Daintree Rainforest Biome

Daintree Rainforest Biome

Food Pyramid

Intro to Producers and Consumers

Flow of Energy

Ecosystems work through energy transfer among organisms. The primary producers use energy from the sun to create organic energy through the process of photosynthesis. Herbivores make up the second level and eat the primary producers for their energy, giving them the name "consumers". There are also decomposers which are animals like worms or bacteria, who break down wastes and dead organisms. On average about 10 percent of net energy production at one level is passed on to the next level. Processes that reduce the energy transferred between levels include respiration, growth and reproduction, defecation, and nonpredatory death (organisms that die but are not eaten by consumers) ("Energy Flow Through Ecosystems,1.").

By: Braylin Pickrel, Rebecca Arteaga, Natasha McCarthy, and Abigail Behrens

Food Web

A producer is an organism that makes its own food, also known as an autotroph. Examples of producers that live in water are algae and seaweed. Other producers that live in the environment are various types of plants such as moss, mature trees, and tree saplings (“What is a Producer?”, n.d.). Consumers are organisms that feed on other organisms because they cannot produce their own food. A primary consumer, also known as a herbivore, feeds on a producer. Some examples include rabbits, grasshoppers, and deer. Secondary consumers are omnivores which means that they eat both animals and plants. These include bears and eagles. Tertiary consumers, such as a snake or fish, eat secondary consumer. Quaternary consumers, such as a racoon and a hawk, eat tertiary consumers (“Food Chains and Food Webs”, 2015).

Removal of non native species

Images

Topography

Reintroduction of native species

Erosion Control

Sometimes in certain situations species need to be removed from a biome. This could be because they were put in there and did not do the job they were supposed to or they affected the ecosystem in a negative way. An example of this in the Daintree Rainforest is the Crazy Yellow Ants that keep attacking the Cruiser Butterfly (OrionMystery).

Producers

Carbon Cycle Video

Wait-a-while Vine

Herbivores

The practice of preventing or controlling wind or water erosion in agriculture, land development, coastal areas, river banks and construction (“Ocean County Soil Conservation District”).

- Soil Types: the soil in the rainforest is typically very moist from the humidity and it's ideal for plant growth. It is not much richer than the soil found in Australian Outback.

-Ranges from sea-level to the highlands at 800m (Chambers, n.d.)

Water Sources: come from rivers, creeks, beaches, and reefs. Examples include the Daintree River, Cape Tribulation, Coral Sea, and The Great Barrier Reef (“Rainforest”, 2014).

Stinging Tree

Wild Ginger

Climate

Hercules Moth

Idoit fruit

Blue Quandongs

Omnivores

The reintrodcution of native species is restoring a species to parts of its natural range from which it has been lost. When you reintroduce a native species into a new environment it is usaully because the species is either dying out or another feral animal has come into the enviroment and overtaken the species into extinction or endangerment (Heritage).

Common Brushtail Possum

Ulysses Butterfly

Introductory Video

Musky Rat-Kangaroo

Cassowary

- Average annual precipitation: 2,013 mm falling per year

- Average wind speed: 23.8km/h

The strongest wind speed is in June at a rate of 72.4 km/hr. The lowest wind speed is in September at a rate of 19.9 km/hr (11.1km/h WNW, 2015).

Graph included in the link

- Average seasonal temperatures: The “wet season” which usually lasts from December to April, the temperature ranges from 27 to 33 celsius and humidity being 80% of the air. The drier season from May to September, temperature is usually 26 celsius and the air is humid but cool.

Competition

Carnivores

Predation

Location

Decomposer

Estuarine Crocodile

Introduction to Rainforests

Occurs when two or more organisms require the same limited resource. In places like the rainforest, there are thousands or organisms, such as plants, that compete for sunlight (Cronin & Carson, 2016). The taller, older trees that have established a spot in the forest shadow the ground. As a result, new trees and other plants on the forest floor cannot grow (Hauberg, 2010). In this example of competition, sunlight is a density-independent factor because no matter how many species there are in the rainforest, it does not affect the amount of sunlight that shines.

One organism, the predator, locates and eats another, the prey, which is most often killed (Sherwood, 2016). An example of a predator in a rainforest is a boa constrictor which preys on smaller animals such as frogs and frog eggs. As a predator eats more prey, the population level of the prey will decrease which is why predation is density-dependent.

White Mushrooms

Azure Kingfisher

Scavenger

The Daintree Rainforest is the oldest rainforest at an estimated 180 million years old. It is a biome with tropical temperatures and lots of annual rainfall. It holds many species ranging from from birds to mammals to fungi and protists. "The Daintree Rainforest is unique for its high concentration of plant and animal species all within the largest remaining piece of untouched and pristine rainforest wilderness remnant in Australia ( (Lloyd, 2011)."

Mutualism

(Davison, 2013)

A relationship between organisms in which both species involved benefit to some extent with neither species being harmed (Arrington, 2016). One example of mutualism is a leaf cutter ant. These ants protect fungi from pests and mold and also feed it with small pieces of leaves. The ants keep their larvae in the fungi which protects it and feeds it (Hauberg, 2010). As described above, both species benefit in some way. In this case, the ants are a density dependent factor for the fungi. If the amount of ants decrease, the fungi will not be protected from pests and mold. The fungi is a density dependent factor for the ants because if the amount of fungi decreases, the ants will not be able to lay as many larvae which will in turn reduce the population of the ants.

Robber Fly

- Hemisphere: South Eastern

- Continent: Australia

- Countries: Queensland

(“Where is the Daintree Rainforest”, 2015)

Solution

Action Plan

Risk Free Solution: Reforestation Project/Fundraiser

1) Get the word out about the deforestation of the Daintree Rainforest

2) Create either a project or website about the problem and how we can help

3) set up a funding page

4) Get people to donate to the fundraiser to bring in more money to “reforest”

5) Promote tourism to the Daintree Rainforest to provide additional money for the reforestation project.

This will help to raise money and awareness to help

the rainforest and all of its inhabitants to thrive.

The most dangerous and major problem within the rainforest that we chose, the Daintree Rainforest, is deforestation. The forest is slowly receding due to the continual expansion of rural living areas such as neighborhoods.

(Naik, 2016)

Commensalism

(Lynch, 2013)

Human Population Growth

("Save the Daintree Rainforest")

Habitat Destruction

Succession

One organism benefits from the relationship while the other species involved neither benefits nor is harmed (Arrington, 2016). To get enough light, bromeliads grow on high branches of trees. The tree is not damaged but the bromeliad is able to survive (Hauberg, 2010). The tre is a density dependent factor for the bromeliads since they grow on trees in order to receive enough sunlight. If there are not enough trees, there will not be enough space for the bromeliads to grow.

Habitat Improvements

(Russo & Pictures, 2016)

- Map: https://goo.gl/maps/1G2mHixP66S2

The Daintree Rainforest has been destroyed in various ways. The rainforest has been cleared and wildlife has suffered from this deforestation. It is causing species to die out and wildlife to relocate and this destroysfood chains. They are destroying the habitat because they are making room for more residental developments. ("Threats to Daintree Lowland Rainforest")

The population in the Daintree Rainforest is growing rapidly by each day that goes by.This requires more space for the humans and the animals. Sadly the humans are beating out the animals by tearing down their habitats to build new residental areas for them to live. ("Threats to Daintree Lowland Rainforest")

Parasitism

Overharvesting

Parasitism-the relationship between two species of plants or animals in which one benefits at the expense of the other, sometimes without killing the host organism (T & Rafferty, 2007). The strangler fig starts its life out growing on a branch of a tree. Then it grows both downwards towards the ground and upwards to the sky, while also winding around the tree (Hauberg, 2010).

Overharvesting is basically the overexploitaotion of certain plants and animals. It affects biodiversity in the following ways by degrading ecosystems by taking and decresing the amount of organisms. Overharvesting is at its simplest the diminishing of a renewable resource

("Overharvesting").

Carbon Cycle

The Daintree Rainforest has many organizations that help to “rebuild” the rainforest and bring it back to as close to it’s “former glory” as possible. The rainforest even has steady tourism that provides money to pay for the organizations.

The strangler fig benefits by receiving the most amount of sunlight while the tree is left with a minimal amount. A density dependent factor in this instance is the tree because the strangler fig winds around it in order to survive.

Humans and Biodiversity

Invasive Species

Reforestation

Secondary Sucession

(Strangler Fig, 2014)

Pollution

Species Diversity

Ecosystem Diversity

Primary Sucession

It comprises the many differences among ecosystem types, including diversity of habitats and ecological processes. In practice, ecosystem diversity can only be evaluated on a local or regional basis, rather than on a global scale; however, even this assessment is difficult due to the ever-changing boundaries of ecological communities and ecosystems (A.) In the Daintree, the ecosystems are very diverse. They range from evergreen, which has lots of leaves, to semi-deciduous, which is where trees lose leaves during the dry season (“Rainforests”).

The number of species and abundance of each species that live in a particular location. The number of species that live in a certain location is called species richness. If you were to measure the species richness of a forest, you might find 20 bird species, 50 plant species, and 10 mammal species (Nappi). In the Daintree Rainforest, about half of Australia’s bird species, a third of its mammals and frogs, a quarter of its reptiles, and over 12000 insects reside there.

Acid rain, which has been increasing in the tropics in recent decades due to growing industrialization, also takes its toll on tropical forests

Due to the spike of human residencies in the Daintree, dumping of trash and human waste into tributaries from overcrowded cities has resulted in serious pollution in many tropical countries. In some areas, rivers are no longer safe for human use, while plant and animal life suffers.

("Impact of Pollution in the

Rainforest")

When feral species of animals invade an area it can cause some of the following competition for food and space, predation on other animals, disease and weed transmission, and soil erosion. Invasive species can be placed into an environment or it can be forced because of factors like displacement. ("Threats to Daintree Lowland Rainforest")

The process of regrowth that an ecosystem undergoes after a destructive event (Fulton, 2016). Throughout the country of Australia, cyclones are a very common natural disaster. During a cyclone, there are extensive wind gusts that are powerful enough to strip trees bare. During a recent cyclone in 2011, the winds were so powerful that only the trunks of trees were left behind. This type of natural disaster brought a lot of damage to the rainforest. However, foliage (pioneer species) will begin to grow and eventually the rainforest will recover (Binnie, 2011).

(“Daintree Rainforest Animals”)

("Rainforests")

Reforestation has to do with re-planting trees. It is very important to combat climate change. Trees also prevent soil erosion and water pollution. In addition, the endangered Southern Cassowary, one of Australia's most well-known birds, use trees for food in the Daintree. Planting more trees and reforesting could help raise the population of the Cassowaries ("Daintree Reforestation with Rainforest Rescue").

Revegetation of disturbed areas

Primary succession occurs when an area is completely rid of all living things, such as when a volcano erupts and kills everything in its path. Eventually, lichens and fungi will start to break down the resources in the hard lava and when they die in time, a layer of soil will form, later giving rise to more complex organisms. The pioneer species would be the lichens and mosses. (Discovery Kids)

The carbon cycle is the circulation and transformation of carbon back and forth between living things and the environment

first step: photosynthesis where plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and release it as oxygen. The carbon dioxide is converted into carbon compounds that make up the body of the plant, which are stored in the plant.

Second step, animals eat the plants, breathe in the oxygen, and exhale carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide created by animals is available for plants to use in photosynthesis. The carbon stored in plants that are not eaten by animals eventually decomposes after the plants die, and is either released into the atmosphere, or stored in the soil (“What is the Carbon Cycle?”, n.d.)

THANK YOU:)

There are also many projects such as the the one led by the Daintree Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation. They plant new native trees and other plants back in the Daintree rainforest in order to “rebuild.”

("Daintree River Revegetation

Project")

Link to citations: https://docs.google.com/a/horrycountyschools.net/document/d/1bt5qujAUK8leKNW7zb0KW1a5Ho5cvmv4wO-2WOWUVA4/edit?usp=sharing