Suriname's_Biomes

Nate Watson Suriname’s Biomes Suriname is a small country on the northern coast of South America. Suriname’s biomes include tropical rain forest, savanna and ocean. There is not much savanna in Suriname. In this paper I will cover only the tropical rain forest and the ocean surrounding Suriname. These are the two most important biomes for Suriname. I will write about the climate and the role of these biomes in the country. The tropical rain forest is the main biome in Suriname. It takes up most of the country and also has most of the animals in Suriname. The rain forest is hot and humid. The temperature ranges from 21 degrees C to 32 degrees C. It is in the tropics because it is near the equator and that means the temperature doesn’t change much over the year. It also means it’s very hot there. The biome gets its humidity from the moist ocean air blowing over the rain forest and of course it gets a lot of rain. The wet condition makes it easy for plants to grow. Some of the plants that grow there include, tropical palms, spiky-rooted palms, walking palms, Suriname nut trees, rubber trees and Inga trees. The forest is also home for many animals. These animals include monkeys like the red-faced spider monkey, red howler monkey, and rabbits like the forest rabbit. There are also some dangerous animals too like jaguars. Birds include the red necked wood pecker and the whistling duck. One resource of the forest that Surinamese take advantage of is the wood there. Logging is a main source of employment in the forest. With all that wood they can cut it down and sell it. But cutting down rain forests is a big issue because many see it as cutting down our oxygen recyclers. But it is done anyways. There is also mining in Suriname such as, gold, iron, bauxite and other metals but there isn’t that much there. The ocean is also a much depended on biome in Suriname. It also has many animals. The ocean near Suriname is in one of the warmest zones of the Atlantic Ocean because it is near the equator. The ocean holds heat well so the temperature over the year stays close to the same. In the ocean there are many plants and animals. In the ocean all the animals of course need to be able to live in the ocean, which means it’s able to swim and able to breathe either through gills or coming to the surface for a breath. The mammals of this biome include whales like the humpback and blue whale and the killer whale. The fish there include shrimp, red snapper, lane snappers, grunts, sea trout, king weakfishes and barracudas; also the tucuxi, a dolphin. The ocean can be used as form of transportation as well as for a food supply. Fishing is an important job for coastal workers. Suriname even exports their fish to other countries around the world like the US, the Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan and Brazil. The ocean also has many plants. Plants are either with roots or rootless but in the sea roots don’t do much so they are sometimes called holdfasts, they are only for holding on the ocean floor so it doesn’t float away. Sea weed has roots; there are multiple types of sea weed such as cyanobacteria which is close to the shore and string like. The next one is red sea weed which is fern like and can live down to 879 ft (268m). Phytoplankton is a microscopic plant which floats on top of the water and gets all its nutrients from the water and it needs a lot of sun light. The other ocean floor plants don’t depend on light as much. You can see how much the country needs these biomes. The forest gives wood and some minerals and houses most of the population. The ocean gives food like fish and shrimp. The ocean also gives Suriname the warm and humid climate that it has. Even though Suriname is small it exports to six countries and has thousands of animals and plants in it. Reference List Alibaba. 10/4/10. “Atlantic Ocean”. Wikipedia. 10/4/10. “Background Note: Suriname”. U.S. Department of state. 10/10/10. “Checklist of the birds of Suriname”. Bird List. 10/3/10. “Mammals of Suriname”. Mammals worldwide. 10/3/10. “Ocean Plants”. Oceans Alive. 10/5/10. “Suriname – Flora and Fauna”. Suriname Tourism. 10/3/10. “Types of sea weed”. Fact Monster. 10/5/10. “Weather and Climate in Suriname”. South Travels. 10/4/10.