2. Tropical Rain Forests

3. What are they? Where are they? How are they structured? What plants and animals live there?

4. What are Tropical Rain Forests?

5. Tropical Rain Forests are characterized by: Tall trees Warm climate Lots of rainfall

6. Where are Tropical Rain Forests?

7. There are Tropical Rain Forests in many places:

8. Africa Asia Australia Central America South America

9. Peru

10. Brazil

11. Marquesas Islands

12. Are there Tropical Rain Forests in the United States?

13. The United States does have Temperate Rain Forests. (But those are different from Tropical Rain Forests.)

14. How are Tropical Rain Forests structured?

15. A Tropical Rain Forest is made up of three layers : Canopy Understory Forest floor

16. Canopy The top layer The branches and leaves of tall trees form a canopy — like an umbrella — that shades the forest floor Epiphytes (air plants) thrive here Tree frogs, swallowbill butterflies, howler monkeys, jabirus, and long-tongued bats live here

17. Epiphytes (Air Plants)

18. Tree Frog

19. Howler Monkey

20. Jabiru

21. Understory The middle layer Vines, trees, bushes, palms, and ferns thrive in this hot and humid layer Flowers do not tend to bloom here because there is little sunlight Flying foxes, spider monkeys, kinkajous, and leaf butterflies live here

22. Flying Fox

23. Ferns

24. Kinkajou

25. Forest Floor The bottom layer Only 1% (that’s 1/100 th !) of the sunlight actually reaches this layer Wet leaves (“leaf litter”) are everywhere Moss, fungi (mushrooms), and herbs thrive here Tarantulas, anteaters, leafcutter ants, and peccaries live here

26. Anteater

27. Moss

28. Leafcutter Ants

29. Peccary

30. Now, turn to the person next to you and tell them something new you’ve just learned about Tropical Rain Forests !

31. Gibbons, Gail. Nature’s Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests. Singapore: HarperTrophy, 1997. Image on title page courtesy of Microsoft Office free clip art All other images are Wikipedia copyright-free images Credits & Sources