Biology 3484A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Neotropical Realm, Species Richness, Epiphyte
28 Jul 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Total number of species per unit area increases. The unique tropics: most amount of solar energy; least amount of seasonal variation; greatest species richness. Climate warm; humid in forests; little fluctuation. Depending on location; great fluctuation in rainfall throughout year. Avg annual rainfall 200cm, can exceed 1000cm. Ideal conditions; therefor abundant and diverse in tropics (active all year long) Buttress roots at base: support and nutrient uptake on surface from rich but shallow soils. Use trees for vertical support to grow up to canopy to access light. Plant that grows on another plant non-parasitically (structural parasite) Nrf: insects thousands of tropical insect species: cool: more bioluminescent species in nrf compared to temperate forests. Threats to nrf: agriculture, resource extraction, infrastructure development, forest fragmentation (climate change) Study of past and present distribution of biodiversity; species and higher taxa and ecosystems: study range and distribution over time. Leafcutter ants endemic to neotropics, kiwi endemic to new zealand.
