Download Tropical Forest - Cone Digital Portfolio

By: Nathan Cone
I selected the tropical forest as my
biome mainly because of its great
biodiversity. I think that the great
number of plant and animal species
in tropical forests will make this
biome interesting.
Entebbe, a major city with a tropical
rainforest climate, is located in Uganda,
Africa, on the northern shores of Lake
Victoria. Entebbe has a population of about
79,700 and has many tourist attractions.
Entebbe has a tropical rainforest climate.
The average yearly high temperature is
78.1°F. The average yearly low temperature
is 63.5°F. The average yearly rainfall is 59.33
inches.
The city of Entebbe, Uganda has a very diverse
ecosystem. It maintains a tropical rainforest climate
throughout the year, with slight differences in
temperature and precipitation.
Were there to be a sudden increase in deforestation, and Entebbe’s
trees and plants were all cut down or destroyed, the ecosystem would be
destroyed.
With all the plants gone, herbivores would disappear, leading to
carnivores disappearing, and the whole ecosystem falling apart. This
would, however, clear the area of all living things, and therefore leave
room for pioneer species to begin secondary succession.
Two Pioneer Species that would grow after a fire
are grasses, such as blue grass (poa pratensis), and
small flowers, such as daisies (Bellis perennis).
Intermediate species in a tropical forest can be
shrubs, such as Jamaican Poinsettia (Euphorbia
Punicea). The Jamaican Poinsettia has long green
leaves, with reddish-pink flowers.
In a tropical forest climax community, there will be a
complete ecosystem, and great biodiversity.
In a climax tropical forest community, there will be
the presence of fungi, decomposers, and ground
animals, such as gorillas, deer, snails, and bugs. There
will also be trees, such as maple, oak, elm, and various
evergreens. Lastly, there will be an emergent layer of
very tall trees, such as redwood or similar.
In a tropical forest, there are many ecosystems.
This means that there is great energy flow in
tropical forests.
Mangrove
Sun
Bengal
Bamboo
Sumatran
Rhinoceros
Jambu Fruit
Dove
Bengal
Tiger
Two- Toed
Sloth
Strangler
Figs
King
Cobra
Palm Civet
Harpy
Eagle
Secondary
Consumer
s
Bengal Tiger King Cobra Harpy Eagle
Primary Consumers
Chimpanzee
Palm Civet
Toco Toucan
Producers
Jambu
Curare
Strangler Figs
Tropical Forests are places
with great biodiversity. There are
many populations in tropical forests
and many communities.
A common Predator/Prey Interaction in a
tropical forest is that between a Harpy Eagle
and a King Cobra. This Interaction is crucial to
Tropical Forests because if the Harpy Eagle did
not eat the Cobra, there would be nothing else
to do so, and the Cobra’s prey – small and
medium-sized animals – would become
depleted.
A good example of Herbivory in a tropical forest
is the Sumatran Rhinoceros eating Bengal Bamboo.
This relationship is very important because if the
Rhino did not eat the bamboo, then the bamboo
would become overpopulated, causing less available
soil for other plants.
A good example of mutualism in a tropical forest
is the Jambu Fruit Dove eating the rotting fruit from
a Strangler Fig tree. This benefits both organisms
because while the Fig tree’s bad fruit is removed
(which is important because it leaves nutrients for
the new fruit), the Dove gets a meal.
There is Commensalism between the Two-Toed
Sloth and the Mangrove tree in tropical forests.
While the sloth gets a meal from the mangrove
leaves, the mangrove tree is not affected.
Parasitism occurs in tropical forests between a
Vampire Bat and a Chimpanzee. This interaction
harms the Chimpanzee because it causes it blood
loss and sometimes rabies. It helps the Bat because
it provides a meal to the Bat.
A Two-Toed Sloth eats fruit, leaves and bark
from trees. It is eaten by some larger carnivores
or omnivores.
A Jambu Fruit Dove is a potential competitor
to the Sloth. If they are both eating fruit and
leaves, there will be less food for them both.
An outcome of this situation could be that the
Sloth has to eat small rodents and tree bark only,
while the Dove gets all the fruit and leaves.
There are many vast environments in Tropical
Forests. Many Resources are abundant. There are
quite a few Environmental Issues, but all have
Environmental solutions.
A Resource used by humans that is abundant in
Tropical Forests is wood.
Wood is used mostly for building, but is used for
crafts and other things as well. Wood is a renewable
resource.
Humans are negatively impacting Tropical Forests by
destroying them, cutting down everything in their path.
This causes the death of animals that depend on the
Tropical Forest for shelter, food, and water.
People can improve the health of Tropical Forests by
planting more trees and not cutting the trees down in the first
place.
Humans are contributing to keeping Tropical
Forests healthy by planting more trees and trying to
cut less trees down.
This will cause more trees to exist, maintaining
the homes and resources that so many animals
depend on, including humans.
With such biodiversity in Tropical Forests, there
is a lot of evolution going on.
Poison Dart Frogs have adapted in many ways to
survive in Tropical Forests. The Poison Dart Frog
has, first of all adapted to secrete poisonous fluid.
Second, it has become very colorful, which is a sign
to animals to STAY AWAY FROM THE
POISONOUS FROG.
Natural Selection acted to spread these
adaptations through the Poison Dart Frog population
by adapting the frog to its predators. The Frog was
selected by nature to secrete a poison. It then spread
its adaptation to generations after it. This is why the
Poison Dart Frog is poisonous and is not eaten by
predators.
An organism that once lived in Tropical Forests, the Giant Boa
Constrictor, is now extinct.
The Giant Boa Constrictor ate anything from small reptiles to large
mammals, and was eaten by nothing.
The Toucan is a bird with a big beak, which is brightly colored. The
toucan eats fruit and bugs. It is eaten by medium to large mammals. The
Toucan is endangered because of deforestation and captivity. Were the
Toucan to become extinct, many medium to large mammals would lose
their food, and there would be more fruit available for other species on
the trees from which the Toucan feeds.
Intro.
Picture of Tropical Forest
http://www.kbears.com/climates/printtropical.htm
l
General Climate info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entebbe
Part 1
Tropical Forest picture
http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/temprain.h
tm
Picture of deforestation
http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2011/05/23/defo
restation-of-the-brazilian-amazonrainforest-has-increased-almost-sixfold/
Pic of grass
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/kentu
cky_bluegrass.htm
Pic of Daisy
http://www.rollingrains.com/case_studies/2010/0
3/daisy-and-informationaccessibiliy.html
Poinsettia pic
http://www.logees.com/Jamaican-PoinsettiaEuphorbia-punicea/productinfo/S7751-4/
Pioneer, intermediate, and climax species info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_rai
nforest
Rainforest picture
http://world-visits.blogspot.com/2012/03/tropicalrainforests.html
Part 2
Rainforest picture
http://ecolibrary.org/page/DP9017
Food Web pictures and names
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm
Trophic Pyramid pics and names
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm
Part 3
Pictures in all Symbiosis slides and Niche slide
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm
Part 4
Picture of Tropical Forest
http://csrgeneva.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/lands
cape-auction-innovative-financingmechanism-for-natureconservation/tropical-forest/
Picture of wood
http://loadpaper.com/id70274/cherry-brownwood-texture-backgrounds-1280x1024pixel.html
Picture of Forest
http://www.thelocationguide.com/forum/viewtopi
c.php?id=1573
Picture of Sapling
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo3518387-oak-sapling.php
Part 5
Picture of Organisms
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/tropicalrainforest-animals.html
Picture of Poison Dart Frog
http://www.aqua.org/explore/animals/bluepoison-dart-frog-dc
Picture of Poison Dart Frog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yellowbanded.poison.dart.frog.arp.jpg
Picture of Giant Boa Constrictor
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16533giant-snake-fossil-hints-at-a-hotterfuture.html
Picture of Toucan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Toco_toucan_lo
ndon.jpg