There are many rainforests in the world and the biggest
one, the Amazon Rainforest, is located in South America.
There are rainforests in Africa, Central America, South Asia
and when Australia was combined with New Zealand and
Papua New Guinea they also had a rainforests.
The dark green areas is where rainforests are and were.
There are many animals and plants in the
tropical rainforest. Rainforests are home to
half the worlds animals. There are many
different layers of rainforest and there are
different animals and plants in each layer.
The four layers are the emergent layer,
the canopy layer, the understory layer and
the forest floor.
"Tropical Rainforests - Animals." KIDCYBER. Web. 31 Jan.
2011.
<http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/biomerainfor4.htm>.
The Emergent Layer contains a very small amount of large trees.
The trees are ranged between 45 to 55 meters tall. Some of the
trees grow up to 70 to 80 meters. The trees have to be able to
withstand high temperatures and strong winds to survive. They
also have to survive lots of rain. They do this by having big, thick
and waxy leaves which help excess rain drip of the leaves. The
animals that live in this area are, eagles, butterflies, bats and
certain monkeys.
The canopy layer is the main layer of the rainforest. The trees in this layer have
smooth, oval leaves. This area is a maze of branches and vines. The trees here
have a climbing vine called Liana which goes above the canopy for more
sunshine. This area has the many animals such as snakes, toucans and tree
frogs.
The understory layer is
the third layer of the
rainforest this area is
very dark because of the
massive trees blocking
out all the sunlight. The
plants in this area only
grow to about 3.5 meters
tall and have large leaves
so they can get as much
possible sunlight. The
animals that live here are
jaguars, red-eyed tree
frog and leopards.
The shrub layer is the final layer of a rainforest and has the least
amount of sunlight and that’s why there are not many plants or
trees. The animal that lives here is the Giant Anteater and this layer
also has a lot of insects.
"Plants of the Tropical Rainforests." KIDCYBER. Web. 01 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/biomerainfor3.htm>. All layer
information.
The rainforest is home to half the animals on
the earth here are some of the animals and
how they have adapted to the rainforest.
Parrots and toucans eat nuts,
and developed big strong
beaks to crack open the
tough shells of Brazil nuts.
Caimans, turtles and
anacondas have adapted to
the amount of rain by being
able to swim.
The monkeys and sloths have
adapted to the rainforest by being
able to climb trees for food.
Some animals in the rainforest
are nocturnal so they can avoid
the high temperatures during the
day.
"Answers.com - What Are Three Animal Adaptations in the Rainforest Biome." WikiAnswers The Q&A Wiki. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.
<http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_three_animal_adaptations_in_the_rainforest_biome>
Humans have impacted the rainforest in both good and bad ways.
Humans are cutting down
rainforest trees for there
lumber and are cutting down
about 1.5 acres of 50 football
fields per second. Humans
are also killing endangered
species.
Humans who go to the rainforest as
tourists are giving money to the
government which go to help the
rainforest in keeping it protected from
hunters or trespassers.
"Tropical Rainforest." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 31 Jan.
2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_rainforest>.
Bibliography
"Tropical Rainforests - Animals." KIDCYBER. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/biomerainfor4.htm>.
"Plants of the Tropical Rainforests." KIDCYBER. Web. 01 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/biomerainfor3.htm>. All layer
information.
"Answers.com - What Are Three Animal Adaptations in the
Rainforest Biome." WikiAnswers - The Q&A Wiki. Web. 31 Jan.
2011.
<http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_three_animal_adaptatio
ns_in_the_rainforest_biome>.
"Tropical Rainforest." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web.
31 Jan. 2011.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_rainforest>.