Cross Breeds

how do animals ?

How do animals adapt to the climate of the tropical rainforest?

Public Comments

1. From what I've seen in Puerto Rico's El Yunque rainforest, there are lizards that have adapted to living in the trees and others that live on the ground. That way they don't have to compete for food and stuff. There aren't any large predators on the island of Puerto Rico. Also, the food for snakes is abundant and easy to catch. Therefore, the snakes don't need to evolve highly toxic venom, unlike the ones at the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Chile. The snakes there have developed highly toxic venom because the birds they were trying to eat were pretty big and fast. Actually, from what I've heard on the El Yunque website, none of the critters around Puerto Rico are actually DEADLY, even the scorpions, unless you're allergic, although, I wouldn't want to test that theory... Things really can evolve much quicker than we think. The snakes and critters in Central America are definitely deadly. I suppose that has something to do with the fact that they have to protect themselves from large predators. My grandpa use to spend a lot of time in the Amazon looking for new specie of fish. He would always look for pools that have become separated from the main water source, hoping to find a fish that has somehow changed because of the different situation it has found itself in... Of course, this change could take generations of these fish breeding within the separated pool of water. He did finally succeed in finding a new fish. Wow, that's a cool link Kanya got down there.
2. The Rain Forest is home to many organisms which have adapted in order to survive in the unique climate of the Tropical Rain Forest. The Woolly Monkey.--lives on a diet of fruits, leaves and other vegetation.& spends his days climbing between the trees far away from the dangerous floor ground looking for food in the Rain Forest. The Tropical Orchid is a plant that has adapted to the Rain Forest. It has many diverse flower forms attracting specific insects that are primarily found in the Tropical Rain Forest. Vines are everywhere in the rainforest!.Vines have a distinct advantage over trees because they can grow quickly towards the canopy, using existing trees for support. The strangler fig germinates in the leaves of the trees. From the tree tops, the strangler fig sends down aerial roots down to the ground that thicken into trunk-like structures that wind around the tree and strangle and kill it. Camouflage The “Walking Stick”: An insect that blends in to the branches and stems of a palm tree. The Macaw bird-- Its bright colouring helps it to blend in with the magnificently coloured flowers in the Tropical Rain Forests. It nests safely high up in trees, hiding from its enemies. Boa constrictors: camouflaged into the trees that it lives in so it is able sneak up on unsuspecting prey. Speed Sloth: One of the slowest-moving animals on earth, even taking up to a month to digest its food. Although its meat would make a good meal for predators such as a jaguar, most do not notice the sloth because of its slow pace and its quietly hangs in the canopy, unnoticed. Poison: The Coral Snake: coloured with brilliant red, yellow and black and has a deadly poison can kill within seconds. Poison arrow frog: Its brightly coloured skin produces a strong natural poison. Hoatzin: Also called the “stinkbird”, it produces a horrible smell which scares away predators. http://www.hse.k12.in.us/staff/dbanitt/AP/The%20Tropical%20Rainforest.pdf