Tropical+Rainforests

=**Tropical Rainforest- Terrestrial Biome** Anne Heffernan, Jillian Giaccio= =Mr. Z=  The climate is humid because of the amount of rainfall the rainforest gets. The rainforest gets about 250 cm of rain a year. 50% of the precipatation comes from the rainforest's evaporation. The average temperatures are 18 degrees Celcius. The warmest and coldest months only differ in temperature by 5 degrees Celcius. There are only two seasons in the rainforest, which are rainy and dry.
 * Climate**

Many rainforest soils are poor and infertile. Warm, humid conditions cause material to decay faster and put nutrients back into the living forest rather than keep the nutrients in the soil. Plants use the nutrients in the soil as soon as the nutrient are put there.  Tropical rainforests are bounded by the latitudes 23.5 degrees N and 23.5 degrees S. Tropical rainforests are found in Central America in the Amazon river basin, in Africa, in the Zaire basin, and a small area in West Africa. Tropical rainforests are also found in eastern Madagascar, and Indo-Malaysia, the west coast of India, Assam, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Queensland, and Australia.  Tropical rainforests are typically found at altitudes below 1000 meters because temperatures can be too cool at higher altitudes. For every increase 300 meters in altitude, there is a drop in temperature of about 1.7 degrees Celcius.
 * Soils and Geologic Characteristics**
 * Latitudes**
 * Altitudes**

There are many species of animals in the tropical rainforest.Many mammals and birds have made adaptations to live in the trees. Species have also adapted to the tropical rainforest by being bright colored, and patterned, diets mostly of fruits, and loud vocalizations. Also insects make up the biggest group of animals in the rainforests. Some insects that live there include bright colored butterflies, stick insects mosquitoes, and large colonies of ants. The tropical rainforest has almost 15 million different animal and plant species. 
 * Species Diversity**

Three levels, the canopy, the understory and the forest floor, make up the rainforest. Each level contains different producers. The canopy contains tall trees, the understory has shrubs, ferns, palms, small trees and vines, and the forest floor has herbs, mosses and fungi. Specifically, some plants that grow in the rainforest are: bamboo, banana trees, rubber trees, orange and lemon trees and orchids.
 * Producers**

 In the Tropical rainforest there are more primary consumers than secondary consumers. Some primary consumers consist of colobus monkeys, sloths, most bats, humming birds, red-shanked douc langur, opossums, marmosets, pygmy, lemurs, wasps, and bees. There are more plant-eaters in the rainforest than meat-eaters and more plants in the rainforest than plant-eaters.
 * Primary Consumers**

 //Sloth//

The rainforest holds many secondary consumers, such as frogs, small snakes, large insects and birds of prey such as eagles and vultures. These creatures use a variety of methods, including skills, force and poisons to sucessfully hunt their prey.  //Orange thighed frog// The top consumers in the tropical rainforest feed on the secondary consumers. Some of the top consumers in the tropical rainforest are hawks, leopards, lions, tigers, and jackals.
 * Secondary Consumers**
 * Top Consumers**

 //Leopard//  Decomposers play a crucial role in the rainforest. Without them, the forest floor would be covered in decaying trees and fruits. The decomposers in the rainforest work faster than those in any other biome, which contributes to the quick turnover of nutrients in the soil. Some decomposers inlcude earthworms, fungi, termites, bacteria, and protozoans.  Humans have impacted the tropical rainforest by deforestation of the environment. The damage that has been done to the tropical rainforest is irreversible within our lifetime. Rainforests now cover only 6% of the Earth, and the loss of rainforests would be harmful to humans. This is because rainforests produce about 40% of the world's oxygen and rainforest plants provide nearly one quarter of medicines.   blueplantbiomes.org mobot.org ucmp.berkeley.edu uwsp.edu info.rforests.tripod.com brighthub.com enchantedlearning.com buzzle.com rainforests.mongabay.com michael07.wordpress.com uwosh.edu theanimalfiles.com eyesonnatureexpeditions.com mugrat.net guardian.co.uk library.thinkquest.org geography.hunter.cuny.edu mclus.org amdwebstudies.co.uk
 * Decomposers**
 * Human Impacts**
 * Works Cited**