Tropical Forests By Ian McClanahan and Spencer Smith
Table of Contents Levels of Organization
Page 4
Organisms Role in the Environment
Page 5
Feeding Relationships
Page 6
Succession
Page 7
Symbiosis
Page 8
Population Growth
Page 9
Demography
Page10
Human Impact
Page 11
Biodiversity
Page 12
Invasive Species
Page 13
Density Factors
Page 14
Fun Page
Page 15
Poison Dart Frog
Page 16-17
Black Caiman
Page 18-19
Emperor Tamarin
Page 20-21
Table of Contents Continued Biomass vs Pyramid of Numbers
Page 22
Back Page
Page 23
Levels of Organization Organism: Any living creature Population: The inhabitants of a particular area Community: A group of organisms that live together in a common area. Ecosystem: A group of organisms living and interacting with each other.
Examples Organism: Tree frog Population: Many tree frogs Community: Organisms living by the river Ecosystem: Tropical Forest
Organisms’ Role in the Environment Habitat: the natural home of an organism. Ex. Swamp
Niche: A suitable position in life. Ex. A mushroom decomposing waste
One example of a Predator/Prey relationship is snakes (predator) and frogs (prey).
Feeding Relationships Producer: An organism that creates food for other organisms. Ex: Mushroom
Consumer: An organism that feeds off of what the producers make. Ex: Howler Monkey
Food Chain: The way that nutrients/ energy gets passed on from organism to organism. A trophic level is the position of the food chain an organism is in. A food web is a bunch of food chains linking together to show how everything interacts with everything else.
Succession Ecological succession is the process by which the structure of a biological community changes over times.
There are two types of succession; primary succession and secondary succession.
Primary succession begins in barren areas, such as on bare rock exposed by a retreating glacier. Then pioneer species, such as lichens and mosses, convert the rock into soil that can support other plants, such as grass. Grass then further modifies the soil. These stages of modification continue until they reach the final stage of succession, climax community. Tropical forests are normally among the most diverse biomes in the world, making it likely for them to be in the climax community.
Secondary succession is more likely to been seen in our biome due to increased logging and human activity.
Secondary succession occurs in areas where a community that previously existed has been removed. These do not eliminate all nutrients and resources from the area. One event that might cause secondary succession in the tropical forest is flooding. Flooding would destroy most of the area’s plants, however, some plants have adapted to survive these natural disasters.
Symbiosis Symbiosis is the relationship between two organisms living within close proximity of each other.
There are three types of symbiosis. Commensalism, parasitism, and mutualism.
Commensalism is when one organism benefits, and the other does not benefit and is not harmed. EX: Tree frog and Plant Tree frog blends in with plants leaves helping it hide from predators, the plant is not harmed.
Mutualism is when both organisms benefit. EX: Caiman and Bird The bird eats parasites and other food out of the caiman’s teeth, the caiman gets a free teeth cleaning and has its parasites removed.
Parasitism is when one organism benefits, but the other is harmed. EX: Mosquito and Monkey The mosquito consumes the monkey’s blood, while having a chance of transmitting a disease to the monkey.
Population Growth Population growth is the increase or decrease in the number of individuals in a population. The increase in the population of humans in areas in and around tropical rainforests have drastically reduced the populations of many species. Humans have also decreased the size of many tropical rainforests across the world. This has decreased the carrying capacity because animals are being forced to live closer together.
One example of a species on the decline is the Honduran Brook Frog. It is now listed as critically endangered and is confined to three small remote parts of the Honduran jungle. Some factors contributing to its rapid decline are logging, residential development, pollution and geological events (landslides and floods).
Demography is the study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which illustrate the changing structure of human populations.
Some factors that affect human population include: -
Birth Rate Death Rate Health Quality Education Government Restriction
Human Impact In the past 50 years 17% of the Amazon has been lost, most of this is due to logging and residential development. Approximately 137 species go extinct in tropical forests every day.
Habitat fragmentation is when a large habitat is split up into many smaller habitats, most of the time it is because of humans. It can separate animals from their food or water source.
Habitat degradation is the destruction of a habitat. Many habitats have been destroyed by humans in the past century.
Biodiversity is found the most near the equator. It’s found the least near the poles.
Biodiversity is important because every single organism, big or small, plays a role in the environment.
Invasive Species The American Bullfrog -came from North America -brought to South America for farming -competes for resources and is known to spread disease
The American Beaver -came from Canada -introduced by the Argentine Navy in 1946 -dam rivers which cause water levels to rise which kills crops and other plants
Hippopotamus -came from Africa -Pablo Escobar’s personal animals
-polluting rivers with there feces and causing a disruption in the food chain
A density independent factor is something that can only happen based on the population. Ex. Predators and prey.
A density dependent factor is something that can happen no matter what the population is. Ex. Storms
Poison Dart Frog eat flies, ants, insects, spiders, and termites. They have very few predators due to their high level of toxins. Special Adaptations: 1. They have toxins in their skin that can paralyze or kill predators. 2. Their bright blue skin warns predators not to eat it. 3. They have sticky skin that lets tadpoles latch on. 4. They have great vision that lets them see food on the ground. 5. Their tongue is long and stick to the can catch food.
Poison Dart Frogs are losing their habitat due to habitat destruction. Obviously, people are trying to stop habitat destruction from happening. These efforts don’t seem to be working, as the population of these frogs is decreasing.
5 Facts about Poison Dart Frogs 1. 2. 3. 4.
They live for 4-6 years. Their skin has enough toxins to kill a full grown man. They all have a unique pattern of spots. The toxics from their skin was put on arrows and darts used by Native Americans. 5. They don’t have webbed feet, so they aren’t great swimmers.
AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE CAIMAN 1. The caiman can grow up to 20 feet long and way over 1000 pounds. 2. The caiman has an excellent sense of eyesight and hearing. 3. Caimans are nocturnal animals. 4. Caimans can swim up to 30mph. 5. A caiman can survive 30 to 40 years in the wild.
Organization: Amazon Aid Foundation It has been successful because the black caiman was once listed as endangered, but now it is listed as least concern. Population #: It is estimated to be less than 1,000,000.
SPECIAL ADAPTATIONS
Diet: Almost anything they can get their jaws on, including birds, fish, amphibians, insects and small mammals. What Eats It? A fully grown adult black caiman has no natural predators except man. Juveniles are preyed on by jaguars and snakes like anacondas. The black caiman is at the highest trophic level, tertiary. It is an apex predator.
1. Thick scales that protect it from cuts. 2. The caiman’s powerful tail allows it to move fast in the water. 3. They have black/olive skin to help camouflage them. 4. Caiman’s have large powerful jaws with long sharp teeth. 5. Boney plates surrounding its eyes help protect them.
Emperor Tamarin
Facts About the Emperor Tamarin
Adaptations of the Emperor Tamarin
Diet: They eat fruit, tree sap, insects, and small vertebrates. Predators: Wild cats, dogs, snakes and birds of prey will eat Emperor Tamarins. Trophic Level: The Emperor Tamarin is a secondary consumer.
Organization: Manuripi-Heath Amazonian Wildlife National Reserve. This National Reserve is protecting the Emperor Tamarin’s that live there. However, Emperor Tamarin numbers are decreasing in other areas. Population: It is unknown how many Emperor Tamarin’s are left in the wild, but the IUCN rates them as least concern.
Pyramid of Numbers-
Biomass Pyramid-
A pyramid of numbers is a triangular graph that shows the population at each level of the food chain.
A biomass pyramid is a triangular graph that shows the total mass of organisms between levels of the food chain.