The Living World - Adaptations & Biodiversity of Tropical Rainforests

Question 1

How are Plants Adapted to Tropical Rainforests?

Answer 1

Plants have adapted to the tropical rainforest biome via evolution and natural selection. The adaptations have helped them to survive among the heavy precipitation and lack of sunlight on the rainforest floor.

Question 2

Buttress roots

Answer 2

Buttress roots are specially adapted tree roots that spread out across a very wide area and go deep underground.
Being spread so wide and deep allows buttress roots to absorb more nutrients.
However, they also spread out into the soil that other plants would use to absorb nutrients - so they compete with other plants for nutrients.

Question 3

Waxy coating and pointed leaf tips

Answer 3

Many leaves in tropical rainforests have a waxy coating. This helps the plants to resist the rain. Without the waxy coating, the leaves could absorb the rain and become so heavy that they would be pulled off the tree.
The pointed leaf tips funnel the water off leaves in a single channel.
Both of these adaptations stop the heavy rainfall from damaging the plant.

Question 4

A smooth layer of thin bark

Answer 4

Bark in the UK on trees like oak trees is very thick and rough.
Tree bark usually tries to conserve water, but if anything, plants in a rainforest need to ensure that they don’t absorb too much water.
Having very smooth bark, like having a waxy coating on leaves, helps the rain to run off the tree easily.

Question 5

Climbing vines

Answer 5

Lianas and other climbing vines/plants try to compete for sunlight by growing up other trees’ tree trunks. This conserves energy and allows them to reach the sunlight that they need to photosynthesise and survive.

Question 6

Adapted to a particular layer

Answer 6

There are 4 layers of flora in tropical rainforests. A plant living at each layer will adapt differently to survive:
The top layer is called the emergent layer and this layer captures the most sunlight. Being the tallest plant matters more here.
The lowest layer is called the forest floor. Plants are more likely to have a high surface area on their leaves to absorb the most sunlight here.

Question 7

How are Animals Adapted to Tropical Rainforests?

Answer 7

Animals in tropical rainforests, like all other animals, are adapted to survive, get enough food to live, reproduce and avoid being eaten by a predator.

Question 8

Tamarin and howler monkeys

Answer 8

Howler and tamarin monkeys live in the Amazon rainforest.
They can avoid predation by only living high in the trees, avoiding predators on the rainforest floor.
Monkeys have evolved strong limbs and tails to climb and live in the trees for their whole lives.

Question 9

Flying squirrels

Answer 9

Instead of evolving strong limbs to climb trees, flying squirrels have evolved ‘wings’ made out of skin which are a bit like a wingsuit. They can glide between trees using their ‘wings’.

Question 10

Chameleons

Answer 10

Chameleons are a lizard that lives in the Amazon rainforest.

Chameleons change the colour of their skin to look like whatever is behind them. This helps them to avoid being eaten.

Question 11

Sloths

Answer 11

Sloths live in rainforest biomes.
Sloths are nocturnal (sleep in the day).
Being nocturnal means that sloths can preserve energy and only move or hunt when temperatures in the rainforest are lower at night.

Question 12

Anteaters

Answer 12

Anteaters are also nocturnal (preserving their energy by sleeping in the day).
There is not much sunlight on the forest floor. Anteaters’ senses of hearing and smell have evolved to compensate for the low light levels. They avoid being eaten by predators using their senses of hearing and smell.

Question 13

Jaguars

Answer 13

Jaguar’s skin camouflages them well in the jungle.

Jaguars are able to swim. This can help them cross rivers like the Amazon river in the Amazon rainforest.

Question 14

Biodiversity of Rainforests

Answer 14

The biodiversity of an ecosystem is how many different species of plant and animal life there are in an ecosystem. Rainforests are very biodiverse place

Question 15

Are tropical rainforests biodiverse?

Answer 15

Tropical rainforests are very biodiverse.
Rainforests cover 6% of the Earth’s surface area, but they are home to about 50% of the world’s animal and plant species.
Scientists estimate that there are between 3 million and 50 million different species living in the Earth’s rainforests.

Question 16

Stable, productive environments

Answer 16

Rainforests have a similar climate all year.
This consistent climate makes rainforests a stable ecosystem - it does not have to deal with extreme weather like snow in winter and heatwaves in summer.
The rich biodiversity, rainfall, and warm temperatures mean that rainforests are productive ecosystems (where there is always enough food).

Question 17

What are the threats to the biodiversity of rainforests?

Answer 17

Deforestation, construction and economic development threaten biodiversity.
Reducing the rainforest land area threatens species with extinction.
The Amazon rainforest is in Brazil. In Brazil, 110 of the 700 species of mammals living there are endangered.
The Black Spider Monkey has become an endangered species because of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.