The Rainforest Connection 2006 February 14 - 17

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Welcome to the Rainforest Connection Live! There was no charge this year for the videoconference sessions because of support from the NJ Department of Education, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, and Verizon Access New Jersey Video Portal. Sessions were up to 45 minutes to accommodate student interaction. Each session was shared by up to 3 to 4 classes in different locations. Several scientists and teachers will chat with students in the USA from their rainforest location on Barro Colorado Island, Panama at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Please note that some sessions were conducted in Spanish (see Schedule).

Rainforest Connection THEMES

Food Webs, Decomposition, and Pollination will be the major themes for our studies of the tropical forest in Panama and the creatures that live there. The plants, animals, fungi, and other living things, along with the land and the atmosphere, all make up the forest ecosystem.

We will examine organisms studied by researchers in Panama and how those organisms interact with one another. With scientists and teachers we will explore how these examples fit into the “big picture” of science. How do they compare with forest examples from New Jersey, or other parts of the USA?

Barro Colorado Island is a living laboratory for researchers who spend much of their lives walking and working in the forest. What do people do when they study organisms in rainforests? What are they interested in? How does an investigation get started, and how does it continue? What sorts of answers do scientists find? Are all the important questions answered already?

The New Jersey standards that are addressed in these videoconferences include: NJCCCS 5.1: Scientific Processes; 5.2: Science and Society; 5.4: Nature and Process of Technology 5.5: Characteristics of Life; 5.10: Environmental Studies.

SCHEDULE OVERVIEW

* Spanish

Download PDF for full class schedule listing specific experts and schools that participated.

1) Food Webs – Nowhere does nature seem more abundant than in the tropics. Why are there so many species? What are some special kinds? Every day in a forest is a struggle to eat and avoid being eaten. Who eats whom? What adaptations do species have for eating various kinds of food? Tropical forests are disappearing because of a combination of complex problems. Why do we need to conserve tropical forests?

Some special sub-topics of Food Webs include:
a. Bats - There are more species of bats than there are of any other kind of mammal in tropical forests. How do they live? What are their special relationships with other species? What makes them important in the food web?
b. Symbiosis – Relationships between species within a tropical forest are very complex and interconnected. How do species live together? What special adaptations make their lives together successful? What kinds of symbiosis do we find in a forest?
c. Ants – Arthropods make up the largest slice of biological diversity found throughout the world. How do adaptations make it possible for a species to succeed? What do we learn about adaptations when we study ants?

2) Decomposition: The “Brown Food Web” is a way to view the multitude of decomposers and the processes that break down the living organisms and return their nutrients to the green plants. The diversity of decomposers rivals that of the Green Food Web in the leafy canopy of a rainforest community. How are nutrients recycled in a forest? What are the roles of various species in the process of returning nutrients to trees? Why is decomposition just as important as photosynthesis?

3) Pollination - Plants and the photosynthesis they perform are the foundation of food webs. But the most important plants on our planet – flowering plants - also depend on pollinators to ensure their success. Some pollinators are insects, some are birds, or mammals, even bats. Who are these pollinators and what do they do? Why are they so special?

All 2-way video connections, webcasts, and video archives were provided by the Verizon Access New Jersey Video Portal. See Video Archives | Image Gallery

• Rainforest Connection at Montclair

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