By: Arogya Singh & Nidhi Shah

The tropical & temperate rain forest can be found in three major geographical areas around the world.  Central America in the the Amazon river basin.  Africa - Zaire basin, with a small area in West Africa; also eastern Madagascar.  Indo-Malaysia - west coast of India, Assam, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Queensland, Australia.

 Animal Adaptation  The biodiversity in the rainforest is very high, therefore there is a lot of competition for a niche in this biome. To adapt properly, the animals become very specialized which means their survival depends on the specificity of the diet or habitat. Animals choose a particular material as their food.  Birds develop special beaks so that they can eat whatever food is available to them.  Little bugs evolve so that they can carry food that is ten times their weight.

 Plant Adaptation  Rainforest plants have made many adaptations. Because, rainfall is constant in the rainforest the plants adapt so that the water sheds off quickly and the branched don’t break due to the weight of the water.  Plants have drip tips and grooved leaves, and some leaves have oily coatings to shed water.  To absorb light the leaves are very large. Many trees have buttress and stilt roots for extra support in the shallow, wet soil of the rainforests.

 Rainforests act as the world's thermostat by regulating temperatures and weather patterns.  There are two major types of rainforest: temperate rainforests and tropical rainforests.  A typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150 species of butterflies.

 Humans cut down these rainforests for resources and land. For residential and agricultural purposes.  Rare medicines which cure many diseases are found in the rainforests.  70% of the plants identified by the U.S. National Cancer Institute as useful in the treatment of cancer are found only in rainforests.

 Countries such as- Brazil, India, Ecuador- transitional period- population growing exponentially  Cut down forests- create agricultural or residential lands- to feed and shelter its population- Brazil- “Slash and Burn”- strategie

 Temperature  Temperate, mild and cool, 4⁰C - 12⁰C  Tropical, higher, 20⁰C - 34⁰C  Precipitation  Temperate, inches of rain a year  Tropical, inches of rain a year

 High biodiversity-tropical rain forest million species  Undiscovered species exists.  Low in Temperate Rain forest- dominant vegetation produces deep shades- less plants grow- less herbivores.

Schefflera Actinophylla -It produces racemes up to 2 metres (6.5 feet) long containing up to 1,000 small dull red flowers Ficus elastica -They can get 10 feet tall. - The fruit is a small yellow- green oval fig 1 centimeter (0.39 in) long, barely edible; Kalanchoe pinnata - Flowers are large hanging pod shaped flowers and are very thin and transparent and has soft pink color with a purple. Near sepals

Panthera onca -The base coat of the jaguar is tawny yellow, but can range to reddish-brown and black. --Solitary. Great Hornbill (Bucernos bicornis) -the large casque that rests on top of its beak and forehead. -mostly black feathers, and there are white feathers on the neck, wings and flight feathers. Hylobates lar (Lar gibbon) -Gibbons range in color from light sandy blonde to dark brown. -Thick, fluffy fur and slim bodies that are built for swinging from trees. -Adult gibbons average around 15 pounds. -No tail.

 Weir, Roseanne. "Temperate Rainforest Ecosystem.“Melody Shaw. San Jose State University, n.d. Web. 6 Sept  G., Michael. "Rainforest Biomes." Blue Planet Biomes. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Sept