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The Liquid Forest FLOATING MEADOWS Floating plants have advantages over submerged plants in that they always have access to sunlight and can readily access the nutrients of white water rivers. Submerged plants have difficulty capturing enough sunlight in the muddy waters to carry out sufficient photosynthesis. In some areas giant floating meadows form unique ecosystems colonized by small trees, shrubs, and vines. Such meadows may exceed a square mile in area and are home to multitude of vertebrate and invertebrate species. One of the most famous floating meadow dwellers is the world's largest rodent, the cabybara. The cabybara, resembling a 50-kg guinea pig, is most commonly seen grazing grasses on floating meadows and along rivers. Although it looks nothing like a swimmer, the cabybara is a strong swimmer using its webbed feet. Cabybara live in herds of 10 to 15 individuals and are most active at night. Unfortunately their numbers have been reduced do to intense hunting by locals for their good-tasting meat.
Found throughout the Amazon and other tropical waters are giant water lilies, which in clusters, form a sort of miniature floating meadow. The most magnificent water lily is Victoria amazonica, the Amazon water lily. Measuring up to 4 feet in diameter, it is capable of supporting the weight of a small child. The Amazon water lily has a remarkable pollination cycle. Giant white flowers, some the size of a plate, open at dusk with a speed readily seen. The flowers generate a strong butterscotch-like odor and triggers a stimulus that causes the temperature of the central blossom to rise 11¡ above that of the surroundings. The fragrance combined with the heat attract scarab beetles which gather at the flower's center. As night falls the flowers close trapping the beetles. By dawn the flowers have turned pink and the beetles are gorging themselves on the inner parts of the flower. By the late afternoon the flowers, which have turned a deep reddish purple, open and the beetles, coated in pollen, fly off to find another lily flower. In doing so, they carry the pollen of the first flower and fertilize the second. A common avian resident of the water lily meadows are Jacanas, which have the ability of running on the water surface or floating vegetation using their extremely long toes which distribute their weight sufficiently so they do not sink. Jacanas make nests in floating vegetation and when the eggs or young are threatened, adult birds feign broken wings, pretending that they cannot fly in order to distract predators. Both during high and low water the emerged and submerged parts of floating plants provide food and breeding habitats for many vertebrate and invertebrate species. The submerged root zone of one square meter of floating meadow will support over 50,000 invertebrate individuals. These include insects (especially larvae), mollusks worms, arachnids, crustaceans. |
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Rainforest Waters |
Types of Rivers Flooding, Low, and High Water Life by the River Threats to Rivers |
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