The Rainforest Project By: Savannah C. Block1 How much do you know about the Amazon Rainforest? A little? A lot? How about nothing? Well, today is your lucky day because it is my assignment (literally) to tell you all I know about the Amazon Rainforest and its inhabitants. So, what is the first thing you think of when you think of the rainforest? Most people think of ocelots and vampire bats, aka animals. Then they think of plants like the passionflower and the bromeliad which are pretty important in the circle of life. After that they think of the rain that completely overruns the trees and plants that are the character of the rainforest and is part of its given name. The rainforest makes up only 6% of the entire Earth and is “The lungs of the World”. The world’s diet originally relied on the rainforest products like fruits and plants but now it has been majorly decreased. If you care to continue reading you will learn a whole lot more about the wonderful place we call the Amazon Rainforest. The following is my account of the Amazon Rainforest. Enjoy!!
Animals The rainforest is filled with multiple species of life and can support it all in just 4 layers! Isn’t that cool! The bottom can support the prey, organisms that are subject of a hungry animal, for fish, cats and winged creatures alike. There are herbivores and omnivores as well as carnivores. The Amazon has been adapted to and adapted by many animals and adaption is the evolved way that things have formed to each other. The habitat for the animals is centered on the layer or things in their environment because that is what it is made for. Ocelot The ocelot is a sleek animal that is wrapped in spotted fur that helps the ocelot to camouflage itself in the dappled sunlight, which is something that is a protective strategy. Part of their habitat is water, unlike other jungle cats, because they can swim well.
They use keen sight and hearing to hunt their prey of rabbits, rodents, iguanas, fish, and frogs as well as monkeys and birds. They have pointed teeth that they have adapted over the years that were customized for the kill and sharp back teeth for tearing their meal apart. They do not have teeth for chewing and their tongue can eat every last ounce of meat off a bone off of a victim. The female ocelot can have about two or three darkly colored litters of cubs but in the Amazon the breeding season is not fixed. They can be 28-35 in and weigh 2435lbs and are carnivores. They live in the understory and are some of the top predators. The predators of the ocelot are humans, bobcats, and coyotes. They are eventually food for decomposers. Vampire Bat
Vampire bats are wrapped in fuzzy brown fur with an upturned nose and fangs. The vampire bat lives in any area that they can hang without too much sunlight so there is no specific layer that I can find. Their main predators are hawks and eagles and they eat on any and all things that contain enough blood for a 30 minute feeding. The adaptations of a vampire bat are Echolocation, they approach their prey on all fours, have few (very sharp though) teeth due to their mostly liquid diet and saliva that prevents the blood from clotting. Vampire Bats are 3.5 inches in height and 7 inches in wingspan and are barely bigger than a teacup. They usually weigh about 2 ounces but can double in one feeding. They are very small but can be very dangerous.
Flowers Did you know that the rainforest holds more than half of the different species of plants in the world? And that about 80% of the world’s diet originated in the Amazon rainforest? That’s a lot of pressure on the foliage. The Passion flower is an explosion of petals and various shades of purple. The flower looks like a rounded out star. There are many little needle looking things that are a deep shade of bright purple and a lime green pistol in the center, all surrounded by a backdrop of lavender. This plant lives in the Understory. It produces a fruit which many different animals, insects and human’s eat. It is also a producer and creates it food through photosynthesis. The uses for it are anti-anxiety and relaxing in the medicinal department.
The Bromeliad is a thick leaved waxy plant that can hold many gallons of water. This plant is part of the pineapple species even though it does not grow pineapples. They can range in color from blue, purple, red and orange that is gently painted on the thick waxy leaves. The long leaves, tapering off at the end, collect gallons of water that are home to many small organisms. They can hold from less than a pint of water to 10 gallons!!! The bromeliad is home to many different species of insects and amphibians. Many insects use the bromeliad for
a nesting place to have their eggs. The multiple species of bromeliads in the Amazon live on many different levels so there isn’t a specific level. The uses for the bromeliads are that it can grow pineapples. The bromeliad is an entire ecosystem within itself. How cool is that?!
Layers The Forest Floor: The forest floor is the lowest layer in the rainforest and is mostly flooded. It is the darkest level of the rainforest because the canopy, emergent layer, and understory take up most of the sunlight. It is home to almost all of the animals who can swim like the fishes. The Understory: The understory is the second level in the layers of the rainforest right above the forest floor. It has large leaves to soak up any and all sunlight that filters through the Canopy. The understory is home to many species of tree frogs because it is close to the water and that is where most water bugs are. The Canopy: This is the third level in the rainforest and it is one of the sunniest places in the rainforest because it is at the tip top of the rainforest. This is where most birds live because it is closest to where they can take off. The macaw is one of the many colorful birds that live in a “fly-zone”. The Emergent Layer: The emergent layer is the topmost layer of the rainforest where the birds are flying and the planes see when they fly above the rainforest. This is where the highest trees grow and collect as much sunlight as possible and is home to many vibrant, fluttering butterflies.
Climate Map:
Land Cover Map:
Climate The climate of the Amazon is very warm, humid, and wet. The average temperature is about 79 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity is caused by the amount of steam that is created by the rain and the heat. The average rainfall is roughly 100 inches to 20 feet. The climate zone is tropical due to its closeness to the Equator.
Movement The movement in the Amazon is very minimal because the indigenous people in the rainforest are not in constant contact with the outside world. The major movement is in the manmade roads and the waterways, by which many goods and ideas are shared. The deforestation in the Amazon is a major movement of paving the roads (literally) to the movement of modernism in the Amazon. The movement of ideas is much slower than that of trading for goods and medical supplies.
Tribe 1: Yanomami The Yanomami practically live in the stone age, even today (they haven’t yet found the wheel).They live in tribes of 40-350 people and their shelters are small round communal huts called shabonogs (round oblong, thatched shelters).They hunt animals and plant garden plots and gather as much as possible. They are hunter gatherers/ gardeners. In their culture they cremate their dead then pound the bones to powder which they drink so they can keep them with them forever. David Yanomami foretells that if the white man doesn’t stop his destruction of Mother Earth then the white men, the rainforest, and Yanomami are all doomed. The Yanomami are indigenous to the Amazon.
Tribe 2: Kayopo The Kayopo are a very traditional tribe in their living and in their beliefs. They think that one of their villages the Gorotire sold out by consuming consumer goods, which in the tribe’s eyes is weakness. There are huts around a large plaza with the men’s house in the center. Also there is a communal hut at one end where the women gather. They live in huts. Hunting, sweet potatoes, fruit, tobacco, cotton and Gorotire has one of the world’s largest gold mines. They have an age grade society where boys become warriors. They are nomadic in their ways of reacting to each other in the tribes.
Conclusion: Saving the rainforest begins with stopping deforestation which is the process of cutting down trees, and has a major affect on the environment because the Amazon is the largest producer of oxygen on Earth. Another thing that humans affect in the rainforest is that they conserve the things in the rainforest like latex and plastic. Ecotourism is also something humans do that affect nature. Ecotourism is a major business because it shows us the beauty of unrefined nature. If we stop the destruction of the rainforest then we will be able to enjoy its beauty and magnificence as well as the oxygen it produces. Interesting isn’t it?
Social Studies: http://indian-cultures.com/Cultures/yanomamo.html http://www1.broward.edu/~hsorkin/LibArts/Projects/Fall2002/Hottinger/culture.htmlhttp://www.vand erbilt.edu/AnS/Anthro/Anth210/kayapo.htm http://www.projectamazonas.org/amazon-facts http://library.thinkquest.org/21395/textonlyb/climate.html http://www.dictionary.com Science: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/com mon-vampire-bat.html http://dictionary.com/ http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/com mon-vampire-bat/?source=A-to-Z http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/ocel ot.html'http://www.ou.edu/class/pheidole/vampire_bat.html http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560 s6/www/whlayers.htmlhttp://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound /spec/spec89-93.html http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/rainforests/ocelot.html
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Animals/Mammals/ Bats/Families/American-Leaf-nosed-Bats/VampireBat/Vampire-Bat-16.html http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560 s6/www/plants/bromeliads.html http://www.taltopia.com/view/158039/ http://www.amazon-rainforest.org/flora.html http://www.landsendt.co.nz/Site/CATALOGUE_AND_BUSI NESS_HOURS/Bromeliads.ashx http://altnature.com/gallery/passionflower.htm http://www.rainforesteducation.com/life/understory.htm http://www.flickr.com/photos/finbar/271323097/ http://theamazonforest.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.htm l http://recipesfrombrazil.com/about-brazil/amazon-canopy/ solcomhouse.com Rachel High Savannah Collins pictures of NC ZOO http://www.whozoo.org/Intro2001/deirelso/DLE_Ocelot.html http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/vampire_bat.htm keep3.sjfc.edu http://stylefrizz.com/img/blue-butterfly-tree.jpg http://liastore.com environmentallearning.wikispaces.com petitemarieorganics.co.uk dawnontheamazon.com
Passion flower Producer
Ocelot Passion flower (Consumer; carnivore)
Mushrooms (decomposer) Vampire Bat (consumer; carnivore)
Toucan (consumer; omnivore) Blue Morpho (consumer; herbivore)
Aniroba (producer)