This paper examines the Brazilian Rain Forest, focusing on the Amazon Basin's remarkable biodiversity and the ecological systems that sustain it. It describes the extraordinary variety of plant, animal, and aquatic species found within the forest, including several primate species discovered as recently as the 1990s. The paper also discusses the long history of human encroachment and the potential global consequences if deforestation continues unchecked. Drawing on sources from Time magazine and Science World, the paper underscores the scientific and environmental importance of preserving one of the world's most complex and irreplaceable ecosystems.
The world is filled with a variety of climates, each with its own type of inhabitants. It is interesting to examine the Brazilian Rain Forest and consider the lifestyle and sustainability of the rare and exotic animals that live there.
Brazil is home to almost half of the Amazon basin. The river and forest system covers 2.7 million square miles and stretches into eight countries besides Brazil, including Venezuela to the north, Peru to the west, and Bolivia to the south. The river itself, fed by more than 1,000 tributaries, meanders for 4,000 miles, and every hour the Amazon delivers an average of 170 billion gallons of water to the Atlantic (Linden, 1989).
The Brazilian Rain Forest sustains so many species of life that biologists have difficulty fully describing them. It has been estimated that a typical four-square-mile patch of rain forest may contain 750 species of trees, 125 kinds of mammals, 400 types of birds, 100 species of reptiles, and 60 species of amphibians. Each type of tree may support more than 400 insect species (Linden, 1989).
The forest sustains itself through a remarkable variety of methods, such as plants exuding the smell of rotting meat to attract flies as pollinators, and trees relying on fish to distribute their seeds when the rivers flood (Linden, 1989).
The age of the Amazon Basin — formed between 500 million and 200 million years ago — has much to do with the richness and unique diversity of its plant and animal life. The Amazon rainforest contains the largest collection of living plant and animal species in the world, and currently one in five of all the birds in the world lives in the Amazon rainforests (Rainforest Facts, 2004).
The large freshwater system of the Amazon River is responsible for depositing enormous amounts of silt at the river's mouth, resulting in aquatic life that is as abundant and diverse as the surrounding rainforest's plant and animal species. More than 2,000 species of fish have been identified in the Amazon Basin — more species than in the entire Atlantic Ocean (Rainforest Facts, 2004).
"Human threats and consequences of forest loss"
"Recently discovered primate and fish species"
The Brazilian Rain Forest is able to sustain a number of rare species of plants and animals through its rich soil and freshwater system. While many of these species are currently in danger from deforestation, researchers are hopeful that increased awareness of the rainforest and its inhabitants will allow the forest to continue sustaining these rare species for years to come.
You’re 56% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 2 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.