Biodiversity of the Food Chain in the Amazon
A look at the food chain in the Amazon Rainforest
Located in South America and bordering nine countries, the Amazon Rainforest has one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Its location on the equator which gives it consistent sun and with a great variety in altitude, the Amazon is home to at least one in ten species that occupy the planet. These species form an intricate web of food.
A trophic food pyramid shows the basic structure of all food pyramids.
- Primary Producers (autotrophs) - produce their own food through photosynthesis (sunlight/carbon dioxide/water.) Examples are trees, algae and rattan.
- Primary Consumers are herbivores (non-meat eating). Examples are Macaws, monkeys, tapir, sloths.
- First Level Consumers - herbivores and omnivores. Examples are river otter, tapir.
- Teriary pumas, jaguars, boas, poison dart frog
(weebly.com)
Primary Producers - The organisms that produce food for the majority of the rainforest. Usually green plants, they are essential. They produce their own energy through photosynthesis. Trees, shrubs, vines and other plants are all primary producers.
Primary Consumers -Organisms or animals that eat the producers and are herbivores. Examples are macaws, monkeys, sloths, toucans and bats.
Money (Adobe Stock Photo)
Secondary Consumers -While primary consumers are always herbivores; organisms that only feed on autotrophic plants, secondary consumers can be carnivores or omnivores. Carnivores eat only animals, but omnivores eat both animals and plants.
River Otter (Adobe Stock Photo)
Tapir (Adobe Stock Photo)
Tertiary Consumers - Top of the Food Chain
Jaguar (Adobe Stock Photos)
The rainforests tertiary consumers are pumas, jaguars,crocodiles, and poison dart frogs. These animals feed on the secondary consumers, but don't have any predators of their own. They're at the the top of the food chain.
Scavengers and Decomposers
Decomposers are organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms and wastes. Their role is ecologically essential as they recycle the nutrients through a natural biological process (decomposition). Examples of decomposers are fungi and bacteria that obtain their nutrients from dead plant or animal material, ants, worms and termites.
Leaf cutter Ant (Adobe Stock Photo)
The Amazon Ecosystem is in Peril
What was once a robust ecosystem is in danger. Climate change and deforestation have led to major disruptions in the Amazon. Not only does the Amazon produce many products found in items we use daily, such as moisturizer, medicine and various food staples, the forest plays an important role in limiting climate change. This is because the rich vegetation takes carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) out of the air and releases oxygen.
The fires of 2019 were devestating. Previously, the Amazon was too wet and humid to allow for any fire to spread significantly. But, due to climate change and deforestation there are many dry areas now and fires were out of control, as they have been across the globe.
Image of the Amazon fires of 2019 from space (Adobe Stock Photo)
The Amazon forest is a major player in determining global climate. It pulls the most important greenhouse gas from the air and puts it in storage. It transpires water, creating clouds that carry moisture around the world. It provides ecological services and is home to much of the world’s biodiversity. However, as the forest is degraded and destroyed, the power of the Amazon to mitigate global climate change is weakened, and it is adversely affected by the implications of climate change. (Amazonaid.org)
With more awareness and willingness to take action, the Amazon might be saved before it's too late.
Sources
Adobe Stock Photos
Amazonaid.org
https://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/business-government/green-economy/10-products-and-ingredients-that-come-from-the-amazon/
https://foodtank.com/news/2020/03/the-amazon-is-approaching-its-tipping-point-scientists-say/
https://therainforestaworldbiome.weebly.com/food-chain.html
