Rainforests are Earths oldest living ecosystems, with some surviving in their present form for at least 70 million years. They are incredibly diverse and complex, home to more than half of the worlds plant and animal specieseven though they cover just six percent of Earths surface. Our goal is to make science relevant and fun for everyone. Optics in Physics: Overview & Types | What is Optics? The two largest tropical rainforests are the Amazon rainforest and the Congo rainforest, and both are located near the equator. Breast Anatomy & Function | What is the Physiology of the Breast? Taste Buds Function & Location | How Many Taste Buds Do Humans Have? Christy holds a doctorate degree in chemistry from Duquesne university. Stomach Muscles Anatomy & Function | What is the Rectus Abdominis? The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. A three-toed-sloth is climbing up in a tree. Line Notation Steps & Examples | What is Line Notation in Chemistry? Johnson Space Center | History, Purpose & Significance, Human Microbiome Definition, Importance & Facts, Interdependence of Organisms | Definition & Examples, Reproduction Definition, Types & Examples. The Brazil nut tree, a vulnerable species, can live up to 1,000 years in undisturbed rainforest habitats. These herbivores can remain underwater for 5 minutes. For example, researchers have found that Central African forests generally have taller trees but lower density of small trees than forests in the Amazon or Borneo. Organisms in the food web are grouped into trophic, or nutritional, levels. While an Amazonian tapir is swimming or walking on pond bottoms, they will eat aquatic plants. Can a luxury chocolate company help a Congolese forest? Researchers find the continents development corridors stand to affect important wildlife habitat and thousands of protected areas. Saltwater Crocodile Facts & Habitat | Where Do Crocodiles Live? The Congo is a patchwork of rainforest, swamps and savannahs, because forest elephants and other herbivores help to shape the forest by keeping new tree growth low, making tree density sparser, and allowing larger and more mature trees to thrive . In Ecuador, the Rainforest Trust worked with the Fundacin Jocotoco to acquire 495 more hectares (1,222 more acres) for the Ro Canand Reserve, considered to have one of the highest concentrations of endemic and threatened species in the world. Barracuda Facts, Size & Diet | What is a Barracuda? [2] The okapi is endemic to the northeastern Congolian rainforests. Some predators may even give up the hunt when faced with these defense mechanisms. Promoter Role, Region & Sequences | What is a Promoter in Biology? Throughout both the Amazon and Congo, mining and logging operations clear-cut to build roads and dig mines. Uncertainty Formula & Examples | How to Calculate Uncertainty in Physics. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. The carnivores and omnivores will eat the animals of the rainforest. The primary consumers in the rainforest are often herbivores, such as monkeys, snakes and capybaras. These tails act as a fifth limb and aid in traveling the Amazon rainforest canopy. Put together by the Chatham House, the report estimates that at least 87 percent of logging in the DRC was illegal in 2011, making the DRC possibly the most high-risk country in the world for purchasing legal wood products. The Rainforest Trust, for example, supports local conservation groups around the world in purchasing and managing critically important habitats. Nitrogen Trifluoride Compound, Shape & Formula | What is NF3? Some of its most famous residents include forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, okapi, leopards, hippos, and lions. Electrical Engineering: Overview & Examples | What is Electrical Engineering? The Western Lowland Gorilla They are the largest primates in the Congo. Rainforest herbivores face many predators, like the following examples. Tardigrade Overview, Size & Facts | What is a Water Bear? Crocodile vs. Alligator | Facts, Differences & Sizes. Trematoda Class Overview & Examples | What are Trematodes? It was an ambitious project from the start: to capture the Congo Basin rainforest in the pages of a book. The Yanomami practice slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the land of vegetation prior to farming. Mesenchymal Cells Purpose & Overview | What are Mesenchymal Cells? Famous Chemists Facts, List & Contributions | Chemists in History. Purple Martin Bird: Overview & Migration | What is a Purple Martin Bird? Douglas Fir Trees & Cones | Overview, Species & Uses. Space Clouds Facts, Composition & Evolution | What is an Interstellar Cloud? Paddy Fields History & Types | What are Paddy Fields? African forests store 25% of tropical forest carbon A big cat with an extremely powerful bite. Toucans: Facts, Habitat & Characteristics | What is a Toucan Bird? Cori Cycle Purpose, Function & Importance | What is the Cori Cycle? Adult capybaras can eat as much as 6 to 8 pounds of grass in one day while feeding. Chain Reaction Overview | What is a Chain Reaction in Chemistry? jaguar american leopard predator animal image by Pali A from Fotolia.com. Siamang Overview, Throat Pouch & Species | What is a Siamang? . Keeling Curve Overview & CO2 Levels | What is the Keeling Curve? Red-bellied piranhas (Pygocentrus nattereri) and pink river dolphins swim its waters. In the Congo rainforest, roads and other infrastructure development have reduced habitat and cut off migration corridors for . Many animals call rainforests home. Leaves that fall to the forest floor decay quickly. While many herbivores can be found around the world. Fields in Physics: Overview & Examples | What is a Field in Physics? (Dec 29 2022) Goniometer Overview, Measurements & Parts | Goniometer Definition. Animal Kingdoms Classifications & Features | How Many Kingdoms are There? Industrial logging has been the largest driver of forest degradation. Time in Physics Overview & Theories | What is Time in Physics? Siberian Tiger Lifespan & Size | Differences from Bengal Tiger. Polyester Types, Chemical Structure & Uses | What is Polyester? Development is encroaching on rainforest habitats from all sides. One of these conservation heroes is Bunda Bokitsi, chief guard of the Etate Patrol Post for Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is characterized by dense rainforest. These mostly herbivores have a diet of fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers, leaves, and stems of plants in the Amazon rainforest. Mountain gorillas are primarily herbivores and they eat large portions of over 100 different kinds of plants. Organic matter falls from trees and plants, and these organisms break down the decaying material into nutrients. Capybaras can escape into the water when threatened. It is home to around 40,000 plant species, nearly 1,300 bird species, 3,000 types of fish, 427 species of mammals, and 2.5 million different insects. When gorillas are threatened by a leopard, these herbivores group up around the male gorilla. Island Facts, Formation & Types | What is an Island? Mucosa Associated Lymphoid Tissues | MALT System, Function & Facts. The okapi is native to the Ituri Rainforest in the Democratic Republic of Congothe only place where it can be found in the wildand has thick, oily fur to stay dry in the rain. To stay alive, herbivores will eat plants for extended periods while awake. Electroplating Process, Principles & Uses | What is Electroplating? Ischium Bone Location & Anatomy | What is the Ischium? Then, when the right moment comes, its victim barely has time to react before the powerful jaw of the crocodile snaps shut around them. Fish Origin, Timeline & Evolution | What was the First Fish on Earth? The team also found that companies in five Central African countries hold licenses for industrial agriculture on another 8,400 square kilometers (3,243 square miles) of land. In the Pacific Northwests rainforests, logging companies cut down trees for timber while paper industries use the wood for pulp. Soybean Plants: Forms & Uses | What is Soy? Koala's are native to Australia, and live only in eucalyptus forests. Chiles rainforests are home to a number of unique birds such as the Magellanic woodpecker and the Juan Fernndez firecrown, a hummingbird species that has a crown of color-changing feathers. These birds are herbivores. - In July 2021, an Angolan diamond mine leaked large amounts of polluted water into the Kasai River Basin which stretches across Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.- Twelve people were killed, a further 4,400 fell ill and an estimated 1 million more were affected by the polluted water.- Fourteen months later, the DRC government has not released full results of tests conducted on the rivers, but a ban on drinking the water from the Kasai and Tshikapa rivers remains in place.- An independent report published in September 2022 has found that the leak killed off much of the rivers aquatic life, with severe and ongoing impacts on river-dependent communities. Thanks to a set of eyes, ears and nostrils on the top of its head, a crocodile is a formidable foe that can remain in shallow water for long periods of time completely undetected. The Congo is the Earth's second largest river by volume, draining an area of 3.7 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) known as the Congo Basin. These species vary widely between rainforests in different world regions. All rights reserved. DNA Methylation Overview & Examples | What is DNA Methylation? Fennec Fox Facts, Classification & Habitat | What is a Fennec Fox? Rivers that run through some tropical rainforests create unusual freshwater habitats on the forest floor. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. Reindeer Facts, Diet & Habitat | What is a Reindeer? Stable Equilibrium Overview & Examples | Types of Equilibrium in Physics. Rocket Physics Overview, Thrust & Facts | How Does a Rocket Fly? Create your account. Great Egret Facts & Habitat | What is the Lifespan of Great White Heron? (Technically most of Gabon and parts of the Republic of Congo are in the Ogooue River Basin, while a large chunk of Cameroon is in the Sanaga River Basin). Rainforests thrive on every continent except Antarctica. Agate Stone Facts, Properties & Types | What is Agate? Chipmunk Facts, Lifespan & Habitat | Do Chipmunks Hibernate? Electronic Cigarettes Types & Facts | What is Vaping? In rainforests on the island of New Guinea, pygmy gliders populate the emergent layer. Environmental Hazard Overview & Examples | Environmental Health Hazards. String Theory Overview & Dimensions | What is String Theory? Winemaking Process & Types | What is Vinification? The rainforest plays a crucial role in the stability of the world's climate, and spans across six countries in central Africa: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, the Central African.