is the top middle layer. The trees there have smooth oval leaves that come to a point, it is a maze of leaves an branches. There is a lot foliage of . Animals that live there are snakes, toucans, and tree frogs. The final, last layer is the emergent layer, the very top. The trunks measure 16 feet around, they are broad leafed, hard wood evergreens. Animals that live there a mostlypredators, eagles, monkeys, bats, also butterflies.
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The Bush Baby The bush baby is also known as the galago. It has big eyes, and big ears. It is very small and it is very cute! It also has a long tail. The bush baby is nocturnal, which means it sleeps during the day and hunts at night. It lives in South America. The bush baby lives in hollow trees in the rainforest. It lives usually in altitudes less than 6,500 feet. It is prey to eagles, and larges snakes. The bush baby is an omnivore, it eats, insects, small mice, reptiles, flowers, honey and fruit. His adaptations are that its back legs are longer than its front legs making it a good jumper. Also they can rotate their head 180degreesand they have very large eyesso they can seein the dark becausethey are nocturnal.
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Human Environment Interaction
Humans can affect the environment. Ways we can affect the environment is mostly deforestation from . Another thing that really affects the environment is cattle ranching. Ways the environment affects us is that it gives us oxyge gives us food and it gives us medicine. We couldn’t live without the rainforest and if we keep cutting down its trees won’t have any of these things. Other ways we destroy the rainforest are commercial logging, farming, road buildin hydroelectric dams, and mine operating. We are also affected by those things, as a result, we get soil erosion, water an pollution, extinction of plants and animals, and an increased threat from global warming.
Movement People in the rainforest get around in canoes.Thesecanoesare made from trees that usually are made by the tribes that are in the rainforest. The people use the canoesthrough the Amazon River. They also get around on foot. Usually they would travel on foot rather than in canoesbecauseit is easier. But the canoesare faster. Good sometimes exchange hands from the tribes to other tribes or tribes to the local markets. Sometimes tribes will go to the markets nearby to get weapons to be able to kill their food.
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Yanomami
The Yanomami tribe an is indigenous tribe. They get all of their food from the rainforest. This tribe doesn’t usually wear much clothing. They only grow enough food for their tribe or if they’re going to trade. To get food they hunt or fish. The Yanomami live in circular huts called Malocas, in these huts are hammocks which they sleep on. They have not yet developed a written language, but they tell ancient stories and they have songs that they sing as a tribe. Deforestation really affects them because deforestation equals fewer animals which means less food to eat which returns in extinction of the tribe. The Yanomami use the rainforest for weapons, homes, food, clothes, medicine, or baskets. The Yanomami are also called the “Human Being” t
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Water Lily The water lily is a very beautiful flower. It has a yellow center. The petals vary in many different bright colors. It is a producer, it usesphotosynthesis, using the sun to create food for them. Around the flower there are very large pads usually of greenish brown in color. You can find the water lily in lakes ponds and rivers. Basically anywhere there is water. Its predators are usually just fish that try to eat it or humans that capture it for its beauty. The water lily has no usesfor people that we know of except their beauty.
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Pygmy Marmoset The pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world, so that means it is very tiny. It has weird looking hands and is adorable. Its eyesare very close together. It also has a tail. It obviously lives in South America in the understory layer mostly. Its predators are boa constrictors, pythons, and eagle so that is why they like to stay low to hid from predators. The pygmy marmoset is not a carnivore, nor is it a herbivore, it is an omnivore. It likes to eat, gums, saps, insects, fruit, other plants, and small reptiles. Its adaptations are that it has sharp claws, it has sharp lower teeth, it is very small so it can hide, and it has camouflage.
Kayapo The Kayapo is a tribe in the Amazon. They are nomadic, which
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means they don’t really have a specific home. Deforestation and cattle ranching make there less food for the Kayapo. This tribe likes to stay near the Xingo River in eastern Amazon. They also hunt and fish for their food. They have legends, and stories, and religious customs. The Kayapo have chiefs that the tribe obeys. When boys in this tribe reach puberty, they give him an ancestral name. They live in thatched roof huts. The roofs are made from palm leaves. In these huts they sleep on hammocks. They use medicinal roots and herbs as medicine. The men cover their lower abdomens with sheaths, they also wear light wooden lip disks. The chief wears a headdresswith feathers on it. In the tribe boys and girls wear cloth bands. Most people in the tribe are barefoot. Many of them wear body paint. Things they eat are fish, fruit, Brazil nuts, vegetables, monkeys, and turtles.
Foxglove The foxglove is gorgeous! It comesin many different colors. They grow together. They look upside down. The foxglove has brown speckles on the inside of the pedals. It can reach six feet in height. It is very poisonous. This flower likes to live in partial sunlight to deep shade so it is fine living near the forest floor. Its only predators are humans who pick it to put in their homes for beauty. The foxglove can treat heart problems, treat ulcers and sores. Animals stay away becauseit is poisonous and if eaten will make them die. It may be pretty but don’t let its looks fool you.
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Conclusion As you can seethe Amazon is amazing. Trees are cut down due to cows that are grazing. There are many ways we can help to conserve it. The plants and animals really do deserve it. They give us food, oxygen, and medicine too. We need the rainforest, yes, yes, we do.
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Sources www.itsnature.org www.srl.caltech.edu http://rainforest.mongabay.com http://library.thinkquest.org http://rainforest-facts.com www.everyculture.com 12
http://www.unique-southamericatravel- experience.com
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