The Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon rainforest is a vast jungle covering around 40% of South America. Its dense gatherings of trees and rivers provide optimal habitats for over 2000 unique species of animals. These animals include the jaguar, anaconda and golden lion tamarin. The wildlife that call the amazon their home must adapt to the unique weather patterns of their homeland. The average temperature of the amazon rain forest is around 30 degrees Celsius, this forces animals to alter or discard certain aspects of their body to maintain a cool body temperature. Many birds can change the insulation of their coat of feathers when needed. This helps them maintain a lower temperature in hotter seasons. Another problem that occurs in the amazon rain forest is torrential rainfall. These unpredictable downpours have the power to flood large sections of the jungle. The other extremes are droughts. Some parts of the amazon go through long periods of time with minimal precipitation. Plants and animals must find ways to collect and conserve water to survive these dry spells. The dangerous wildlife provides a threat to humans living in the surrounding area. Animals like the alligator, piranha and some species of poisonous frogs will attack humans and other animals if needed. Mosquitoes and other bugs can carry nasty diseases like malaria which are deadly and can affect entire populations of people. These bug bites have the possibility to be even deadlier than that of a venomous animal like a snake or frog. Along with many other plants, fruit trees and bushes thrive in the amazon wild creating another food resource for both humans and animals. fruits provide essential vitamins to help prevent sickness and help you grow. These vitamins also make you stronger which is essential when braving the wild weather and vast rain forests that is the amazon.The Amazon rain forest is a vast jungle covering around 40% of South America. Its dense gatherings of trees and rivers provide optimal habitats for over 2000 unique species of animals. These animals include the jaguar, anaconda and golden lion tamarin. The wildlife that call the amazon their home must adapt to the unique weather patterns of their homeland. The average temperature of the amazon rain forest is around 30 degrees Celsius, this forces animals to alter or discard certain aspects of their body to maintain a cool body temperature. Many birds can change the insulation of their coat of feathers when needed. This helps them maintain a lower temperature in hotter seasons. Another problem that occurs in the amazon rain forest is torrential rainfall. These unpredictable downpours have the power to flood large sections of the jungle. The other extremes are droughts. Some parts of the amazon go through long periods of time with minimal precipitation. Plants and animals must find ways to collect and conserve water to survive these dry spells. The dangerous wildlife provides a threat to humans living in the surrounding area. Animals like the alligator, piranha and some species of poisonous frogs will attack humans and other animals if needed. Mosquitoes and other bugs can carry nasty diseases like malaria which are deadly and can affect entire populations of people. These bug bites have the possibility to be even deadlier than that of a venomous animal like a snake or frog. Along with many other plants, fruit trees and bushes thrive in the amazon wild creating another food resource for both humans and animals. Fruits provide essential vitamins to help prevent sickness and help you grow. These vitamins also make you stronger which is essential when braving the wild weather and vast rain forests that is the amazon.
Questions |
Answers |
● What kinds of hardships does this type of environment present? How do people cope with these hardships? Are they always successful in doing so? |
Some hardships this environment presents include: threatening animals, risk of sun poisoning, flooding of home and environment and many diseases carried around by mosquitos. Staying clear of areas where dangerous animals such as alligators or piranhas are known to live can help prevent being attacked. And wearing a bug proof mesh face and arm covers may prevent the spreading of diseases such as malaria. Staying under the dense canopy of the amazon will shield you from the beaming sun. Animals are unpredictable, they will move in unknown patterns where they can be stepped on by a human causing them to attack. Staying clear of animals is a good way not to be bitten but there is no guarantee. There is no stopping the rain from pouring down, maybe building your home on an elevated surface can help keep you dry but with enough rain, flooding can occur anywhere. I think that there are some ways to prevent the dangers of the amazon but many people are still attacked and many peoples homes are still flooded. |
● What kinds of opportunities does this type of environment present? How do people take advantage of these opportunities? |
The amazon rain forest presents positive outcomes not just for people living there, but for everyone around the world. many of the objects we come in contact with just living our every day lives are shipped directly from the amazon rainforest. With 390 billion trees divided into 16000 species, the amazon provides a lot of our wood to build houses and flooring, paper we write/ type on and desks and drawers we store our belongings in. |
● Are there aspects of the environment you studied that cannot be controlled or that can have a devastating impact on the inhabitants? |
There are many uncontrollable aspects of the amazon that the inhabitants must deal with. Torrential rainfall can flood homes and destroy entire food resources like fruit trees and berry shrubs. This can lead to a lack of vitamins and minerals making you vulnerable to diseases. The heat and humidity of the amazon cannot be changed or altered, it can bring people to their knees with a feeling of weakness. |
● Do you think that the positive opportunities of this environment outweigh the challenges of the environment? |
I do not think the positive outcomes of this environment out weigh the negative outcomes. With many risks that you would need to take that involve your life, living in the amazon would be very scary. Knowing that there are countless dangers waiting to take your life is a scary thought that would make most people avoid living in the amazon. Overall, I believe that there are not enough positive outcomes to overcome the negatives. |
Beauty of the amazon
Habitable Or inhabitable
I believe that the amazon is definitely habitable. People can and do live there but many challenges would quickly catch up to them. These challenges include: diseases such as malaria, flooding due to torrential rainfall, vicious animal attacks and over heating due to the beaming sun of the amazon. There are no local stores and shops to buy food, your survival skills would need to be sharp and practised well. Living in the amazon rain forest is a tough feat and surviving will be tough, but is certainly possible.