Tarzan would love this forest

As I walk through the dense tropical forest here on BCI, an island in the Panama Canal, very little sunlight reaches the ground because there are so many leaves above catching the rays for photosynthesis.  Plants and trees race to grow tall quickly so they can get above the canopy to the top emergent layer of the forest where sun is plentiful.

Vines are masters of growing quickly to reach the sun because instead of building their own sturdy base and trunk, they grow on tree trunks to reach the precious sunlight.  There are hundreds of different types of vines here. Some are thin with delicate green leaves and others are thick and woody and can be so strong that they actually strangle and kill their host tree.  And you know that some vines are strong enough that Tarzan and Jane could swing on them.

What a great adaptation for reaching the high forest layer quickly by using their precious energy to grow quickly rather than needing to grow wide and sturdy.

- Fran Zakutansky

HUNGRY IN THE RAINFOREST - Plant and Animal Interactions

This pattern is caused by insects feeding on the leaf

If you take a look at these 2 leaf photos, you can see that there have been some hungry critters (mostly insects) in the rainforest.  You can tell what type of insect chewed on leaves by the pattern that you see.  For example, the semi-circular chunks at the edges (margins) of the leaves in one photo are made by leaf-cutter ants.

Leafcutter ants have been eating this leaf

They have giant mandibles (jaws) that they use like scissors to cut off a large chunk of the leaf, then they carry the leaf back to their nest (see photo) where it will be used to help cultivate a fungus garden in the nest.

Carrying a piece of the leaf

The fungus is needed to feed the ant larvae (babies).  Many plants produce toxins to make their leaves less enticing for vegetarian (herbivorous) insects. 

- Fran Zakutansky