What do rainforests and deserts have in common

The rainforest is further broken down into two regions; temperate rainforest and tropical rainforest. A Rainforest can be described as a tall, dense jungle. The climate of a rain forest is very hot and humid so the animals and plants that exist there must learn to adapt to this climate. The tropical rainforest biome has four main characteristics: very high annual rainfall, high average temperatures, nutrient-poor soil, and high levels of biodiversity species richness.

Rain Forest Animals Other rain forest mammals include sloths, tapirs, jaguars, ocelots, kinkajous, lemurs and agouti. The warm, moist environment is also an ideal habitat for reptiles and amphibians. Many types of frogs, salamanders, snakes and lizards can be found in almost every layer of the forest. Now, Shaq has once again cleared up what he said in the Netflix series.

Many wildlife researchers believe that, historically, tigers inhabited much of Asia, and that various tiger subspecies naturally migrated and spread out over time. Pleistocene glacial fluctuations and geographic boundaries, however, probably made it too difficult for tigers to return to Africa. Tigers die in conflict with humans or occasionally from poaching on the edges of Reserves, but more often than not they die fighting other tigers over mates, kills, or territories.

Occasionally tigers also die from injuries sustained while hunting potentially dangerous prey. But in the wild, they say, tigers and lions fight quite differently: A group of 2—4 female lions would have a similar advantage over a lone tigress. They conclude that while one on one, a tiger would certainly best a lion, in the wild the lion pride could hold their own against the solitary tiger. Despite being home to elephants, lions, hippos, and more dominant animals, there have never been any wild tigers in Africa.

As part of the Felidae family of cats, ancestors of tigers originated in Africa. The family includes cheetahs, lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars — some of which do live in the African plains.

Pit viper snakes are another highly venomous snake that could kill a tiger in a forest. Both the hump nosed pit viper and the Bengal tiger inhabit Southern India. The Jaguar regularly preys on larger animals and are one of the most dangerous animals in the wild. Fortunately for the Jaguar, it can still escape from the tiger by climbing trees and swimming in the water. With the help of stronger claws and remarkable fighting ability, the Bengal Tiger will surely defeat the Jaguar. Is the rainforest hot or cold?

Tropical rainforests are lush and warm all year long! Temperatures don't even change much between night and day. What biome do people live in? Humans live in different countries and different areas of each country. Some might live in dry places, like desert biomes, those living in places that snow live in tundra biomes, some people live on mountains mountain biome.

What animals live in the desert? Foxes, spiders, antelopes, elephants and lions are common desert species. Desert fox, Chile. Now for the cool animals; the Addax antelope found in the Sahara Desert is one of the most beautiful antelopes in the world.

Addax antelope. Deathstalker scorpion. Armadillo lizard. Thorny Devil. Rock Hopper penguin. Why are Deserts Hot? Deserts are hot primarily because of a lack of water. When the sun shines on the ground, all of the absorbed sunlight goes into raising the ground's temperature. What makes a biome a desert? The desert biome is an ecosystem that forms due to the low level of rainfall it receives each year. There are four major types of desert in this biome - hot and dry, semiarid, coastal, and cold.

They are all able to inhabit plant and animal life that are able to survive there. On the other side of the spectrum, the desert southwestern region of the United States depends on the Central Arizona Project canals to transport water from the Colorado River in order to support agriculture and urban areas. Use these materials to explore the interconnected nature of resources and their distribution.

A habitat is an environment where an organism lives throughout the year or for shorter periods of time to find a mate. The habitat contains all an animal needs to survive such as food and shelter. A microhabitat is a small area which differs somehow from the surrounding habitat.

Its unique conditions may be home to unique species that may not be found in the larger region. Unfortunately, some habitats are threatened by pollution, extreme weather, or deforestation. This puts many of the species that live there in danger and is causing many populations to decline. Explore different types of habitats and microhabitats with this curated collection of classroom resources. A terrestrial ecosystem is a land-based community of organisms and the interactions of biotic and abiotic components in a given area.

Examples of terrestrial ecosystems include the tundra, taigas, temperate deciduous forests, tropical rainforests, grasslands, and deserts. The type of terrestrial ecosystem found in a particular place is dependent on the temperature range, the average amount of precipitation received, the soil type, and amount of light it receives.

Use these resources to spark student curiosity in terrestrial ecosystems and discover how different abiotic and biotic factors determine the plants and animals found in a particular place. Rainforests play an invaluable role in sustaining life, but every year, large portions of them are cut down for logging, mining, and cattle ranches. Rainforests are home to over half of the world's plant and animal species. Learn about tropical and temperate rainforests, how they contribute to the global ecosystem, and the conservation efforts to protect these biomes.

Students explore biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest using the MapMaker Interactive and other online resources. Then students construct an argument for protecting biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.

Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. A rainforest is an area of tall, mostly evergreen trees and a high amount of rainfall. This makes rainforests astoundingly dense with flora and fauna ; a square-kilometer 4-square-mile patch can contain as many as 1, flowering plants, species of trees, species of birds and species of butterflies. Rainforests thrive on every continent except Antarctica.

The tropical islands of Southeast Asia and parts of Australia support dense rainforest habitat s. Rainforests help regulate our climate and provide us with everyday products.

Citizens, government s, intergovernmental organizations, and conservation groups are working together to protect these invaluable but fragile ecosystems.

Most rainforests are structured in four layers: emergent, canopy, understory, and forest floor. Each layer has unique characteristics based on differing levels of water, sunlight, and air circulation. While each layer is distinct , they exist in an interdependent system: processes and species in one layer influence those in another.

The top layer of the rainforest is the emergent layer. Here, trees as tall as 60 meters feet dominate the skyline. Small, waxy leaves help trees in the emergent layer retain water during long drought s or dry season s. Lightweight seeds are carried away from the parent plant by strong wind s. In the Amazon rainforest, the towering trees of the emergent layer include the Brazil nut tree and the kapok tree.

The Brazil nut tree, a vulnerable species , can live up to 1, years in undisturbed rainforest habitats. Unlike many rainforest species, both the Brazil nut tree and the kapok tree are deciduous —they shed their leaves during the dry season. The animals living in the emergent layer of the Amazon rainforest include birds, bats, gliders, and butterflies. Large raptors, such as white-tailed hawks and harpy eagles, are its top predator s.

In rainforests on the island of New Guinea, pygmy gliders populate the emergent layer. Pygmy gliders are small rodent s that get their name from the way flaps of skin between their legs allow them to glide from branch to branch.

Bats are the most diverse mammal species in most tropical rainforests, and they regularly fly throughout the emergent, canopy, and understory layers. Beneath the emergent layer is the canopy , a deep layer of vegetation roughly 6 meters 20 feet thick. The canopy blocks winds, rainfall, and sunlight, creating a humid , still, and dark environment below.

Trees have adapt ed to this damp environment by producing glossy leaves with pointed tips that repel water. While trees in the emergent layer rely on wind to scatter their seeds, many canopy plants, lacking wind, encase their seeds in fruit.

Sweet fruit entice s animals, which eat the fruit and deposit seeds on the forest floor as droppings. With so much food available, more animals live in the canopy than any other layer in the rainforest. The dense vegetation dulls sound, so many—but not all—canopy dwellers are notable for their shrill or frequent vocalizing.

In the Amazon rainforest, canopy fruit is snatched up in the large beaks of screech ing scarlet macaw s and keel-billed toucan s, and picked by barking spider and howler monkeys. The silent two-toed sloth chews on the leaves, shoots, and fruit in the canopy. Thousands and thousands of insect species can also be found in the canopy, from bees to beetles, borers to butterflies.

Located several meters below the canopy, the understory is an even darker, stiller, and more humid environment. Plants here, such as palms and philodendron s, are much shorter and have larger leaves than plants that dominate the canopy. Understory plants often produce flowers that are large and easy to see, such as Heliconia , native to the Americas and the South Pacific. Others have a strong smell, such as orchids. The fruit and seeds of many understory shrub s in temperate rainforests are edible.

The temperate rainforests of North America, for example, bloom with berries. Animals call the understory home for a variety of reasons. Many take advantage of the dimly lit environment for camouflage. The spots on a jaguar found in the rainforests of Central and South America may be mistaken for leaves or flecks of sunlight, for instance.

The green mamba, one of the deadliest snakes in the world, blends in with foliage as it slither s up branches in the Congo rainforest. Many bats, birds, and insects prefer the open airspace the understory offers.

Amphibians, such as dazzlingly colored tree frogs, thrive in the humidity because it keeps their skin moist. Gorillas, a critically endangered species of primate , are crucial for seed dispersal. Gorillas are herbivore s that move throughout the dark, dense rainforest as well as more sun-dappled swamp s and jungle s.

Their droppings disperse seeds in these sunny areas where new trees and shrubs can take root. In this way, gorillas are keystone species in many African rainforest ecosystems. The forest floor is the darkest of all rainforest layers, making it extremely difficult for plants to grow.

Leaves that fall to the forest floor decay quickly. Decomposer s, such as termites, slugs, scorpions, worms, and fungi, thrive on the forest floor. Organic matter falls from trees and plants, and these organisms break down the decaying material into nutrient s.

The shallow roots of rainforest trees absorb these nutrients, and dozens of predator s consume the decomposers! Animals such as wild pigs, armadillos, and anteaters forage in the decomposing brush for these tasty insects, roots and tuber s of the South American rainforest.

Even larger predators, including leopards, skulk in the darkness to surprise their prey. Smaller rodents, such as rats and lowland pacas a type of striped rodent indigenous to Central and South America , hide from predators beneath the shallow roots of trees that dominate the canopy and emergent layer.

Rivers that run through some tropical rainforests create unusual freshwater habitats on the forest floor. The Amazon River, for instance, is home to the boto, or pink river dolphin, one of the few freshwater dolphin species in the world. Tropical rainforest s are mainly located between the latitude s of Such humid air produces extreme and frequent rainfall, ranging between centimeters inches per year.

Tropical rainforests are the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems in the world. It is home to around 40, plant species, nearly 1, bird species, 3, types of fish, species of mammals, and 2. Red-bellied piranhas and pink river dolphins swim its waters. Jewel-toned parrots squawk and fly through its trees. Poison dart frogs warn off predators with their bright colors.

Millions of mushrooms and other fungi decompose dead and dying plant material, recycling nutrients to the soil and organisms in the understory. The Amazon rainforest is truly an ecological kaleidoscope , full of colorful sights and sounds.