ECOTOURS invites you to the
INDIAN TROPICAL
RAINFOREST
Main attraction:
BENGAL TIGER
(Urwin, 2007)
WHO WE ARE
Ecotours is a travel agency designated to promote the very best,
noteworthy tours out there. This year, our most magnificent attractions are
the tropical forests of India, due to their impressive biodiversity. Some of
these areas (the Northeast, to be more specific) are home to our animal of
the month: the Bengal tiger, or Panthera tigris tigris. We cordially invite you
to take advantage of this opportunity to visit the Bengal tiger’s habitat and
see how they interact with their surroundings with your very own eyes.
(CIA Factbook, 2012)
Sincerely,
Regina Cornish, Cynthia De la Garza, Katya Villarreal
Travel agents
CLASSIFICATION
BIOME AND ECOSYSTEM
The major biome is the tropical rain
forest, which is found in different parts of the
world but always near the equator. The specific ecosystem our apex predator lives in is the
tropical evergreen forest in Northeast India.
(GlobCover, 2008)
SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
This ecosystem the Bengal tigers live
in is located in the South of the Asian continent, in Northeast India. The image to the left
demonstrates the location of this ecosystem in
green. The Indian states in these area are Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, with coordinates
of 26.00° N, 93.00° E and 27.06°N 93.37°E respectively.
(Compare Infobase, 2005)
ENVIRONMENT - ABIOTIC
CLIMATE
The tropical rainforest
of Northeast India is part of the
tropical wet climate group. Temperature is from 20 °C to 34 °C (68
°F to 93 °F). The year round precipitation and amount of rainfall
is more than 100 inches a year or
about 250 cm.
(NASA, 2012)
ABIOTIC FACTORS
The ecosystem of the Bengal tiger is not only composed of other living organisms... it has abiotic components as well. If this factors are present in the quanity needed, a balance in the environment
is reached and the area is habitable. Examples of abiotic factors:
1. Water: Essential for organisms to live. If there’s not enough water they might die because there’s
nothing to drink/absorb, and too much water can drown producers and small organisms.
2. Sunlight: Major source of energy. Needed for producers to be able to make food and pass it down
the food web.
3. Precipitation: The tropical forest has a high
level of precipitation and keeps all of the
plants alive as well as the animals.
4. Humidity: Huge component of this specific environment. Humidity levels are high
because it rains a lot and this keeps the ecosystem alive.
5. Physical space: The space that an organism
has to live is crucial for it will determine the
access that it will have to factors like water,
food, and shelter. If there is no physical space
they aren’t able to grow/survive.
6. Minerals: Most are absorbed by plants,
making them rich and luscious; if there isn’t
enough minerals organisms grow weak.
7. Fire frequency: In the tropical rainforest the
start of a fire used to be unusual, but lately
the fire frequency rate has increased, killing
many species. The environment needs to be
taken care of so it doesn’t dissappear.
(Siwanowicz, 2011)
Red: Both condition and resource; pink: condition; orange: resource
FLORA
In an ecosystem, the flora consists on those organisms that are autotrophs. These are plants, and
they make their own food that then becomes available to more organisms. Some of the producers you
would be able to see in this rich Indian rainforest include:
1. Bambusa tulda
Common Names: Indian Bamboo, Bengal Bamboo
2. Cinnamomum zeylanicum
Common Names: Cinnamon tree
3. Ficus benghalensis
Common Names: Banyan Tree, Strangler Figs
4. Mangifera indica
Common Names: Mango Tree
5. Elleteria cardamom
Common Names: Cardamom
(Growin, 2011)
FAUNA
The fauna are the animals of an ecosystem. They are heterotrophs, or consumers, and eat other
organisms to survive. Depending on their diet, they are classified as the following: (1) Herbivores - at
plants, (2) Omnivores - eat both plants and animals, or (3) Carnivores - eat animals. Now, we will tell
you which animals you’ll be able to see when you visit the tropical rainforest of Northeast India.
HERBIVORES
1. Psittacula krameri
Common Names: Rose-ringed Parakeet
2. Moschiola indica
Common Names: Indian Chevrotain, Mouse Deer
3. Papilio helenus
Common Names: Red Helen, Swallowtail Butterfly
4. Eonycteris spelaea
Common Names: Dawn bat, Common Nectar Bat
5. Apis dorsata
Common Names: Giant Honey Bee
(Ranjitsinh, 2010)
FAUNA
OMNIVORES:
1. Macaca mullata
Common Names: Rhesus monkey
2. Dendrocitta vagabunda
Common Names: Rufous treepie
3. Hylobates lar
Common Names: Lar Gibbon
4. Nycticebus bengalensis
Common Names: Slow loris
5. Buceros bicornis
Common Names: Great Indian Hornbill, Great Pied Hornbill
(Vicente, 2007)
(Moore, 2012)
CARNIVORES:
1. Panthera tigris tigris
Common Name: Bengal Tiger
2. Nepenthes rafflesiana
Common Name: Carnivorous Plant
3. Python molurus
Common Name: Indian Python
4. Carlito syrichta
Common Name: Tarsier
(Krishnappa, 2008)
5. Poecilotheria regalis
Common Name: Indian Ornamental Tarantula
(Darling, 2007)
FOOD WEB
In every ecosystem, there are feeding relationships, and the North-east India tropical rainforest is no exception. The most complex represantation of this is presented in a food web, since
it links several food chains together. In predation, a predator (hunter) eats a prey (victim/food
source). This is the cycle of life... some organisms must eat others. It keeps the ecosystem functioning properly; if one of the species disappears, the whole web is disturbed, and the predator left
without prey will have to compete for another food source. Below we’ll show you a food web of the
Bengal tiger’s (an apex predator, along with the python) ecosystem. Note that abiotic factors are
also needed for for the producers to be able to make food to then pass to the consumers. When all
organisms die, they may be eaten by vultures but end up being decomposed and form part of nutrient in the soil. The energy moves on the direction of the arrows, increasing trophic levels.
Python snake
Vultures
Bengal tiger
Loris
Bat
(COMPETITION)
Deer
Young elephants
Monkeys
Insects
Mango tree fruit
Bacteria, fungi
Grass
Abiotic factors such as sunlight and water
Shrubs
Mineral nutrients
NON-FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS
There are several non-feeding relationships present in the tropical rainforest of Northeast India. If
you’re a lucky tourist, maybe you’ll get to see these in action! Some of them are: mutualism, relationship in which both of the organisms are benefited; commensalism, where one of the orgaisms
is benefited and the other is neither harmed nor helped; and parasitism, in which one organism is
harmed while the other one is helped.
MUTUALISM
Dawn bats are the prime pollinators of
the Durian trees; this tree gives pollen
to the bats, while the bats help the tree
reproduce and survive; it is a beneficial
relationship for both species.
(Baker, 2012)
COMMENSALISM
The silvery Gibbons, also known as lesser apes, never touch the ground, for they live
their whole lives in the high canopies of the Diperocarp and fig trees; these trees supply food and shelter for these animals through the whole year. These trees are neither
harmed nor helped, creating a commensalism relationship.
There are epiphyte orchids have aerial roots, which means that they grow above the
grounds surface and on top of other plants for support. These Epiphyte orchids then
have better access to sunlight and water avoiding competition. The plants that they
are on are neither harmed nor hurt for these epiphyte orchids don’t harm nor help
these plants.
PA R AS ITIS M
Leeches live in the rainforest floor, they attach themselves to all the mammals they can find (usually tigers or
sloths). They will then feed on the animal’s blood getting
the food and nutrients they need to survive, their host
will then be harmed for they will lose blood. This is a
form of parasitism.
ROLE OF MATTER
Matter plays an essential role in the rainforst in Northeast India, just as it does in the entire
planet Earth. Matter cannot be created or destroyed; that’s why it is always being rearranged into different forms in our ecosystem, according to the Law of Conservation of Matter.
The biogeochemical cycles such as the Carbon cycle, the Phosphorus cycle,and the Nitrogen cycle
are always present and active.
Carbon cycle: plays an important role where naturally plants take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it for photosynthetic activity. Later, the carbon is passed to consumers (who breathe
out CO2 in cellular respiration) and eventually to decomposers, and the cycle starts over. Carbon is the
backbone of all organic components and the ecosystem wouldn’t exist without it.
Phosphorus cycle: is only present in the lithosphere; however, it plays a vital role in our ecosystem. Plants take in phosphorus as a nutrient from the soil and are able to grow because of it. In the
rainforest, there are thousands of species of plants and they require these minerals to function and pass
phosphorus on to other organisms.
Nitrogen Cycle: this element comes mainly from the atmosphere, but most plants and animals
can not use it in its diatomic molecule state; therefore,bacteria living in some plant’s roots undergo a
process of nitrogen fixation to change nitrogen into a molecule usable by plants and animals in the tropical rainforest. Since this ecosystem is very biodiverse, it needs all essential elements to be in its optimum,
and nitrogen is no exception.
Furthermore, matter is constantly moving in this ecosystem when nutrients and compounds are
either extracted from the soil or taken in from the atmosphere; a herbivore or omnivore will eventually
eat the plant that absorbed them and later that animal will be eaten by another. This process will go on
up to 4 trophic levels until it reaches the apex predator. After the Bengal Tiger dies decomposers eat the
animal and break it into nutrients and minerals back into the soil, where matter can be used up again
in another form.
It is also important to note that primary productivity is very high in a rainforest, meaning that
the photosynthetic activity rate is higher than in any other ecosystem which is what makes the ecosystem full of different varieties of plants and animals. This also increases the biomass in the ecosystem; the
more primary productivity the more plants and animals, therefore, more biomass.
(Nodilo, 2012)
ROLE OF
ENERGY
In an ecosystem, energy flows;
it does not cycle. This refers also to the
Law of Conservation, which states that
energy is another component that is not
created or destroyed. However, there’s
also a 2nd law of Thermodynamics,
which states that some energy is always
lost when it’s transsfered.
This means that when energy
is passed on from one to organism to
another some energy is not useful anymore. When an herbivore or an omnivore eats a plant they obtain only 10%
of the energy the plant has; later, when
that animal is eaten by the second(Erickson, 2006)
ary consumer they only obtain 10% of
the energy, this process occurs until it
reaches the apex predator, meaning that
the Bengal Tiger in our rainforest will have very little amount of energy available. Therefore, he
needs to eat in greater quantities to supply himself with enough energy.
This is known as 10% rule that applies to the biomass pyramid (like the one displayed here)
and explains why food chains are no more than 4 trophic levels. Once the energy reaches the 4th
trophic level, the energy available is very little.
As we said that energy is lost when it changes state. There are 4 common types of energy and
they constantly alter between one another. It can be kinetic energy, which is for movement or sunlight;
it can be potential energy which is stored energy such as in glucose; it can be chemical energy which
is the energy between the bonds of ATP; or it can be thermal energy which is body heat. Every living
thing undergoes through these changes of energy; this is why they use it up and leave only 10% of the
energy is given to the next trophic level. There are several ways in which an organism uses the rest
90% of the energy. One is cellular respiration; it takes energy for an animal to breath. Another way
of energy leaving the body is by homeostasis, because organisms need it to maintain their average
temperature.
Overall, energy is always being transferred and used in the tropical rainforest. It flows and
changes forms, but is always present, even if it varies in form. Without energy, no processes would be
possible and no organisms would be able to survive.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE
DEFORESTATION
A major environmental issue
that is currently happening because of
the human impact and involvement
in the southeastern Asian rainforests,
including our very own Bengal tiger’s
Northeast India home, is deforestation. We want to discuss this topic to
raise awareness of how dangerous and
erroneous deforestation is. Because of
it, organisms are losing their habitats
and the biotic community is decreasing because those organisms are not
able to live in the area any longer.
Deforestation is the cutting
down and the clearing away of trees
in a forested area. It plays the role of
a physical barrier, since it direclty de(AFP, 2007)
creases the ecosystem’s space.
Deforestation has caused the tropical rainforest to have more eroded soils; this desrupts the
natural process of the biogeochemical cycles. It leaves the soil worn away and with less minerals and
nutrients available for plant growth. Besides, this environmental issue contributes to the desertification
and pollution of nearby waterways, so it also reduces that required abiotic factor for all the organisms
living nearby. The air is also being polluted by tropical deforestation, since this releases tonnes of carbon
into the atmospehere that would be otherwise absorbed by trees and used for photosynthesis.
The biggest problem that deforestation has caused has been the decrease of biodiversity because
of the destruction of the habitats of many species. Deforestation is one of the major reasons why many
animals in the southeastern Asian rainforest are becoming extinct; this means that some organisms’
populations are decreasing in numbers because of the lack of reproduction due to the limited resources
left after deforestation occurs. When their ecosystem is partially destroyed, everything in it reduces,
and organisms can no longer live in optimum and are left trying to stay within their range of tolerance.
However, not all of them are strong enough to survive.
Another alarming fact is that many species endemic to this ecosystem are dying, therefore causing an unbalance in the food web, leaving some organisms without food sources and obliging them to
resort to competition with other organisms in their same or different trophic level, depending on their
diet. Additionally, if there’s less food, there’s less energy available.
The biggest contributor to deforestation are the timber, palm oil and agricultural industries who
both legally and illegally are cutting down thousands of trees. Deforestation in Southeast Asia is composed by substantial agriculture 44%, intensive agriculture 44%, logging 6%, and ranching/ pasture 6%
(Gibbs, 2008). People need to stop the cutting down of trees and start start planting them instead.
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