UWC Grade 5 (2009-2010)

In most tropical rainforests, it rains every day.

Rainforests need lots of water and most of it comes pouring down as rain - at least 200 cm per year.

Animals Armadillo Lizard Banded Gila Monster Bobcat Cactus Wren Coyote Desert Bighorn Sheep Desert Kangaroo Rat Desert Tortoise Javelina Cactus Ferruginoug Pygmy Owl Sonoran Desert Toad Sonoran Pronghorn Antelope Thorny Devil Climate Return to Desert

What is a Biome?     A biome is a large area with similar flora, fauna, and microorganisms.  Most of us are familiar with the tropical rainforests, tundra in the arctic regions, and the evergreen trees in the coniferous forests. Each of these large communities contain species that are adapted to its varying conditions of water, heat, and soil.  For instance, polar bears thrive in the arctic while cactus plants have a thick skin to help preserve water in the hot desert.  To learn more about each of the major biomes, click on the appropriate heading to the right.  What is an Ecosystem?     Most of us are confused when it comes to the words ecosystem and biome.  What's the difference?  There is a slight difference between the two words.  An ecosystem is much smaller than a biome.  Conversely, a biome can be thought of many similar ecosystems throughout the world grouped together.  An ecosystem can be as large as the Sahara Desert, or as small as a puddle or vernal pool.     Ecosystems are dynamic interactions between plants, animals, and microorganisms and their environment working together as a functional unit.  Ecosystems will fail if they do not remain in balance.  No community can carry more organisms than its food, water, and shelter can accomodate.  Food and territory are often balanced by natural phenomena such as fire, disease, and the number of predators.  Each organism has its own niche, or role, to play.

Although they cover less than 2 percent of Earth's surface, they house an estimated 50 percent of all life on the planet. The immense numbers of creatures that inhabit the tropical rainforests are so great—an estimated 5-50 million species—

The Amazon Rainforest By Alec The Amazon rainforest has many different plants that can be used as herbal medicines. Some of the most important medicines come from the Amazon. They have been used for hundreds and hundreds of years. These plants can be deadly if taken in large doses, but in small doses they can be very helpful. They can be used to cure headaches, skin irritation, high blood pressures, and many other diseases. Here are some of them. White Trillium The white trillium has three petals, three sepals, and three leaves. If the leaves are chewed, it can help cure snake bites. If the plant’s petals are chewed, they can help ease childbirth, and the sepals if chewed are used to help cure fevers. Cinchona Tree (Cinchona officinalis) The bark of this tree is used to make Quinine, a medicine that helps treat Malaria, a serious disease. A number of various other chemicals can also be made from Cinchona, and these chemicals include cinchonine, cinchonidine and quinidine. However, quinine has been replaced by other drugs such as chloroquine and mefloquine, and now quinine is rarely used to treat malaria. Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) The leaves of this plant contain digitalis, a substance used to treat heart problems. When taken in large doses it can produce palpitations and dizziness, but when taken in smaller doses it can help the heart beat more slowly. This medicine had many effects, and sometimes it cured in miraculous ways, but it mostly produced violent reactions, occasionally killing because it was taken in very large doses. The foxglove tea is used as a morning tea to aid in birth control. Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) The opium poppy is used to make Morphine and Codeine, two drugs that are used as painkillers. The opium gum may be crudely refined and smoked, or converted to morphine and heroin.

Highly adaptable, tigers range from the Siberian taiga, to open grasslands, to tropical mangrove swamps. They are territorial and generally solitary animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey demands. This, coupled with the fact that they are endemic to some of the more densely populated places on earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans. Of the nine subspecies of modern tiger, three are extinct and the remaining six are classified as endangered, some critically so. The primary direct causes are habitat destruction and fragmentation, and hunting. Their historical range, which once reached from Mesopotamia and the Caucasus through most of South and East Asia, has been radically reduced. While all surviving species are under formal protection, poaching, habitat destruction and inbreeding depression continue to be threats.

Tigers are perhaps the most recognisable of all the cats (with the possible exception of the lion). They typically have rusty-reddish to brown-rusty coats, a whitish medial and ventral area, a white "fringe" that surrounds the face, and stripes that vary from brown or gray to pure black.

Main article: Golden tabby A rare golden tabby/strawberry tiger at the Buffalo Zoo. In addition, another recessive gene may create a very unusual "golden tabby" colour variation, sometimes known as "strawberry." Golden tabby tigers have light gold fur, pale legs and faint orange stripes. Their fur tends to be much thicker than normal.[50] There are extremely few golden tabby tigers in captivity, around 30 in all. Like white tigers, strawberry tigers are invariably at least part Bengal. Some golden tabby tigers, called heterozygous tigers, carry the white tiger gene, and when two such tigers are mated, can produce some stripeless white offspring. Both white and golden tabby tigers tend to be larger than average Bengal tigers.

From Wood to Paper:A Diagram of the Process & Chemistry Chemical Additives and Reactions A White Liquor added to wood chips.(Na2S + Na OH + Na2CO3) B Black Liquor washed out. C Pulp treated with Chlorine to oxidize Lignin. D Pulp extracted with Caustic Sods to remove Lignin. E Pulp treated with Sodium Hypochiorite(Na OCI) F Pulp treated with Chlorine Dioxide(CI O2) to increase whiteness. G Bleached pulp slurry. Rosin, Alum, Dyes, Clay, Titanium Dioxide (TI O2), added. H Paper sheet formed here through dewatering. Rosin and Alum react to size the paper (make it more waterproof). I Black Liquor (Spent White Liquor + Lignins from Wood). J Converts Black Liquor + added saltcake to Green Liquor thru combustion1. Na2SO4 ---> Na2S2. Na Lignin ---> Na2CO3 K Contains Green Liquor(Na2CO3 + Na2S) L Converts Green Liquor to White Liquor(Na2S + NaCO3 + Ca (OH)2 ---> Na OH + Na2S + Ca CO3) M Calcium Carbonate (Ca CO3) is settled out and sent to Lime Kiln. Clarified White Liquor goes back into new cooking cycle at Piont A. Chemical Additives and Reactions A White Liquor added to wood chips.(Na2S + Na OH + Na2CO3) B Black Liquor washed out. C Pulp treated with Chlorine to oxidize Lignin.

The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) is one of the world's largest birds of prey, reaching over three feet from head to tail. This awesome predator is a powerful flyer, able to pluck a sloth or monkey off a tree branch. It gets its name from a mythical Greek demon that preyed on people

Life has been generous in its allocation of fish species to the Amazon region. Around 2,000 species are described, but scientists estimate at least another 1,000 remain to be discovered