Purpose and Background of Tropical Rainforest

Our purpose for this blog is to study and teach others about the fauna that live in tropical rainforests; there is a wide variety so there is much to study. We will be posting articles about specific animals and/or the general kinds of animals that call the tropical rainforest their home. Also, we will be interviewing a person who has experience in the field of tropical rainforest animals.

The tropical rainforest is a biome characterized by its numerous tall trees and abundance of rainfall. Nearly all the rainforests are located near the equator; the temperature ranges from 68 degrees to 93 degrees Fahrenheit (20- 34 degrees Celsius) due to its location on or near the equator. Tropical rainforests average 50- 260 inches of rainfall each year. Approximately 1/4 of medicines come from rainforests' plants such as Curare (used as an anesthetic) and Quinine (used to treat malaria). There are four main levels of the tropical rainforest: Emergent, Canopy, Understory, and Forest Floor. The Emergent layer consists of the tallest part of the trees and looks like an umbrella over the rest of the forest; the leaves of this layer are generally small and pointed. The Canopy layer is just below the Emergent layer and is home to most of the animals that live in the rainforest due to its abundance of food. The leaves are designed to allow rainwater to fall off of them to prevent mold and mildew from forming on this layer. The next layer is called the Understory layer and mostly contains the tree trunks; there is little to no wind which causes there to be a higher humidity at this layer. The last layer is the Forest Floor which, as you can guess, contains the roots of the trees as well as shrubs and other plants. It is usually completely shaded to the point that less than 1% of light reaches the floor; many decomposers live at this level. Below is an illustration of the different layers of the tropical rainforest.