Tropical Forests ; Forest Society | Discussion

Are there any unique characteristics of tropical forests that are found anywhere else in the world? What is not a unique characteristic of tropical forests?

Tropical forests, or rainforests, occupy the so-called inter-tropical area of the planet, which is the area between the Tropic of the Cancer and that of the Tropic of the Capricorn. Large rainforests are mainly in Latin America (Amazonia) where they are called selva, in Africa (Congo, Cameroon, Madagascar, etc.), in the Indo-Malay area (Philippines, Indonesia, etc.) where they are called “jungle” (from the Sanskrit Jangala) and in the Australian area (Australia, New Guinea); altogether, they cover 10% of the lands above sea level. Among these, the Amazonian forest makes up approximately one third of all the tropical forests and is the greatest freshwater reserve on earth.

Because of the lack of seasonal differences, due to the geographical location of the forests, and the high humidity level the vegetation is luxuriant here. The recurring features of rainforests are basically the following: high animal and vegetal biodiversity, evergreen trees, dark and sparse undergrowth interspersed with clearings, scanty litter (organic matter settling on the ground), presence of “strangler” creepers, presence of “buttresses” (large winged ribs at the base of trunks) and spindly roots in trees living in often-flooded areas.

Until last century, tropical forests were larger than they are today. Fossil finds prove that forests developed in the Tertiary period (between 65 and 2 million years ago) in south-eastern Asia and their flora was not different from today. Some aspects of their structure in the late Pleistocene (after the last glaciations, 10,000 years ago) have been explored by paleontology, the science that deals with ancient living beings through fossils, and bio-geography, the science that deals with the geographical distribution of living beings on the earth’s surface and its causes. The past of this ecosystem is now being investigated through fossil pollens and phytolytes (mineral inclusions in leaves, stems and fruits). The largest tropical forests probably extended in the post-glacial area. The study of the past and current diversification and distribution of the living species suggests that in the Amazonian area there must have been stretches of forests running through the prairies; when these “strips” of forest joined together, their species spread to other areas and the forests achieved today’s biological diversity. In distant ages, the tropical forests covered northern countries as well, including the Thames valley in the UK, which was rich in tropical flora and fauna. The succession of climatic changes made it disappear, while at the tropics the tropical forests survived and extended.

Each rainforest is unique, but there are certain features common to all tropical rainforests. If the tropical forests do not follow these facts, it will not be a unique characteristic. Firstly, I have to admit that rainforests lie in the tropics; rainforests receive at least 80 inches (200 cm) of rain per year, rainforests have a canopy, which is the layer of branches and leaves formed by closely spaced rainforest trees. Most of the plants and animals in the rainforest live in the canopy. The canopy may be 100 feet (30 m) above the ground. Second, rainforests have a high level of biological diversity or biodiversity. Biodiversity is the name for all living things like plants, animals, and fungi, found in an ecosystem (according to Bailey). Scientists believe that about half of the plants and animals found on Earth’s land surface live in rainforests. As for the symbiotic relationships between species, I have to admit that species in the rainforest often work together. In a symbiotic relationship, two different species benefit by helping each other, you can think of it as a partnership. For example, some plants produce small housing structures and sugar for ants. In return the ants protect the plants from other insects that want to feed on the plant’s leaves.

Discuss the reason presented in class for why plants and animals (including humans) need to be highly adaptive to living in the wet tropical forests of the Amazon. Describe one strategy that allows plants or animals to survive or adapt to these circumstances? What factor makes people unable to adapt to the tropical forests? 

Tropical rainforests across the world are highly diverse, but share several defining characteristics including climate, precipitation, canopy structure, complex symbiotic relationships, and diversity of species. So, it is really important for plants and animals to be highly adaptive to living in the wet tropical forests of the Amazon.

Tropical rainforests lie in the tropics, between the Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer. This region sunlight strikes Earth at roughly a 90-degree angle. Such intensity is due to the consistent day length on the equator: 12 hours a day, 365 days per year. This consistent sunlight provides the essential energy necessary to power the forest via photosynthesis. Because of the ample solar energy, tropical rainforests like in the Amazon are usually warm year round with temperatures from in the 22-34C range, although forests at higher elevations, especially cloud forests, may be significantly cooler. The temperature may fluctuate during the year, but in some equatorial forests the average may vary as little as a few degrees throughout the year. These differences require a higher adaptation to such climate.

One strategy that allows plants and animals to survive or adapt to these circumstances is independence.  Independence – whereby all species are to some extent dependant on one another – is a key characteristic of the rainforest ecosystem. Biological independence takes many forms in the forest, from species relying on other species for pollination and seed dispersal to predator-prey relationships to symbiotic relationships. These independent relationships have been developing for millions of years and form the basis for the ecosystem. Each species that disappears from the ecosystem may weaken the survival chances of another, while the loss of a keystone species, an organism that links many other species together, much like the keystone of an arch, could cause a significant disruption in the functioning of the entire ecosystem. To my mind, it is a really important complex of rules that allows plants and animals to survive and adapt there.

As for the factor that makes people unable to adapt to the tropical forests, we should understand that life here is competitive, and countless species have developed complex symbiotic relationships with other species in order to survive. A symbiotic relationship is a relationship where both participant species benefit mutually. Symbiotic relationships appear to be the rule and not the exception in the rainforest. For example, ants have symbiotic relationships with countless rainforest including plants, fungi, and other insects. One symbiotic relationship exists between ants and caterpillars. Certain caterpillar species produce sweet chemicals from dew patches on their back, upon which is certain ant species will feed. In return, the ants vigorously protect the caterpillar and have even been observed carrying the caterpillar to the nest at night for safety. This relationship appears to be specific in that only one caterpillar species will cater to a particular ant species (see Butler, for example).

When it comes to people, I have to admit that through thousands of years of natural selection, forest people have evolved to be smaller than people who do not live in the rainforest. They also sweat less because the forest’s high humidity means that sweat cannot evaporate, making sweating a poor way to cool off. Forest people also drink less water because their food contains a lot of water. I think it is really difficult to become able to adapt for simple people. People have to accumulate a great wealth of knowledge about the forest and have to learn how to live in the forest without damaging it. They should know how to use thousands of edible, medicinal, and poisonous plants and how to grow crops in the forest’s poor soil. They also have to know how to hunt and fish without driving the animals to extinction. For simple people it is almost impossible.

What is the myth related to the pink dolphin in the Brazilian Amazon? Why do you think local people develop a myth like this?

Of the five freshwater species of dolphins in the world, the pink Amazon River dolphin, inia geofferensis or “bufeo Colorado” as they are known in Peru and “botos” as they known in Brazil, are considered to be the most intelligent. These friendly, sensitive, mammals with a brain capacity 40% larger than that of humans, who have lived in harmony with the people of the Amazon and its tributaries for centuries, now face extinction in some tributaries. That was considered to be one of the least threatened species of dolphins 20 years ago, have now become one of the most endangered species due to the accelerated and commercialized rape of the Amazon basin and the destruction of the South American tropical rainforest.

The elegant gray and pink river dolphins that glide majestically through the chocolate-colored waters of the Amazon River are not always thought of in such lowing terms. In fact, many residents of the Amazon basin once considered them to be bad luck or even downright evil. Though the river dolphins are species at risk, they have flourished for centuries in part because local people believe they possess magical powers. As you would discover from the Amazon-born guides on a riverboat voyage in Peru, several legends surround the river dolphins known locally as botos, and once you see them for yourself, you will no doubt be taken by their seductive powers, too.

When it comes to myths, during the day, river dolphins conduct their usual dolphin business, but once the sun goes down, they morph into handsome young men dressed in all white. They come ashore, strictly for the purpose of seducing the wives and young girls of local villages and impregnate them. Before the sun comes up, these shape-shifting creatures turn back into dolphins (Leibowitz).

Nature writer Montgomery described such a creature in her book Journey of the Pink Dolphins: An Amazon Quest. It happened to the cousin of a local man she interviewed. A boto had come to her one night, disguised as her husband. But her husband was away fishing. They made love as if in a dream, and nine months later, she gave birth to the baby.

Another myth says that someone swimming alone in the river could be whisked away by a shape-shifting dolphin to a magical underwater city called Encante. People will live the rest of their lives there, never to return to land again. Perhaps this myth started as a way to get people, particularly youngsters, to be careful with swimming. The dolphins, after all, can bite, as can the piranhas that patrol the Amazon and its tributaries.

If you wish to find a rare Amazonian manatee, you must first locate an Amazon River dolphin and make peace with it. The dolphin is considered the manatee’s guardian. What I find the most interesting about the myth is that you should not make an eye contact with a boto. If you do, you will have the most dreadful nightmares for the rest of your life.

It is also bad lack to kill an Amazon River dolphin, and even worse lack to eat one. Many Indian tribes still consider them to be sacred creatures and thus bestow a great deal of reverence on them. Rain forest-dwelling shamans have been known to learn medicinal techniques from the dolphins.

To my mind, local people develop the myths like these in order to keep other people and tourists from intentionally killing them and have actually played a role in the stability of the Amazon River dolphin population. But other things can be threats since their habitats are often polluted or blocked by dams, and they easily can accidentally get caught in fishing nets.

Why would you eat a capybara if you lived in the forests of the American tropics? Explain your answer. What else can also provide people the protein they need in their diet?

Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world. As a relative of the guinea pig, capybaras look like a super-sized version of their smaller cousins. They stand about two feet tall and can weigh up to 150 pounds. Capybara lives across South America, from Colombia in the north to Argentina in the south, and from Peru in the east to Brazil in the west.

A number of their biological characteristics, the habitats where they are found, as well as cultural elements of the human population who share the land with capybaras have made this species a potential source of sustainably usable products. In Argentina, for example, capybaras are managed for their skin, while in Venezuela, meat is the main product sought from them (according to BBC).

If I lived in the forests of the American tropics I would eat capybara because of its rich source of protein. This is because they are herbivores, grazing many on grasses and aquatic plants, as well as fruits and tree bark. They are very selective feeders and will feed on the leaves of one species and disregard other species surrounding it. Capybaras eat a great variety of plants during the dry season, as fewer plants are available. All these facts make them an important source of protein. Foods high in protein such as fish, chicken, meats, soy products, and cheese, are called “protein foods”. I also hear them referred to as “meats or meat substitute”. The best choices are plant-based proteins, fish and seafood, chicken and other poultry, cheese and eggs. But when it comes to American tropics, it is very easy to a vegetarian diet to meet all the protein containing there. Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain some, and often much, protein. I think these products rarely have any difficulty getting enough protein as long as they contain enough energy and calories. In American tropics for a natural and tasty way to improve my health and boost my healing capacity it would be essential to d fresh pineapples. They are nutritionally packed members of the bromeliad family, and this delightful and tropical fruit is high in enzyme bromelain and the antioxidant vitamin C, both of which play a major role in the body’s healing process, especially when you are in hot tropics.

If you really need some food, beetles will be a great choice. The most commonly eaten beetles are the long-horned, dung, and rhinoceros varieties. These are munched by people living in the Amazon basin, parts of Africa, and other heavily forested regions, both tropical and temperate, as diverse species are easily found in trees, fallen logs, and on the forest floor. Native Americans, I have heard, would roast them over coals and eat them like popcorn. They are efficient at turning cellulose from trees, indigestible to humans, into digestible fat. Beetles also have more protein than most other insects.

You should remember that common bean is a major source of dietary protein, which complements carbohydrate-rich sources such as rice, maize, and cassava. It is also a rich source of minerals, such as iron and zinc, and certain vitamins.

A palm tree native to the Amazon Valley, Jessenia bataua, found in both swamplands and upland forests has also been studied. And I reveal that the fruits of this tree have long be exploited by indigenous people as a source of oil and a milk-like drink. Chemical analyses of the oil show it to be similar to olive oil. This tree is an example of a little-known wild plant that could provide a new source of food protein and oil for combating world hunger.                        As we can see, the tropics are rich in plant and microbial protein resources which would be used for surviving in American tropic. We just have to look around more properly and attentively.

 

Works Cited

Bailey, C.R. & Tomas, N. Human Foragers in Tropical Rain Forests. New York:  Plenum. A special issue for the Journal Human Ecology. June, 1991. Print.

Butler, R. Rainforest Ecology. California. 2010. Print.

Leibowitz, E.P. Five Myths about Amazon River Dolphins. World Wildlife Fund.  Washington. April, 2010. Print.

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Science and Nature: Animals (Capybara).  BBC. 2007. Retrieved Sept. 27, 2007. Print

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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