Rainforest Lesson Plan Mary Ann Lee Tanner Dance Professional Development

1. Rainforest Lesson Plan Mary Ann Lee Tanner Dance Professional Development

2. Where Are rainforests located? Tropical rainforests are located near the equator. Fifty seven percent of all tropical rainforests are found in Latin America. One third of the world’s tropical rainforests are in Brazil. Other tropical rainforests are located in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands (25%) and West Africa (18%). TEMPERATE RAINFORESTS are found along some coasts in temperate zones. The largest temperate rainforests are found on the Pacific coast of North America. They stretch from Oregon to Alaska for 1,200 miles. Smaller temperate rainforests can be found on the southeast coast of Chile in South America. There are a few other coastal strips with temperate rainforests, including small areas in the United Kingdom, Norway, Japan, New Zealand, and Southern Australia.

3. What makes the tropical rainforest special? • The rainforests are home to half of the Earth's plant and animal species. • They are winter homes to many birds that breed in temperate latitudes. • Tropical rainforests are some of the most beautiful wildernesses on our planet. • They are home to tribal cultures that have survived successfully in the forests for many thousands of years. • The forests are a potential source of medicinal plants that may benefit everyone on Earth. • The ecosystem of the rainforest is based on the most complex interdependence of plants and animals. This is both the forest's strength and its weakness: highly specialized organisms are particularly vulnerable to disturbance, because they cannot adapt fast enough to survive the change. • Tropical rainforests help maintain global rain and weather patterns. Much of the water that evaporates from the trees returns in the form of rainfall. Removal of the forest can change the natural rainfall patterns.

4. Tropical rainforest layers • Tropical rainforests have four layers: • Emergent LayerThese giant trees thrust above the dense canopy layer and have huge mushroom-shaped crowns. These trees enjoy the greatest amount of sunlight but also must endure high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds. • Canopy LayerThe broad, irregular crowns of these trees form a tight, continuous canopy 60 to 90 feet above the ground. The branches are often densely covered with other plants (epiphytes) and tied together with vines (lianas). The canopy is home to 90% of the organisms found in the rain forest; many seeking the brighter light in the treetops. • UnderstoryReceiving only 2-15% of the sunlight that falls on the canopy, the understory is a dark place. It is relatively open and contains young trees and leafy herbaceous plants that tolerate low light. Many popular house plants come from this layer. Only along rivers and roadways and in treefall and cut areas is sunlight sufficient to allow growth to become thick and impenetrable  • Forest FloorThe forest floor receives less than 2% of the sunlight and consequently, little grows here except plants adapted to very low light. On the floor is a thin layer of fallen leaves, seeds, fruits, and branches that very quickly decomposes. Only a thin layer of decaying organic matter is found, unlike in temperate deciduous forests.

5. Soil and nutrient recycling Comparison of Where Nutrients Are Found in an Ecosystem Based on the Averaging of Major Nutrients. • Most tropical rainforest soils relatively poor in nutrients. Millions of years of weathering and torrential rains have washed most of the nutrients out of the soil. More recent volcanic soils, however, can be very fertile. Tropical rain forest soils contain less organic matter than temperate forests and most of the available nutrients are found in the living plant and animal material. Nutrients in the soil are often in forms that are not accessible by plants. • Constant warmth and moisture promote rapid decay of organic matter. When a tree dies in the rainforest, living organisms quickly absorb the nutrients before they have a chance to be washed away. When tropical forests are cut and burned, heavy rains can quickly wash the released nutrients away, leaving the soil even more impoverished.

6. Plant adaptations 1. Bark In drier, temperate deciduous forests a thick bark helps to limit moisture evaporation from the tree's trunk. Since this is not a concern in the high humidity of tropical rainforests, most trees have a thin, smooth bark. The smoothness of the bark may also make it difficult for other plants to grow on their surface. 2. Lianas Lianas are climbing woody vines that drape rainforest trees. They have adapted to life in the rainforest by having their roots in the ground and climbing high into the tree canopy to reach available sunlight. Many lianas start life in the rainforest canopy and send roots down to the ground. 3. Drip Tips The leaves of forest trees have adapted to cope with exceptionally high rainfall. Many tropical rainforest leaves have a drip tip. It is thought that these drip tips enable rain drops to run off quickly. Plants need to shed water to avoid growth of fungus and bacteria in the warm, wet tropical rainforest. 4. Buttresses Many large trees have massive ridges near the base that can rise 30 feet high before blending into the trunk. Why do they form? Buttress roots provide extra stability, especially since roots of tropical rainforest trees are not typically as deep as those of trees in temperate zones.

7. Plant adaptations cont. 5. Prop and Stilt Roots Prop and stilt roots help give support and are characteristic of tropical palms growing in shallow, wet soils. Although the tree grows fairly slowly, these above-ground roots can grow 28 inches a month. 6. Epiphytes Epiphytes are plants that live on the surface of other plants, especially the trunk and branches. They grow on trees to take advantage of the sunlight in the canopy. Most are orchids, bromeliads, ferns, and Philodendronrelatives. Tiny plants called epiphylls, mostly mosses, liverworts and lichens, live on the surface of leaves. 7. Bromeliads Bromeliads are found almost exclusively in the Americas. Some grow in the ground, like pineapple, but most species grow on the branches of trees. Their leaves form a vase or tank that holds water. Small roots anchor plants to supporting branches, and their broad leaf bases form a water-holding tank or cup. The tank's capacity ranges from half a pint to 12 gallons or more. The tanks support a thriving eco-system of bacteria, protozoa, tiny crustaceans, mosquito and dragonfly larvae, tadpoles, birds, salamanders and frogs. Mangroves On tropical deltas and along ocean edges and river estuaries, trees have adapted to living in wet, marshy conditions. These trees, called mangroves, have wide-spreading stilt roots that support the trees in the tidal mud and trap nutritious organic matter. Nepenthes Pitcher plant vines in the family Nepenthaceae have leaves that form a pitcher, complete with a lid. Sweet or foul-smelling nectar in the pitcher attracts insects, especially ants and flies, that lose their grip on the slick sides and fall into the liquid. Downward-pointing hairs inside the pitcher prevent the insects' escape. The insects are digested by the plants and provide nutrients. Pitcher plants are not epiphytes but climbers rooted in the soil.

8. jaguar The jaguar is from the Panthera genus, and is the only extant Panthera species native to the Americas. They are the third largest feline species behind the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Americas. The jaguar is most closely resembles the leopard physically, although it is usually larger and of a sturdier build and its behavioral and habitat characteristics are closer to those od the tiger. The jaguar's present range extends from Southwestern United States and Mexico across much of Central America and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. Though there are single cats now living within the western United States, the species has largely been extirpated from the United States since the early 20th century. The jaguar’s preferred habitat is dense rainforest like swamps and wooded regions they will range across many forested and open terrains like scrublands and deserts. The jaguar is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush predator at the top of the food chain (an apex predator). The jaguar has an exceptionally powerful bite, even relative to the other big cats. This allows it to pierce the shells of armored reptiles and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of prey between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain.

9. Orangutan The orangutans is classified in the genus Pongo. They were considered one species, but in 1996, they were divided into two species: the Bornean orangutan and the Sumatran orangutan. They are the two exclusively Asian species of extent great apes. The orangutan is also the only surviving species of the subfamily Ponginae which split from the main ape line in Africa and spread to Asia. Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, orangutans are currently found in only the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Orangutans are among the most intelligent primates; they use a variety of sophisticated tools and construct elaborate sleeping nests each night from branches and foliage. The apes have been extensively studied for their learning abilities. Orangutans are the most solitary id the great apes and spend most of their time in trees.

10. Golden lion tamarin The Golden Lion Tamarin, also known as the golden marmoset, is a small New World monkey of the family Callitrichidae. The Golden Lion Tamarin is native to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil. Tamarins live in coastal lowland forests less than 300 m (984 ft) above sea level. They can be found in hilltop forests and swamp forests and are confined to three small areas of the tropical rain forest in southeastern Brazil: Poço das Antas Biological Reserve, FazendaUnião Biological Reserve, and private land through the Reintroduction Program. The Golden Lion Tamarin is awake and active for a minimum of 12 hours a day. Every night they sleep in a new den in order to reduce their scent left and make it more difficult for predators to track them. They will usually use hollow trees that are about 36-49 feet above the ground to build their sleeping dens.

11. Sloth Sloths are mammal s classified in two different families: two-toed sloths( Megalonychidea) and three-toed sloths (Bradypodidae). There are six extant species of sloths. Sloths get their name from the capital sin of sloth because of how low and lazy hey seem at first glance. However, this is due to a metabolic adaption for conserving energy. Notable traits include: strong body, the ability to swim, and surprising bursts of speed during emergency flights away from predators. The sloth cannot survive outside the rainforest of south and central America. Sloths have short, flat heads, big eyes, short snouts, stout bodies, long limbs, and tiny ears. Three-toed sloths also have stubby tails about 5-6 cm long

12. Morpho butterflies coloration • Most Morpho butterflies are colored in metallic, shimmering shades of blues and greens. These colors are an example of iridescence through structural coloration and not pigmentation. • The colors of the morpho butterfly depends on viewing angle because the wings reflect incident light repeatedly at successive layers, causing interference effects that depend on both wavelength and angle of observance. • These optically active structures integrate three design principles leading to the wide-angle reflection: alternative lamellae layers, Christmas tree-like shape, and zigzag pattern of the ridges. • The iridescent lamellae are only present on the dorsal sides of their wings, the ventral sides are usually and is decorated with ocelli (eyespots)