Ecosystems - Tropical rainforest plants and animals

Plant adaptions

• Buttress roots - Rainforest have a shallow layer of fertile soil, so trees only need shallow roots to reach the nutrients. However, shallow roots cannot support huge rainforest trees, so many trees have developed huge buttress roots. These stretch from the ground to two metres or more up the trunk and help the anchor the tree to the ground.
• Drip tips - Plants grow thick leaves with drip tips and waxy surfaces to allow water to drain quickly to prevent mould, bacteria and fungus from growing and destroying the leaf.
• Lianas - They are woody vines that start at ground level, and use trees to climb up to the canopy where they spread from tree to tree to get as much light as possible.
• Strangler figs - They start at the top of a tree and work down. The seed is dropped in a nook at the top of a tree and starts to grow, using the debris collected there as nourishment. Gradually the fig sends aerial roots down the trunk of the host, until they reach the ground and take root. As it matures, the fig will gradually surround the host, criss-cross its roots and start to strangle. The figs branches will grow taller to catch the sunlight and invasive roots rob the host of nutrients. Eventually the host will die and decompose leaving the hollow but sturdy trunk of the strangler fig.
• Bark - Thin, often smooth bark, since trees do not have to deal with cold weather. The smooth bark reduces root holds for epiphytes and allows rapid water run-off.
• Epiphytes - They are plants that live on the surface of other plants, especially the trunk and branches. They grow on trees to take advantage of the sunlight in the canopy.

Animal adaptations

• Chimpanzees - To avoid competition from other monkeys, chimpanzees forage on the ground. Their long arms and flexible joints allow them to swing from tree to tree while in the canopy, avoiding predators. Their ability to climb is helped by their tail which is used for balance and their opposable thumbs allow strong grips onto the branches.
• Tasmanian Pademelons - To retain body heat in cold temperatures, they have round bodies.
• Aye Aye - To escape from predators hunting, they are nocturnal. Its large eyes allow more light in at night and it takes advantage of tall trees to build his daytime nest for concealment out of sight of rainforest floor predators.
• Amazon Horned Frog - It is a small predator, its body acts as camouflage allowing them to lie in piles of dry leaves in order to ambush their prey. They have large mouths and sharp teeth to quickly catch their prey.
• Parasol ant - Found on the forest floor, they are adapted to climb trees up to 100ft tall and cut out small pieces of leaves. They can carry fragments 50 times their body weight back to their homes where they bury it underground and a fungus is produced from the mixture of leaves and substances which the ant can eat.