Study Notes for Rainforest Test

Animal Species:#1: Giant AnteaterHabitat: River Basin, grasslands, known to hide in hollow logs.Description: long snout, bushy tail, strong fore-claws, walks on knuckles to prevent claws from wear, long snout is sticky on the inside to prevent ants from climbing out again.Dietary Needs: sucks ants up through forest floor leaf litter using long snout, scavengers low lying lands for grubs and bugs etc, smashes open ants nests with claws then sucks up bugs through snout.Adaptation: Claws- used to smash open ants nest to provide its prey an open area for its Long, Sticky Snout- to suck up any grubs and bugs on forest floor, able to suck up through leaf litter.#2: Green Poison Dart FrogHabitat: Forest Understory, bushes, low trees/tree branches.Description: Varies in colour depending on breed but is green, black and occasionally white speckled and patterned. Skin is highly toxic and can harm predators on contact, small and is known to mate during wet season.Dietary Needs: Small spiders and other Insects.Adaptation: Poisonous skin realises harmful toxins to predators on contact. It can make the animal very ill and its bright colour warns other animals of the Amazon that it is a highly toxic species.#3: 3 Toed SlothHabitat: canopy, rarely seen in the emergents of the Amazon.Description: One of the worlds slowest animals, long limbs and strong tail. Very furry and occasionally has moss or other fungai beginning to grow on its back and forearms, is recognisable because it has three toesDietary Needs: Eats small shoots, leaves, fruit (including the Ficus Fig Tree), often found eating in the same area as the orangutan and spider monkey.Adaptation: Its extremely long limbs and strong tail provides the very slow moving sloth a stable hold in the trees whilst it reaches out and gathers fruit or shoots in the free hand. Its lengthy arms help it reach and glide from tree branch to tree branch.

Plant Species:AdaptationHow does this adaptation work?What does it look like?Buttress RootsProvide support for tree.Gain nutrients from the topsoil where the nutrients are the most rich.In its root system it holds water above soil.Drip Tip LeavesTheir shape ensure that water can easily fall off them. This is necessary because rainforests experience heavy precipitation and if the water was trapped the leaf would develop a fungal or bacterial infection.The water runs down the point to the ground below.Strangler FigsStrangler figs strangle trees in order to move closer to the canopy and receive sunlight.Start as seeds that are deposited by animals and these seeds then grow around their host tree. They then grow down to form roots and up to reach the canopy. They rely on their hosts for support and nutrients. The host tree will eventually die.EpiphytesPlants grow on the branches of other plants. They do not harm their host tree. This allows them to grow closer to the sunlight.LianasLianas are vine-like and hang from the trees which they are attached to. They use the trees as an anchor point.Tree TrunksStraight tree trunks hold the nutrients and water from the soil, they are also a great support for the tall trees. They also do not have branches that are less than 20 metres from the ground to ensure maximum sunlight. The bark is usually smooth so that water can easily run down the trunk to the roots.Dark Waxy LeavesThe darkness of the leaves attracts sunlight. The wax coating insures that water easily runs off the leaves. Trees found on the forest floor have big leaves in order for them to gain as much sunlight as possible. Plants in the RainforestPlantWhere are they found?What do they look like?AdaptationEbony Africa, India, Ceylon, Malaysia, and Indonesia.In the canopy layer they have thick wood to withstand harsh climatic conditions they have very small roots so that do not absorb a lot of water through roots they are very tall and it helps to form a canopy MahoganyThey are located in the Canopy layer in rainforests. The fruit’s body allows protection for the seeds until they reach maturity, if not they could be carried away before they could reproduce.VinesEurope in the tropical rainforests. They are found in the canopy layerBased on light they need, there are two different sorts of vines growing up either in light patches  or dark patches Vines can grow very, very long (up to 3000 feet) to climb up to the highest trees. LianasUSA, Canada, Argentina, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand. They are found in temperate forests, with levels ranging from the forest floor to the canopy.A liana is a variety of  long-stemmed, woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level and use trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy to get access to well-lit areas of the forest. They adapt by clinging to other trees before climbing them and making their way to the top of the canopy.Palmsforest floorPalms live on every continent, except Antarctica, and in every type of habitat. The ability to react to their environment, undergoing extreme adaptations to their growth, allows palm species to succeed where other plants cannot.Fernsfound on the forest floor.The pinnately compound leaves.Producing enormous quantity of spores.Presence of underground creeping rhizome.Ability to undergo both sexual and asexual reproduction. MossesFound on the forest floor.A moss is a flowerless plant. They range from microscopic discolourations on the soil to great shaggy knee-high carpets. Dominant gametophyte; non-vascular; generally clumping growth; lots of tiny stems (lowers air flow, loss of moisture). Some are poikilohydric.

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