Characteristics of Tropical Rain Forests

Characteristics of Tropical Rain ForestsAlmost all the action in a rain forest (not just photosynthesis but also flowering,fruiting, predation, and herbivory) happens high in the canopy, the leafy greenroof of the forest. Apart from the trees, the vegetation is largely composed ofplant forms that reach up into the canopy by climbing the trees (for example,vines) or root in the damp, upper branches (epiphytes). The epiphytes dependon the sparse resources of mineral nutrients that they extract from crevicesand pockets of the organic matter of soil found on the tree branches. Theplants and animals of the canopy are not easy to study; even to gain access tothe flowers in order to identify the species of tree is difficult without the erectionof tree walks. It is a measure of the problems of doing research in rain foreststhat botanists have trained monkeys to collect and throw down flowers and aresearch team has used hot air balloons to move over the canopy and work init.The word “sparse” in the passage is closest in meaning toA.highly variedB.naturalC.protectedD.thinly distributedThe author mentions monkeys and hot air balloons in paragraph 1 in order toA.emphasize how difficult it is to do research in tropical rain forestsB.compare the tools used by different researchers working in rainforestsC.explain why tree walks are still the preferred way of gaining access toflower samples for researchD.illustrate that most of the activity in a tropical rain forest happens inthe canopyMost species of animals and plants in tropical rain forests are activethroughout the year, though the plants may flower and ripen fruit in sequence.In Trinidad, for example, the forest contains at least 18 closely related trees inthe genus Miconia whose combined fruiting seasons extend throughout theyear; this contrasts with the situation in temperate latitudes.In paragraph 2, why does the author discuss the fruiting habits of closelyrelated trees in the genus Miconia in Trinidad?A.To indicate that rain forests in Trinidad are the best environment forthe growth of trees in the genus MiconiaB.To illustrate that flowering and fruiting activity happens year-round intropical rain forestsC.To argue that the activity in forests in temperate latitudes is similar tothat of TrinidadD.To explain why some tropical rain forests may be inactive at certaintimes of the yearDramatically high species richness is the norm for tropical rain forests, andcommunities rarely, if ever, become dominated by one or a few species – avery different situation from the low biodiversity of northern coniferous forests.Thisraisessomefundamental questions.First,whatisitabouttheevolutionary history of tropical rain forests that has allowed such diversity toevolve? Part of the answer relates to the comparative stability of patches ofrain forest during the ice ages. It is thought that during t...