Steph's+Rainforest



Animals, Plants and Microbes **Animals:** Bengal Tiger, CommonPalm Civet or Musang, Dawn Bat, Jambu Fruit Dove, King Cobra, Orangutan, Proboscis Monkey, Red-shanked Douc Langur, Silvery Gibbon, Slender Loris, Wagler's Pit Viper, Sumatran Rhinoceros
 * Plants:** Bengal Bamboo, Durian, Jambu, Kapok, Mangrove Forests, Strangler Figs, Tualang, Bromeliads
 * Microbes:** living bacteria such as microbes in the soil, fungi,


 * Habitats:** Different animals live in different habitats of the rainforest. There different layers of the forest animals can live such as birds could live in the emergent layers and canopy layers, large animals live mostly on the floor, others like sloths live in the tree branches and trunks. Insects are every where and bugs are on the floor in rotten trees and branches. Decomposers also live on the floor to decompose. Animals dwelling on the canopy layer can hang from the branches of trees or just perch on branches (birds). The emergent layer would have big birds as not many animals can reach the top.

Habitat-** The Bengal Tiger is mainly found near Southeast Asia. They can be found in grasslands, subtropical and tropical rain forests or deciduous forests.
 * __Bengal Tiger:[[image:http://www.solarnavigator.net/animal_kingdom/animal_images/Tiger_panthera_tigris_tigris_Bengal.jpg width="193" height="132" align="left" caption="Bengal Tiger"]]__
 * What they eat:** Bengal Tigers are carnivores so they eat deer, wild pigs, boars, monkeys and other large animals. It tends to only attack the old or the young as they do not run as much. What they eat affects the food web greatly because it balances the number of animals.
 * What eats them:** The tigers are the top predators but are being poached by humans for their skin, eyes and bones which are needed for traditional medicines. Also, habitat destruction affects the tigers as they would have no where to go making them an endangered species.

Habitat:** The Proboscis Monkey only lives in the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It dwells in places where there is easy access for fresh water such as Mangroves and lowland forests. It sits in niches on the canopy levels as they do not need to go down for food. Unfortunately, as technology advances, humans have been able to have easy access to mangroves, cutting down the trees.
 * __Proboscis Monkey:[[image:http://www.animalport.com/rainforest-animals/img/proboscis3.jpg width="168" height="132" align="left" caption="Proboscis Monkey"]]__
 * What they eat:** Porboscis Monkeys is a hebivore and about 95% of their diet is leaves of mangroves and pedada trees. They also eat seeds and some fruits. They mainly feed in the morning and late at night.
 * What eats them:** The monkeys are eaten by tigers, clouded leopards and humans. Humans don't actually eat them but they are being poached meaning that these species are endangered.

**Habitat:** The Sumatran Rhino could be found in eastern India through Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo but their habitat is being destroyed so they ar cuently only living in Sumatra and Malaysia near the peninsular. They prefer tropical rainforests and they like being near water so they can be in mud to protect themselves from insects that bite.
 * __Sumatran Rhinoceros:__**
 * What they eat:** The normal diet of a rhino consists of durians, figs, bamboo and leaves of other plants. They also eat fruits like mangosteens
 * What eats them:** Many rhinos have been poached and some have been captured for research but nearly half of the died. Now, rhinoceros are critically endangered with only about 300 left.

Habitat:** The Silvery Gibbon live most of their life in the trees swinging from one tree to another. They rarely come down to the forest floor as they have no need. But they have to stay in the primary areas of a rainforest to be able to swing from tree to tree. They live in Java (Indonesia) and have protected areas where they can be safe.
 * __Silvery Gibbon:[[image:http://www.animalport.com/rainforest-animals/img/silver_gibbon2.jpg width="91" height="148" align="left" caption="Silvery Gibbon"]]__
 * What they eat:** They eat mainly fruits but they can also consume flowers and leaves off trees. They need to stay in the primary areas of a rainforest as they need a wide variety of fruits.
 * What eats them:** They are being killed by humans for meat, sport and pet rade. Deforestation is also causing the dwindling numbers of these species. There are les than 2000 gibbons in the whole world so they are an endangered species.

** Abiotic Factors- ** The temperatures around rainforests can be lower up to 5 degrees celsius because of the water cycle. Also, most of the inside of rainforests are in the shade with only 2% of sumlight piercing through the leaves of the canopy level. The humidity level is very high as the heat is trapped inside like a blanket. Rainforests are mostly wet with a few drizzles. There are also rocks covered in rocks and the soil is mostly covered by rotten leaves. The soil is very thin so the nutrients can be washed away by rain if the trees are chopped down but there are only drizzles so the soil does not get damaged. The only wind is at the top which is the emergent layer because there is not much wind inside.

Rainforests exist in many places all over the world. The places where there are tropical rainforests are shown on the map. The tropical rainforests are all near the equator where the weather is quite humid but temperate rainforests can be further away from the equator. The rainforests need to be where there is enough rainfall (200cm). Some of the places where rainforests can be found are the Amazon, Africa and Southeast Asia.
 * Where Similar Biomes Exist in the World **

** Threats to the Biome- ** The main threat to the rainforest is humans. Hunans are cutting down the trees for crops, farming, oiling, civilisation and more. This can lead to many problems. When we want to dig for oil, we use heavy machinery which can pollute the air and the water of oil spills and the exhaust from the machinery. Cutting down trees mean that there will be no oxygen for us to breathe later on in the years. Also, the habitat of animals will be destroyed as many animals shelter in the rainforests around the world. Already, there are many animals dead because of this in the Amazon. Another issue is that if the trees are cut down, the nutrients in the soil will disappear. Unfortunately, humans are using a method called 'slash and burn' where the trees are burnt not logged. When trees are burnt, they release CO2 wich contributes to air pollution. If this keeps going on, humans will have no air to breathe and the animals won't have a place to call it their habitat.

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