Hello, my name is Wanda the weary wiggly worm of Wyoming, but you can call me Wanda. Have I got a story for you, this one is about the time I went to the Amazon Rainforest. I remember it like it was 2 days ago, because, well, it was. One fine day in Wyoming I was just sitting out, watching the sky when suddenly my friend Brianne the Bird jumped out and picked me up with her claws, in less than a second she took off and I was in the air, I let out a screech. She almost dropped me when she said, “We’re going on an adventure! We are going to the rainforest!” “The rainforest?” I asked, to which she immediately replied, “A rainforest is a place that contains a lot of beautiful vegetation and a bunch of annual rainfall, about 9 feet annually.” “Oh.” I replied and kept quiet becausethere was no way I could get myself out of this trip, she just decided that she was going to the rainforest, and I was going with her.”The average temperature is 77 degreesFahrenheit; it’ll be nice and cool!” She added convincingly. “Aren’t there pineapples there?” I asked, and Brianne replied instantly, “Of course! They are a type of bromeliad, bromeliads are found in the forest floor or understory. They can come in so many bright beautiful colors, the brightly colored leaves branch out; it’s definitely a sight to see! Did you know that many small aquatic animals can live in them to? They don’t usually eat them, but frogs lay their eggsthere and many mosquitoes, small spiders, and other things stay there to, this is becausethe plants catch a lot of water, it’s like a small fish tank. So they don’t have a big use toward people except for the pineapple they can grow.” I was shocked! She defiantly did her research! Now I just wish I knew more about the rainforest, this would be a great learning opportunity, plus I’d get to eat a bunch of pineapple! “I heard orchids came from the rainforest to.” I said it very hesitantly, hoping she wouldn’t go on and on about them to. “Yeah, I’ve heard that.” She said. I was overjoyed that she didn’t know everything; it made me feel stupid when she did. This was my chance to sound smart. “I’ve seen one before, it was pink, it looked like a star with a cup in the middle of it. I heard it was in the understory or canopy. Its predators include humming birds, small insects, and some humans. It is commonly used for food, medicine, and fertilizer.” I felt smarter after that. Brianne smiled, a bit impressed, or at least I think so, I was hanging upside down, so I couldn’t tell. “And the humming birds probably have an adaption to eat orchids. There’s also an orchid mantis that uses camouflage to blend in and look like the flower.” Brianne said. “How does the flower hunt?” I asked. “Well, flowers are producers; they use photosynthesis to make their own food. They’re not carnivores, meaning they usually hunt for meat.” She replied to me. She was always so smart and had something to say about everything. This was going to be a long ride.
Time passedmuch faster than I thought, thankfully! Actually, it was probably becauseI fell asleep to Brianne going on and on about the rainforest and its origins. “Are we there yet?” I asked. “Yep! Oh, hey Shirley!”She said rather loudly then sped up, I wiggled and all of a sudden I fell. She dropped me! We we’re probably in the emergent layer (As I heard Brianne going on about before), I saw animals such as eagles, monkeys, and butterflies! It was beautiful! The trees were tall and the sunlight was plentiful! It all passed fast, next was the canopy, most of the leaves were smooth and oval shaped. I looked closely and I saw tree frogs, and toucans, and snakes, oh my! I was glad I fell fast or I could’ve been dinner, well actually it was lunch time. The understory now, how exciting! The plants had large leaves to try to catch sunlight. I saw variety here, jaguars, more tree frogs, leopards, and many insects. I hit the ground, not making much noise. I looked around and assumed I was on the forest floor; it was dark and had a lack of plants becausethe higher layers created a roof to this layer. I noticed mostly ant eaters and insects and a bunch of tree trunks. These habitats were beautiful. I couldn’t believe that there was so much foliage! All of a sudden I felt the presence of another organism. I turned and noticed something, it was hanging upside down by its 3 claws on each of its four feet, it was grayish brown and had a flat head. “Who and what are you?” I asked. “I am Tracy Trina Sorrina the Three Toed sloth; in fact, I am a three toed sloth. My friends call me Sorrina the Sloth, but you can call me Sorrina.” Apparently she said. “Ok.” I replied but continued, “Do you eat worms?” “No,I am a herbivore, I eat fruit, leaves, buds, and young twigs. My predators are mainly jaguars and harpy eagles, which means I am prey to them. My adaptations include my claws, which I use to hang from the trees. ” Sorrina replied. I began to think about Brianne, if she’d find me. “Could you find one specific bird somewhere in the rainforest?” I asked. “Well, considering that the rainforest covers 9 countries; Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, It would be pretty hard. The rainforest covers a lot of South America which is a big continent, the rainforest has a range of 0-15 degreessouth latitude and 45-75 degrees west longitude, that’s a lot of space! It’s in the north, west, and south hemispheres, and you also have to think about the climate, if it’s raining the bird is probably not flying, the rainforest is tropical, humid, and very hot, so she might be flying slowly, if she is flying, I don’t think it would be easy, why do you ask?” She responded. “Oh, just curious.” I answered. “I have to go now, thanks.” I turned and wiggled away. After a while of wiggling I became tired, I decided to stop for a while. I heard a noise and I turned quickly to see a human, these must’ve been the Yanomami tribe Brianne was
talking about earlier. She said ‘They live in circular housesin their village. They have to work for 4 hours to satisfy their material needs. They use the products of the rainforest to cure diseasesand for food. They don't have a chief, when making a decision they have a long debate where everyone has a say. 10%of their diet is hunting (Hunted Food). Women grow 60 crops to later eat. Hunters never eat their own find. They believe every creature, rock, tree, and mountain have a spirit.’ Speaking of people of the rainforest, I believe she mentioned another tribe as well, were they called the Ticuna? Yes, that’s right, she said, ‘They have big rectangular houseswith two sided roofs and no walls, they lived in the land above the flood line (terra firme), then they moved off of it. Population per one village is 70 – 1500 people. They have 2 main rooms; the kitchen and living quarters. They use the products of the rainforest for curing diseasesand for food. Crosscousin marriages are usual marriages for them. Divorce is not regular or often. Ticuna comes from the Tupí, "Taco-una," which means "men painted black" or "black skins." This name was given to them becausethe Ticuna often painted them self black with genipapo (Genipa americana) juice. They live in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. In 1981 the Ticuna population in Brazil and Peru was estimated to be about 15,900. They aren’t really nomadic, meaning moving from place to place.’ I couldn’t believe I actually remembered all of their culture. I wiggled away from all of the humans (So I wouldn’t get squished). I soon wiggled into an open field, where were the trees? The animals? The flowers? Everything was gone, except for a fence and a few cattle. I approached one and asked, “What happened to everything?” To which the cattle replied, “The humans have destroyed it, people can effect places all over the world like this by deforestation, when they cut down all the trees in an area, making it smaller. Also through ecotourism which could be good or bad, it’s when people visit a place in nature, they could observe or preserve. Humans aren’t always all bad, they can also use conservation to help the rainforest and other places to, conserving is when people work hard to keep places like the rainforest from being deforested or harmed in any other way.” I was disappointed in the humans for killing the animals (or maybe just scaring them away) and for destroying the indigenous placeslike the rainforest, although I was glad that there were some good people trying to save beautiful places like this.”Sometimes” The cow went on, “People get resources from the plants so they may not even have a choice at times. Humans can get things like rubber, brazil nut, Gurana (Fruit), Acai (Fruit), and minerals like iron, magnesium, uranium, copper, and others, also diamonds and other things of the sort. They can also get medicinal plants like cocoa tree, annatto tree, trumpet tree, clavilla, suma, and curure. They exchange the goods and ideas by canoesto get through the river, but mostly people use the dirt roads that go through the rainforest because it’s hard to get through the dense trees, bushes, and other plants.” I think I understood now. “Thank you.” I told the cow for informing me, I turned and went on my way. About 20 minutes later I hear a strange bird, it didn’t speak like the other ones in the rainforest, it sounded like it belonged in Wyoming. I turned and saw Brianne fly super fast and almost knock me into the Amazon River. “Whoa! Careful! The Amazon River contains a scary fish, the piranha! It is not an omnivore, it only eats meat, It could eat you right up. I’ve heard it eats
insects, other things smaller than it, and other fish. It looks dark black or a real dark blue, has sharp teeth, most get up to 13 inches long. It lives right here on the forest floor in the Amazon River. Its predators are people and fish eating birds. Its adaptions include its teeth, which help it survive, this is becauseits teeth help it eat more than just normal things that fish eat, this gives it more variety in food becauseit doesn't have to compete for food very much.� Brianne warned. I wiggled into her foot and she took off. We were home before I knew it, after hearing her talk nonstop about decomposers and the rainforest some more. Soon I was home and 2 days later I shared my story with you.
Cite sources http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/what.html http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/sloth/Sloth3printout.shtml www.answers.yourdictionary.com http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/whlayers.html
http://animal.discovery.com/fish/piranha/ http://nepaliorchid.blogspot.com/2007/07/uses-of-orchids.html www.justinandruthie.nearlyweds.com www.freewebs.com
www.spinalcaredirectory.com www.keep3.sjfc.edu www.topnews.net.nz www.iamlusiana.blogspot.com www.123rf.com www.oxygenquest.blogspot.com http://www.animalwebguide.com/Jaguar.htm www.galeschools.com www.animal-planet-pictures.blogspot.com
http://animal.discovery.com/fish/piranha/ www.brucebriscoe.com http://www.sterlingschools.org/shs/stf/cjones/3rdHour/Tropical %20Rainforest/TropicalRainforesthtm.htm http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01873/amaz.htm http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/yanomami/wayoflife http://www.everyculture.com/South-America/Ticuna.html www.zodiblog.wordpress.com
And SMART Notebook 10 (for food web)
F ood W e b