Tropical Rainforest & Intertidal Zone

Tropical Rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator Rainforests are home to half of all the living animal and plant species on the planet It is likely that there may be many millions of species of plants, insects and microorganisms still undiscovered in tropical rainforests.

Types of Tropical Rainforest Lowland equatorial evergreen rain forests: These forests occur in a belt around the equator. Moist deciduous and semi-evergreen seasonal forests: Some trees in these forests drop some or all of their leaves during the winter dry season. Montane rain forests: some of which are known as cloud forests Flooded forests

Forest Structure Forest floor: Only plants adapted to low light can grow in this region Understory Layer: is home to a number of birds, small mammals, insects, reptiles, and predators Canopy Layer: is the primary layer of the forest forming a roof over the two remaining layers. Emergent Layer: contains a small number of very large trees, called emergent

INTERTIDAL ZONE is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide A typical rocky shore can be divided into a spray zone or splash zone also known as the supratidal zone The intertidal zone is one of a number of marine biomes or habitats, including estuaries, neritic, surface and deep zones.

Zonation Marine biologists and others divide the intertidal region into three zones: Low Middle High