Layers Forest floor, canopy, and more!
Introduction When I was nine, I went to a museum about wildlife and there was part of the museum that was about rain forests and it had some plants that lived in the rainforest and also some fake animals. I noticed that it was probably way different then the actual thing. It was pretty dull and I could here static in the fake animal voices. If we do not stop cutting down all the trees, we could end up with only these fake rain forests. The ones that are walled in and seem boring! This is why I am going to tell you all about the beauty and excitement that the rainforest gives us! There are lots of things we take for granted that come from the rainforest, like medicine, fresh are, cloudy sky's, and the trees that some people cut down are used for, houses, furniture, and even fire wood! I mean we can live without fancy wood chairs and fire places. We could probably even live without cool things like, arcades, restaurants, and cruises! This is why I am going to tell you about the layers, animals, and plants that live in the rain forests because if you are one of those people that hate everything I am going to try and change your mind!
Subter ranean The subterranean level is underground. Animals like moles and bugs live there, but plants also live there. all the creepy crawlies that live there are great at avoiding roots and fungus. Most roots are poisonous, but some can be eaten. Some roots can be used in medicine and cooking like Ginger and Carrots. But unless you are an expert on roots and can tell which ones are poisonous. The animals that live underground are usually blind. The thing is through they can sense vibrations. So, when a predator comes they know to dig deeper. this is a Mole Salamander A.K.A(Ambysto ma talpoideum)
Forest Floor like the subterranean layer there are tons of creepy crawlies. Caterpillars and mosquitoes are in the air, but some bugs live on the dirty ground. many insects pretend they are different creatures, so they trick other animals because they don t want to be eaten themselves. Most insects are vegetarians they either munch or slurp on plants. they eat food like leaves, flowers, and nectar. About 30% are meat eaters they eat other insects and they find cunning ways to do so. The forest floor is filled with shrubs, but most of them are really small because the canopy blocks out all the sun. some plants grow up trees so they can get sunlight. The problem is the ones that can t have trouble growing. Only lady mosquitoes drink blood, They have huge belly s that store all the blood This is a type of spider that lives in the rainforest
Understory like the forest floor the understory plants don t get enough sunlight, but more of the plants do. In the understory there is large plants and small trees. There is also a lot of flying bugs. There is an Abundance of ants in the understory. There is over a 1,000 different species of ants. There is lots of different kinds that live in lots of places. Ants and Aphids usually live together happily. This is because the give a sweet liquid that ants like to sip on. In return ants guard aphids and protect their eggs. The understory has itself crammed. There is hundreds of animals and plants that thrive here. In every space there is either an animal or a plant.
Canopy Like the understory the canopy thrives with plants and animals, but this time there is a little more leaves. The canopy is where the tall trees grow. The leaves are so jammed together that they block out a lot of sunlight. The trees are also home to some amazingly colorful birds like the toucan. The canopy has so many birds and monkeys they have learned to live together. They eat the same foods like fruit. They also help each other out. like when a monkey falls an a bird sees it some kinds will actually go underneath the monkey and slow it down so it catches another branch. In the canopy the trees sometimes fall down and in that case it will usually crush everything in it s path. It is kind of like dominos. If you would see from above it would look like someone took their finger and swiped it through the rainforest.
Emergent like the canopy the emergent layer is made up of trees. These trees just stick out a little higher. There is still more trees in the canopy through. These trees get most the sunlight and rain so it continues to grow rapidly. There is a lot of birds in the Emergent layer. They are usually the loudest because if they see something that looks dangerous they have too tell that too the other animals. They also have good eye sight to see the predators through the dense canopy. There is a lot of birds, but there is also other animals like the gliding lizard. The gliding lizard has extra skin between their legs and arms that work as like a parachute. They can jump off a high tree they can glide all the way to the ground without getting hurt.
Cites http://kids.mongabay.com/ elementary/001.html Biskup, Agnieszka, Cynthia Martin, and Barbara Schulz. A Journey into Adaptation with Max Axiom, Super Scientist. Mankato, Minn: Capstone, 2007. Print. Pratt-Serafini, Kristin Joy. A Walk in the Rainforest. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications, 1992. Print. Graham, Pamela. Under Cover of Darkness: Animals That Move at Night. New York: Scholastic, 2003. Print "Baka Pygmies." Baka Pygmies. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. "Rainforest Facts." Rainforest Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.