The tallest trees are the emergents,
towering as much as 200 feet above the forest floor with trunks that measure up
to 16 feet around. Most of these trees are broad-leaved, hardwood
evergreens. Sunlight is plentiful up here. Animals found are eagles,
monkeys, bats and butterflies.
CANOPY LAYER
This is the primary layer of the forest
and forms a roof over the two remaining layers. Most canopy trees have
smooth, oval leaves that come to a point. It's a maze of leaves and
branches. Many animals live in this area since food is abundant.
Those animals include: snakes, toucans and
treefrogs.
UNDERSTORY LAYER
Little sunshine reaches this area so
the plants have to grow larger leaves to reach the sunlight. The plants
in this area seldom grow to 12 feet. Many animals live here including
jaguars, red-eyed tree frogs and leopards. There is a large concentration
of insects here.
FOREST FLOOR
It's very dark down here. Almost
no plants grow in this area, as a result. Since hardly any sun reaches the
forest floor things begin to decay quickly. A leaf that might take one
year to decompose in a regular climate will disappear in 6 weeks.
Giant anteaters live in this layer.
Lucy C on 16 Sep 09The Food Chain RealAudio Click here to be joined by your audio host! What is the difference between the 'Food Chain' and 'Food Web?' A popular misnomer, the 'food chain' is not actually a linear chain but a complex web. Energy is passed from one organism to another in a complex network like a spider's web. The food chain consists of four main parts: * The Sun, which provides the energy for everything on the planet. * Producers: these include all green plants. These are also known as autotrophs, since they make their own food. Producers are able to harness the energy of the sun to make food. Ultimately, every (aerobic) organism is dependent on plants for oxygen (which is the waste product from photosynthesis) and food (which is produced in the form of glucose through photosynthesis). They make up the bulk of the food chain or web. * Consumers: In short, consumers are every organism that eats something else. They include herbivores (animals that eat plants), carnivores (animals that eat other animals), parasites (animals that live off of other organisms by harming it), and scavengers (animals that eat dead animal carcasses). Primary consumers are the herbivores, and are the second largest biomass in an ecosystem. The animals that eat the herbivores (carnivores) make up the third largest biomass, and are also known as secondary consumers. This continues with tertiary consumers, etc. * Decomposers: These are mainly bacteria and fungi that convert dead matter into gases such as carbon and nitrogen to be released back into the air, soil, or water. Fungi, and other organisms that break down dead organic matter are known as saprophytes. Even though most of us hate those mushrooms or molds, they actually play a very important role. Without decomposers, the earth would be covered in trash. Decomposers are necessary since they recycle the nutrients to be used again by producers. This table shows the relational biomass of each of the major g
