The Toucan Tammy Tour of the Tropical Rainforest

Created by Sarah Sams, Josh Shugg and Sophie Testerman

Rainforests cover 6% of the world.

There are three major rainforests in existence:

The Amazon located in South America.

The Congo located in Africa

The Borneo located in the islands off of Asia.

Notice how these are all located around the equator!

Lets compare your environment in Colorado to mine here in the rainforest.

-Rainforests are appropriately named for there large amount of rain that they receive each year.

-Most areas receive 80 inches, but some can reach upper to 400 inches.

-In Colorado, you only receive approximately 18 inches per year.

Now lets compare the temperature.

-In Colorado you have much lower temperatures with an averages between 36.2 to 98.8 ° F. While the highs may be somewhat higher, the lack of humidity makes it feel much cooler.

-The rainforest is a very hot and humid place to live. The average in the rainforest is between 68 to 93° F.

Lets take a look at the vegetation that is surrounding me. This is part of what is called a biome (a terrestrial ecosystem).

-In Colorado, you are use to seeing a plant life that makes up a Taiga Biome.-This includes things like coniferous trees.

-My home is part of the Tropical Rainforest Biome. Lets investigate some of the different layers that forms this biome.

Lets start at the bottom and work our way up. The first level of the rain forest is the Forest Floor.

What does it look like?-Very little sunlight-Few plants-Dead matter collects and is taken up by trees with shallow roots

What are the main animals that live here?-Large animals: -Gorillas -Anteaters -Wild boars -Jaguars-Insects

The next level is the Under Story.

What does it look like?-Dark and cool-Short leaf plants, small trees

What are the main animals that live here?-insects-small mammals-snakes-jaguars-lizards-ant birds

The second to last level is the Canopy.

What does it look like?-65-130 feet-lots of tree topsWhat are the main animals that live here?-ME! (toucan)-orangutan -insects-monkeys

The highest level is the Emergent Layer.

What does it look like?-up to 270 feet-lots of sunlight-tallest tree tops

What are the main animals that live here?-house birds-insects

Let’s start by talking about some of the foods.Delicious foods!

-avocado -banana

-grapefruit -guava -lemon -lime

-mango -orange -papaya

-pineapple -plantain

-sweet potato-coffee

-tea-nuts (cashews, macadamias)

-aspirin and painkillers-insect repellant

-erasers-tires

-chewing gum-latex

-other rubber items

Here are some of the products you might run into in your everyday life that comes from the rainforest.

Extracting rubber from trees!