AmAzon rAinforest By: Jesse H.
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The Amazon Rainforest is a fascinating place. It has tons and tons of plant and animal life in the Amazon. The Amazon Rainforest Covers about 8% of the earth! It sure isn’t your plain old rainforest! It has lots of interesting organisms to look at too! The Amazon rainforest is located in South America. The Amazon rainforest is in the southern hemisphere, northern hemisphere and western hemisphere. It is located in 8 countries. They are Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, French Guiana, Suriname, Venezuela and Guyana. It has 5 0 north latitude and 130 south latitude. Its longitude is 500 west and 750 east.
Physical features! Average temp.- 800F Climate zone- Tropical Average rainfall- 80 inches per year
How do animals live in the rainforest? What types of animals are in the Amazon? Let’s explore! Lots of animals in the rain forest live in a habitat. There are many different kinds of animals in the Amazon. There are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. Many animals had to adapt to their surroundings because sometimes the Amazon changes or the animal is not originally from the area. Some animals have to protect themselves with camouflage from predators.
Here are two types of cool animals in the rainforest!
It is very small and looks very colorful with black eyes. Its’ prey is small bugs and plants up in the canopy layer or high trees. Its’ adaptations are it has very poisonous skin for protection but it has to eat a kind of plant to be poisonous! Its’ predators are people, snakes and some types of birds.
It looks like a huge lizard with sharp teeth and looks bumpy on its back. Its’ prey is big fish, monkeys, deer and other decent size mammals. It lives in swamps and on the forest floor. Its’ predators are people and when it’s a baby it has
to beware of fish, birds and snakes!
What are the layers of the rainforest?
This layer is located at the very top of the Amazon rainforest. It’s very wet at times and branchy. Lots of birds’ insects and frogs along with monkeys live here with the top of the tall trees. It has lots of foliage too
This layer is located at the top of the Amazon. It’s very hot, wet and branchy. It is the habitat for birds, bugs, frogs, monkeys, sloths and trees that live here. It has lots of foliage.
This layer is located in the mid-section of the Amazon. It’s very shady, with a hot climate, branchy and has lots of foliage. This layer is the habitat for monkeys, bugs, frogs and birds. Jaguars sleep in the branches of this layer.
This layer is located at the bottom of the rainforest. The climate is damp and hot with lots of shade. There is lots of foliage from the ground plants that live here. This layer is a habitat for frogs, bugs, rats and crocodiles.
What types of plants live in the Amazon? Let’s look and see! There are many different types of plant life in the Amazon Rainforest. They do important jobs for people and other organisms. The plants produce oxygen for the air we breathe. Mushrooms decompose dead trees and dead animal corpses on the ground. Most plants use a process called photosynthesis to make their own food from sunlight. Not all plants are just producers; some are both producers and consumers! Here are some cool plants in the rainforest!
The Strangler Fig has a lot of vines and is usually wrapped around a tree. It strangles the tree by depleting it of its nutrients. It lives on the ground and grows to any height depending on how high the tree is. Nothing eats it but people can eat its’ fruit.
The Cocoa Tree is short and has nuts that hang down from it. It lives on the forest floor. Ants and people along with other small mammals are its predators. We use it to get cocoa and
wood. Here is how some types of energy transfers in the rainforest
Are there any tribes in the Amazon rainforest? Lets check it out!
There are many tribes in the Amazon. Some are nomadic and some you can seek out in their little villages. Some tribes have different cultures than others. Most of the tribes are indigenous to the area. They help us in a lot of ways. They trade with us, they can help us get around the river by boat and other sorts of nice things. They get around by boat, walking on paths or roads.
Here are two interesting tribes in the Amazon
Yanomami The Yanomami live in small villages with their families. They have little straw houses for shelter. The Yanomami has changed over time. More and more they get western influenced so instead of bows for hunting more and more people in the village use guns. This is most caused by trade. But they still have festivals for tradition. Their economy is hunting and fishing.
Tikuna The Tikuna lives in small villages. They haven’t been really western influenced. They believe that the roar of the jaguar is the sound of thunder. They believe the jaguar is the god of darkness. They are indigenous to the area they live in. When someone dies they have a funeral then they eat the body! Their economy is hunting and fishing. Their population is about 5,500.
Lots of People have to work together to save the rain forest. People hurt the rainforest by cattle ranching, deforestation, mining, building and road clearing. People that want the rainforest to be preserved try to conserve it by limiting deforestation and development of the land. Ecotourism is a way for people to visit these beautiful areas while still conserving them.
What most people do for the rainforest is to plant trees but it takes many years for them to grow. By the time they are fully grown more of the forest will be gone. This is why replanting doesn’t work well. If the rainforest is gone in the future we will not be able to get resources that we need and animals won’t have natural habitats they normally live in. The rain forests of the world produce 40% of the earth’s oxygen. It is important to do what ever is needed to protect the rain forests.
I think people should think before they pollute the world or cut down a tree that’s still living. Even if we replant a tree, it takes a very long time to replace what has been destroyed. The Amazon Rainforest should be preserved. There are so many different types of animals and plants that live there. The tribes of native people make it their home. The rainforest provides many natural resources as well as contributing to our air through the production of oxygen. I think the Amazon Rainforest should be protected and kept in its natural state for all future generations to enjoy.
Site sources! www.ditionary.com www.telegraph.co.uk www.factzoo.com www.petsfoto.com www.flycontrol.novarts.comwww.keep3. sifc.edu www.curiousanimals.com www.amazonteam.com www.amazon.com www.uncyclopiedia.com www.flickr.com www.curingoxygen.com