3. Abiotic Factors
Abiotic Factors Daintree Rainforest Great Barrier Reef
Temperature The Daintree Rainforest is located at the east coast of Australia at the North of Queensland. While being quite damp being close to the coast it is also very humid with averaging temperatures of 30 degrees as it is close to the equator.
Highest Record: 36.7 degrees
Lowest Record: 8.9 degrees The Great Barrier Reef generally has two main weather time frames. Winter period in which temperature is generally warm with low rainfall and the summer period with pleasant weather and higher levels of rainfall.
Highest Record: 33 degrees
Lowest Record: 14 degrees
Precipitation The location of the Daintree Rainforest is in one of the wettest climates of Australia
…show more content…
The soil averages to have a pH of 4.5-5.5 as there is low nutrients and Aluminum and Iron left behind and iron oxide giving the soil a reddish colour. Seawater naturally has a pH of around 8.2, therefore being alkaline. However, as oceans absorb about 30% of the extra Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere there are changes occurring within the water. The change is caused over time and makes the water less alkaline. Scientists have estimated that since the industrial revolution the pH has dropped 0.1 to 8.1. It is predicted that the pH could fal to about 7.8 by …show more content…
These include the great toe or hallux on the hind feet. This helps the kangaroo grasp onto branches as it climbs The leaves of the eucalyptus tree hang vertically. This is to reduce the amount of sunlight the tree is exposed to reducing transpiration.
Physiological The Musky Rat Kangaroo have similar adaptions to sheep and goats. They have a large fore-stomach where with the use of particular bacteria and fungi they break down the plant fibre in a fermentative chamber. The leaves of the eucalyptus tree contain toxic chemical compounds. As a result only few animals are able to consume the leaves, therefore giving the tree a better chance of survival.
Behavioral The Musky Rat Kangaroo feeds on leaves and fruit instead of grass as it lives up in trees as well as the fact that the kangaroos main predators live on the grounds of the rainforest and so being an arboreal animal makes it so they do not need to go to the ground. The eucalyptus tree releases its seeds after a fire. This is because there are all the nutrients now in the soil, often known as the ‘ash bed effect, for the seed to germinate. This gives the eucalyptus saplings less competition because of those who could not survive after the fire. Therefore meaning the trees have a higher chance of
The Great Barrier Reef, which is the largest coral reef in the world, is found in Australia, which has a latitude of 18.2871° S, 147.6992° E. The latitudinal range of the coral reef biome is between 30° N and 30° S. The main type of precipitation that occurs in the Great Barrier Reef is rain. Since coral reefs are restricted to certain environmental conditions, such as warmer air and ocean temperatures, there are not many forms of precipitation that occur in the biome. The average annual rainfall in the coral reefs is about 79 inches a year. The average annual temperatures are between 73° to 84° Fahrenheit. Unlike most ecosystems, the coral reefs do not have soil because it is a marine coral ecosystem. However, the separation of coral and other debris causes loose carbonate mud. Loose carbonate mud, which has similar properties of
The much-loved rainforest faces problems of its own and there are many threats to the Daintree Rainforest you should be aware of. Although it is a World Heritage listed site, this doesn’t apply for the whole of the Daintree area with a proportion of the coastal lowland tropical rainforest from the Daintree River to the Cape Tribulation remaining unprotected. Rural residential development is a major issue concerning the rainforest. The clearing of the rainforest for residential purposes remains the greatest threat because it can lead to fragmentation, displacement of wildlife and the susceptibility to invasive weeds which all result in the decline of biodiversity, the core element that makes this rainforest so unique. Climate change is also
The beautiful rare Daintree Rainforest land stretches out into a dense rainforest, that lays on lowland mountain ranges. With “fast flowing streams, waterfalls, and gorges” that twist and turn between the mountains that lead to the white sandy beaches that collide into the Coral Sea (“About the Daintree Rainforest”). The closely spaced trees cover (“Tropical Rainforest Biome”) the colorful flowers and plants throughout the rainforest (“About the Daintree Rainforest”). The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest biome that is “located on the northeast of Queensland, Australia” (“About the Daintree Rainforest”). Logging has been a problem to the one hundred and thirty-five million year old rainforest because they see the Daintree Rainforest
In the Australian Outback they have many animals including crocodiles, kangaroos, hundreds of different kinds of reptiles, and many birds. Some of the birds are native and some of them are there because of migration. There are two different kinds of crocodiles
The role of the tail in western grey kangaroos in both pentapedal locomotion and bipedal hopping in eastern grey kangaroo is caused by the contraction of the sacrocaudal musculature (Dawson, Milne & Warburton, 2014). Since the tail is very muscular and is a large portion of the total body weight in kangaroos; the caudal muscles for locomotion are important(Dawson, Milne & Warburton, 2014). Caudal musculature shows adaptions for how the tail is used in pentapedal and bipedal locomotion (Dawson, Milne & Warburton, 2014). The large mm. scarocaudalis dorsals laterals
The Red Kangaroo Macropus rufus is the largest of the marsupial family residing across the deserts and grasslands of Australia (SDZG, 2011). The Red Kangaroo is a herbivorous species with an unusual method of locomotion, hopping, also known as saltatory locomotion; hopping is unique to members of the kangaroo and wallaby family (Dawson, 1995). A red kangaroo is capable of hopping at speeds of 30mph using its muscular hind legs to propel and tail as counterbalance and support (Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2010). The kangaroo’s body and musculoskeletal structure of large hindlimbs and short forelimbs has evolved to adapt to its hopping gait. Ancestors of the species were quadrupedal, the only exception to this evolutionary change is the smaller Musky Rat Kangaroo Hypsiprymnodon moschatus which still uses a quadrupedal plantigrade gait (Richardson, 2012).
Koalas are mainly found in Australia where there is an abundance of Eucalyptus trees, their main food source. Though they are small animals, Koalas can eat up to two and a half pounds of Eucalyptus leaves a day. Koalas have a long gut digestive system that helps them break down Eucalyptus leaves, leaving them unharmed by the poison in the leaves. Koalas eat so many Eucalyptus leaves that they start to smell like a cough drop. This strange smell is said to keep fleas and animals from living in its fur
Macropus’ such as the Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, and Western Grey Kangaroos are the largest species of marsupials in the family of Macropodidae (“large foot”). Kangaroo is a term that people use to describe the stereotypical definition that we have of a kangaroo (hops around on two feet and holds juveniles in pouch). Kangaroos are mostly known for their unique ability to hop around on their two hind legs and use their tail as a balance. However, there is another way that kangaroos move about their environment. The first way that Macropus’ move about is the traditional bipedal locomotion (hopping). The second is called penta-pedal locomotion. Kangaroos use this method to graze and move
The kangaroo represents Australia’s cultural and social background and is internationally recognisable. It represents the Australian character in many ways including: Its size, strength and speed, which make it a national logo/emblem for Australian organisations and especially sporting clubs. Kangaroo’s are also symbolic of another Australian trait; to stick up for your self and not back down. With their large feet and long tail kangaroos find it hard to move backwards, indicating that Australians are people who are moving forward and growing as people of Australia.
And that isn’t quite surprising considering that people don’t know that there are organizations out. The tropical rainforest is located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The tropical rainforest is in parts of South America, Africa, and in Southern Asia. The tropical rainforests living specimens are all in the food web, most are plants and animals. At the bottom of the food web are the plants. Many plants get eaten by herbivores. Plants, though, use photosynthesis to get their energy and food. Some plants are the Brazilian Nut Tree, the Strangler Fig Tree, and the Kapok Tree. In the middle are the prey, they are herbivores and the predators eat them. Some animals are the toucan, red-eyed tree frog, and the orangutan. At the top are the predators, they are known as the strongest of the food web. The predators will always eat the weakest below them like prey. Some animals include the tiger, red tailed hawk and
The greatest threat to the rainforest comes from human beings. Commercial logging or the cutting down of trees and other vegetation, for human use is the number one danger to the existence of the rainforest. Trees and lumber from rainforests are very valuable and loggers come from all over the world to cut down the trees in order to harvest lumber. Although this type of logging is regulated, there are many illegal or “wildcat” loggers who go into the rainforest at night or in the rain, cut down acres of trees, and leave without ever having been seen by the authorities. These illegal loggers use a process called “clear cutting”, where they cut down everything in sight. Because they do not replant the trees and plants that they destroy, if left unchecked, eventually these loggers would completely destroy the rainforest. Even if the areas they destroy are small, it changes the underlying ecosystem by letting in light and rain where darkness and relative dryness were
The Great Barrier Reef is located off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The reef is about 3000 km long (1800 miles). The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The Reef runs parallel to the coast of Queensland. The reef starts near the coast of South Bundaberg and extends past the northern tip of Cape York. Some of the nearest towns are—Cairns, Port Douglas, Rock Hampton, and Townsville.
Tropical rainforests are situated around the equator where temperatures stay almost 80 degrees year round. Rainforests get 160 to 400 inches (400-1000 cm) of downpour every year. The biggest rainforests are in Brazil (South America), Zaire (Africa) and Indonesia (South East Asia). Other tropical rainforest spots are in Hawaii and the islands of the Pacific and the
All the tropical rainforest are located in the tropics of capricorn and tropics of cancer.
Like the tropical rainforest, the temperate rainforest is split up into layers. The topmost layer is called the canopy, which is dominated by tall evergreen conifers (trees that produce cones with seeds). Due to the heavy rain and mild temperatures, these conifers enjoy maximum year round growth and reach record heights and girth. Some examples would be the Costal Redwood (300 feet), the Douglas Fir (up to 280 feet), the Sitka Spruce (230 feet), the Western Red Cedar (200 feet), and the Western Hemlock (130 feet). Beneath the canopy is the understory. In this layer are found the dogwood with its’ beautiful pink and white flowers, and vine maples. Ferns, salal, and berry shrubs grow in the filtered sunlight beneath the small trees. On the forest