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9 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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occurrence
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Central and South America, Africa, and Australia
-typically borders the tropical rainforest at higher latitudes where the rainfall is less than in the rainforest -can also occur in rainshadows |
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ecocline
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ecocline of tropical forests shows that as moisture levels decrease, trees are shorter, diversity decreases.
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effect of rain
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forest changes dramatically from the dry season in March to the wet season in August
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dry season
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-virtually all the trees are leafless
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wet season
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-the canopy is in full leaf and the understory is well shaded
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flowering peak
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-flowering is at its peak during the leafless dry season (presumably because of pollinator activity, which peaks when it is sunny and dry)
-synchrony of flowering in one season also may increase chances of successful cross-pollination |
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fruiting peak
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-occurs during the wet season
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Animal Diversity
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-ranges from iguanas, to bats, to howler monkeys
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development
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-the tropical dry forest has been extensively cut and cleared for agricultural reasons and cattle ranching
-this is because: 1) easy clearing by burning in the dry season 2) woody regeneration easily suppressed by fire 3) few weeds and pests in dry season 4) nutrients levels can be high |
