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Keystone Species of the Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest spans multiple countries in South America and is the largest rainforest in the world. It plays an important role in climate regulation, oxygen production, and biodiversity. Four species found exclusively in the Amazon are the sloth, pink river dolphin, glass frog, and jaguar. The Amazon is currently on fire partly due to natural causes but also because some are intentionally setting fires to clear land for development. If the Amazon were to be destroyed, it would negatively impact the atmosphere and human access to medications derived from its plants.

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Elyse Edwards
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85 views2 pages

Keystone Species of the Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest spans multiple countries in South America and is the largest rainforest in the world. It plays an important role in climate regulation, oxygen production, and biodiversity. Four species found exclusively in the Amazon are the sloth, pink river dolphin, glass frog, and jaguar. The Amazon is currently on fire partly due to natural causes but also because some are intentionally setting fires to clear land for development. If the Amazon were to be destroyed, it would negatively impact the atmosphere and human access to medications derived from its plants.

Uploaded by

Elyse Edwards
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Amazon Rainforest

1.  Where is the Amazon rainforest, which countries is it in, and how big is it?

The Amazon Rainforest is located in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela and stretches on
for about 5,500,000 km2 and is the largest rainforest in the world.

2.  Write a 1/2-page report on why the Amazon rainforest is so important for the biosphere. Include Biodiversity and
Oxygen production (and more).

The Amazon Rainforest plays a very important role in the world’s climate, hydrological services, carbon sequestration, fire
protection, pollution and disease. The Amazon Rainforest also provides about 20% of the world’s oxygen so if the Amazon
Rainforest is completely destroyed then we would not have enough air to breathe, this might be a good thing to the world’s
population but the problem with that is that… We would become extinct.

Before After

3. Describe 4 species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world except in the Amazon Rainforest

Sloth

The Sloth is a mammal known for its slowness of movement and for spending most of their lives
hanging upside down in the trees of the Amazon Rainforest and the trees of tropical rainforests
of South America and Central America. Sloths have two different families – Two-toed sloths and
three-toed sloths. Sloths eat mainly leaves but they will also eat buds, twigs, fruits and
occasionally insects and rodents. A Sloths favourite leaf is a Cecropia leaf off a Cecropia Tree.

Pink River Dolphin

The pink river dolphin or botos for short are born grey and become pinker with age. This is
because, as the dolphin grows older, its skin becomes more translucent allowing the blood to
show through. When they get excited, they will flush to a bright pink temporarily. Pink river
dolphins eat crabs, small river fish catfish and even small turtles. As crabs and turtles have to be
caught mainly at the bottom of the river, Pink dolphins spend a lot of time at the bottom of the
river. They also only live in freshwater.

Glass Frogs

The Glass Frog like its name looks like a glass frog, but unlike a green frog its eyes face forward not sideways.
Glass frogs live in humid rainforests and they hunt in the water and occasionally on land. Glass Frogs eats
insects with soft bodies and some different types of spiders. Glass frogs are important to the eco-system
because they keep the number of insects under control. But because of their size they are in danger of being
eaten by large predators.

Jaguar

The Jaguar is at the top of many food chains because of their size and skill. Jaguars are
known to eat deer’s, crocodiles, snakes’ monkeys, sloths, turtles, eggs, frogs, fish and
anything else they can get their hands on. Jaguars live in dry grassland terrains and
seasonally flooded wetlands. However, they prefer dense forests over the other types of
habitats.
4. Why is the Amazon on fire?

One of the reasons that the Amazon is on fire because of all the moisture and humidity in the air, so, fires are easily/accidently
started. But the other reason that the Amazon is on fire is because some people are setting fires alight so that they can use the
space for housing, factories, buildings and settlement/s.

5. What would happen to the biosphere if the Amazon was destroyed?

If the Amazon is destroyed it would mean that we as humans would have less air to breathe (See above/Question 2). It would
also mean there would not be access to some medications as many of the more modern medications come from leaves/plants in
the Amazon Rainforest.

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