The country of Brazil is located in eastern South America. It is the largest country in South America and borders the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil borders almost every country in South America except for Ecuador and Chile.
The country experiences natural disasters such as floods and droughts. Earlier this year in April they had abundant precipitation, resulting in floods that produced deadly mudslides that killed an estimated 200 people in the region of Rio de Janeiro. Droughts also have affected the people of Brazil, rivers are drying up and preventing transportation of boats and ultimately isolating entire communities. Droughts usually will occur in the Northeast territory of Brazil, while floods occur in the South. Floods cause not only the displacement of people but also the displacement of animals such as the Fire Ant that resides in the Amazon. These Ants have adapted to the increase in water level the flood brings and have learned how to navigate on the water.
Brazil has multiple biomes such as; tropical rainforest, savanna, and grassland. Which results in a wide variety of vegetation types. Central Brazil has grasses and sparse trees due to the droughts that can occur there. In the tropical rainforests, epiphytes and lichens grow on trees and provide food and habitats for animals.
The climate of Brazil is influenced by the ITCZ. Precipitation ranges in Brazil vary monthly and by region. The Amazon Basin is classified as a wet-equitorial climate and experiences a high annual precipitation. Rainfall in the region can reach over 2,000 mm annually. During the rainy season which is from December to May average temperature is around 80 degrees.
Brazil's wildlife is currently threatened by habitat loss. A Peer-Reviewed Journal I read, examined size of the environmental niche birds in the Atlantic Forests of Brazil occupied. More importantly though, how the size of the niches' are being affected by climate change and deforestation."The changes in environmental conditions that have occurred with large-scale deforestation suggest that selective regimes may have shifted and, as a consequence, spatial patterns of intra-specific variation in morphology, behaviour and genes have probably been altered."(1) It was interesting to find out not only the size of the niches was being altered by deforestation but also the genetic variability of the bird species.
1.Loiselle, Bette, Catherine Graham, Jaqueline Goerck, and Milton Cezar Ribeiro. "Assessing the Impact of Deforestation and Climate Change on the Range Size and Environmental Niche of Bird Species in the Atlantic Forests, Brazil." Journal of Biogeography, 37.7 (2010): 1288-1301.
Brazil has multiple biomes such as; tropical rainforest, savanna, and grassland. Which results in a wide variety of vegetation types. Central Brazil has grasses and sparse trees due to the droughts that can occur there. In the tropical rainforests, epiphytes and lichens grow on trees and provide food and habitats for animals.
The climate of Brazil is influenced by the ITCZ. Precipitation ranges in Brazil vary monthly and by region. The Amazon Basin is classified as a wet-equitorial climate and experiences a high annual precipitation. Rainfall in the region can reach over 2,000 mm annually. During the rainy season which is from December to May average temperature is around 80 degrees.
Brazil's wildlife is currently threatened by habitat loss. A Peer-Reviewed Journal I read, examined size of the environmental niche birds in the Atlantic Forests of Brazil occupied. More importantly though, how the size of the niches' are being affected by climate change and deforestation."The changes in environmental conditions that have occurred with large-scale deforestation suggest that selective regimes may have shifted and, as a consequence, spatial patterns of intra-specific variation in morphology, behaviour and genes have probably been altered."(1) It was interesting to find out not only the size of the niches was being altered by deforestation but also the genetic variability of the bird species.
1.Loiselle, Bette, Catherine Graham, Jaqueline Goerck, and Milton Cezar Ribeiro. "Assessing the Impact of Deforestation and Climate Change on the Range Size and Environmental Niche of Bird Species in the Atlantic Forests, Brazil." Journal of Biogeography, 37.7 (2010): 1288-1301.
No comments:
Post a Comment