Wildlife

NATIVE ANIMALS

Poison Dart Frog: The poison dart frog has bright coloration and patterns that are biological adaptations to the fact that they forage in bright sunlight. The frogs also have tiny pores on their skins that excrete a neurotoxin which protects them from predators.

http://jeep56.edu.glogster.com/rainforest-biome/

The Blue-Gray Tanager: The Blue-Gray Tanager has a flexible diet. It can eat anything from fruits to arthropods. This flexible diet helps the Blue-Gray Tanager to survive in a plethora of areas.

http://cheyennemountainzoofrogblog.blogspot.com

Praying Mantid: The pray mantid is adapted to look similar to leaves, parts, of trees, and even flowers. This helps to protect and disguise the pray mantid from predators. Also the coloration of the pray mantid can range from pea green to pink which also plays a role in protecting and disguising the pray mantid.

http://www.ecomii.com/

Amazonian Tapir: The amazonian tapir has short trunks that they use for bringing up food. The amazonian tapir spends a lot of its time around water in streams and rivers. As a result, they have adapted to have 3 to 4 toes on each foot spread out to help them navigate soft and muddy ground. Also, the amazonian tapir has a sharp sense of smell and hearing used to evade predators.

http://www.marwell.org.uk/SEEINGSPOTSANDSTRIPES.asp

Green Anaconda: The Green Anaconda is cold blooded which is perfect for the tropical rain forest climate because the warm temperature of the rain forest keeps the snake warm. It has adapted to become extremely fast and agile in water. Another adaptation to water it has is that its eyes and nostrils are positioned on the tops of their head so that they can submerge their bodies.

http://www.reptileknowledge.com/squamata/green-anaconda.php

NATIVE PLANTS

Big Leaf Mahogany: The big leaf mahogany grows extremely high above the rain forest canopy to reach the sunlight. It also has extremely large leaves which helps it to absorb more sunlight which is necessary for their extreme size

http://www.terradaily.com

Kapok Tree: The kapok tree has the ability to heal over cut off limbs which helps protect it from disease   and decay. It also develops conical spines in its younger years to protect the tree from animals. Finally, the tree has a buttressed root-system which supports the tree.

http://urbantitan.com/five-of-the-most-ferocious-spiky-trees-on-earth/

Rubber Tree: The rubber tree sheds its leaves annually and uses the nutrients from the decaying leaves to regrow new ones. Also, the bark has interconnected vessels that transfer latex inside the tree.

http://www.kew.org/plants/rubber.html

Sapodilla: The sapodilla tree has adapted to be able to withstand a wide range of temperature and can survive in temperature down to 26 to 28 degrees Fahrenheit. It also also adapted to survive in either dry or humid conditions.

http://imagejuicy.com/images/fruits/s/sapodilla/1/

Orchid: Orchids have adapted well to survive in the rain forest. They have large roots that are readily able to rapidly absorb water and nutrients. Also, orchids have secondary root systems that allow them to store large amounts of water for use during dry periods. Over 70% of orchids are epiphytes which means they grow on a host but unlike a parasite they get their nutrients from the air, rain, and compost found on tree branches.

http://blog.cuipo.org/orchids-of-the-rainforest/

COMPETITION 

Plants are in constant competition for the rainforest’s resources such as water, light, and nutrients. These resources are available in finite amounts, so the plants have developed ways to obtain a greater amount of them.

Root crowding- Plants with a stronger root system can continue growing to overwhelm a neighboring plant with a weaker root system. This lets the stronger plant obtain more nutrients from the soil.

Higher growth- Because of the dense canopy of the rainforest, plants can try to grow as high as possible to obtain more sunlight. Plants can also grow larger leaves to increase the surface area that’s available to collect sunlight.

Allelopathy- Some plants have developed toxins to inhibit the growth of neighboring plants so that they can obtain more resources.