Rain-forest explorer

Science World, April 26, 2004

In "Paradise Lost" (p. 8), you learned that rain forests teem with plant and animal life. Now, a world-famous natural-history museum is sending you on a Web adventure. Your mission: Collect critical information to help the museum set up a massive rain-forest exhibit. Since rain forests are packed with wonders, you won't have time to explore every corner. So we've selected your Web Destinations (see box below). Explore these Web sites to help you fill in the data for the museum exhibit.

Web Destinations:

http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest/main.htm

http://passporttoknowledge.com/rainforest/main.html

www.worldwildlife.org/amazon/sounds.htm

Rain-Forest Exhibit Data

1. Don't forget to grab your hat and rain jacket for your journey! The average tropical rain forest can be soaked by as much as -- meters of rain every year.

2. Even the leafy plants are prepared for all the rain. Over time, they have developed -- to survive the downpours. For instance, many plants have -- --, which let water droplets roll off their surfaces.

3. When you're walking along the forest floor, be careful not to trip over the woody tree bases called -- and their ropelike extensions (usually forum belowground), or -- --, that help them balance in the moist soil. Living on tree branches are lots of sun-hogging plants called --. Your favorites: the nectar-filled -- flowers and the tank -- that can hold gallons of water!

4. Another thing you notice upon entering this emerald jungle is that it's dim, with only--to-- percent of the sunlight making its way from the towering canopy layer to the leafy understory layer. It's even shadier on the forest floor, but the air feels sticky: the amount of water in the air, or the--, can reach 90 percent!

5. Boink! A ripe orange-colored pod just smacked you in the head: This is unusual since the pods don't normally fall off the -- tree. It could make a sweet treat though. Just break open the pod and scoop out some juicy beans to make--.

6. You look up at the canopy and glimpse a shaggy apelike animal with long arms. It's swinging from tree branches. Hope this -- doesn't slip. That would be a nasty fall since this rain-forest layer is more than 30 m (100 ft) tall. You spy another hairy primate making a terribly loud noise. This -- -- has a special vocal organ to amplify (make louder) its call.

Before leaving the steamy forest, the museum calls a field meeting for you and your classmates. Your task is to set up the museum exhibit. Additional field research may be necessary to ensure the rain-forest exhibit is a smashing hit. Here's the plan:

* Divide the class into five groups. Assign each group one category: plants, mammals, birds, insects, and reptiles/amphibians.

* Each group must research four species in their rain-forest category.

* Don't forget to jot down where they live (for example, layer of the forest and location of the rain forest).

* As a team, use two poster boards to create your part of the exhibit. Include pictures, photos, charts, or diagrams to present your rain-forest findings.

* Display the boards around the classroom to create the museum exhibit.

ANSWERS

1. 10 2. adaptations, drip tips 3. buttresses, stilt (or prop) roots, epiphytes, orchid, bromeliads 4. 2, 15, humidity 5. cocoa, chocolate 6. orangutan, howler monkey