The Geography Expert
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Population Expert - Native Americans in the Amazon
For thousands of years, the Amazon rainforest has been a home to Native Americans. There are over 50,000,000 tribal people living in world's rainforest.
The people need the forest to find there food and shelter.
When we cut trees and rainforest down we are also killing people.
Many rainforest people grow just enough food to feed their whole village.
Although most rainforest people grow crops, they can also
find food in forests.
Hunting and fishing provides them with a wide range of meats.
To most people who live outside the rain forest the amazon is an exotic place full of strange and wonderful plants and animals. But the trees have a very important part to play in our lives. They recycle our air and help with the climate around the world.
Botany Facts
The Cashew Fact File:
Family: The Cashew belongs to the Anacardiaceae Family.
Description: Cashew is a tree of the Amazon that grows up to 15 m high. It has a thick and tortuous trunk with branches so winding that they frequently reach the ground.
Climate: Cashew trees are often found growing wild on the drier sandy soils in the central plains of Brazil and are cultivated in many parts of the Amazon rainforest.
Common Names: Cajueiro, cashew, cashu, casho, acajuiba, caju, acajou, acaju, acajaiba, alcayoiba, anacarde, anacardier, anacardo, cacajuil, cajou, gajus, jocote maranon, maranon, merey, noix d’acajou, pomme cajou, pomme, jambu, jambu golok, jambu mete, jambu monyet, jambu terong
Parts Used: The leaves, bark, fruit, nut
Cashew Uses:
The main actions are: it kills bacteria, it stops diarrhea, it kills germs, it dries secretions and it increase libido
The other actions are: it reduces inflammation, it suppress a coughs, it increases urination, it aids digestion, it reduces fever, it lowers blood sugar, it reduces blood pressure and it lowers body temperature
The standard dosage are: leaf and bark, Decoction: 1/2 cup 2-3 times daily
Worldwide Ethnomedical Uses:
Africa: for malaria
Brazil: for asthma, bronchitis, corns, cough, diabetes, dyspepsia, eczema, fever, genital disorders, impotence, intestinal colic, leishmaniasis, libido stimulation, muscular debility, pain, psoriasis, scrofula, syphilis, throat (sore), tonsillitis, ulcers (mouth), urinary disorders, urinary insufficiency, venereal disease, warts, wounds, and used as a gargle and mouthwash
Haiti: for cavities, diabetes, stomatitis, toothache, warts
Malaysia: for constipation, dermatosis, diarrhea, flu, nausea, thrush
Mexico: for diabetes, diarrhea, freckles, leprosy, skin, swelling, syphilis, ulcer, wart
Panama: for asthma, colds, congestion, diabetes, diarrhea, hypertension, inflammation
Peru: for diarrhea, flu, infection, skin infections and used as an antiseptic and douche
Trinidad: for asthma, cough, diarrhea, dysentery, dyspepsia, stomachache
Turkey: for diarrhea, fever, poisoning, warts
Venezuela: for dysentery, leprosy, sore throat and used as a gargle
Elsewhere: for asthma, colds, colic, congestion, corns, cough, debility, diabetes, diarrhea, dysentery, scurvy, skin problems, tumor, urinary insufficiency, warts
By Annalese H.K a.k.a The Botanist
The Botanist
Amazon plants have a lot of interesting usages like the amazing cocoa tree, It producing more than 100 different liquids that could be made into medication to cure you of diseases and infections of a wound. Most of the are like flowers staying in their place unless they were picked or blown away but there are some other plants that move about and have mouths to eat insect and others that let out a toxin that could kill insects and even us. These are some names; Pitfall traps, Flypaper traps, Bladder traps, Lobster-pot traps and a Sarracenia. These are the types of plants you don’t want to run into or mess with, in a rainforest.
The Venus Fly Trap Fact File:
Description:The Venus Flytrap also known as a Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal, it’s a small plant whose structure can be described as a rosette of four to seven leaves, which arise from a short subterranean stem that is actually a bulb-like object. Each stem reaches a maximum size of about three to ten centimeters, depending on the time of year longer leaves with robust traps are usually formed after flowering. Flytraps that have more than 7 leaves are colonies formed by rosettes that have divided beneath the ground
It eats:Mostly insects and arachnids
How it catches it’s prey: It’s trapping process is formed by the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces
The climate it live in: It’s found in environment that hasn’t got that much nitrogen so it would be nitrogen-poor, such as bogs and wet savannahs.
The Venus Fly Trap Fact File:
Description:The Venus Flytrap also known as a Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal, it’s a small plant whose structure can be described as a rosette of four to seven leaves, which arise from a short subterranean stem that is actually a bulb-like object. Each stem reaches a maximum size of about three to ten centimeters, depending on the time of year longer leaves with robust traps are usually formed after flowering. Flytraps that have more than 7 leaves are colonies formed by rosettes that have divided beneath the ground
It eats:Mostly insects and arachnids
How it catches it’s prey: It’s trapping process is formed by the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces
The climate it live in: It’s found in environment that hasn’t got that much nitrogen so it would be nitrogen-poor, such as bogs and wet savannahs.
Botany Facts
The Brazil Nut Fact File
Descirption:The Brazil nut is a three-sided nut with white meat or flesh that consists of 70% fat and 17% protein
Family:
The Brazil Nut belongs to the Lecythidaceae Family
Common Names:
Brazil nut, castania, castanheiro do para, para-nut, creamnut, castana- de-para, castana-de-Brazil.
Parts that have been used:
The nut & the seed oil
Medical Uses:
The main actions are: It fights free radicals, it’s nutritious & it’s soothing.
The standard dosages are: nut & nut oil.
Worldwide Ethnomedical Uses:
For Amazonia the uses are: For liver problems, stomachaches, and used as a food, emollient, soap, and insect repellant.
For Venezuela: It’s used as a food and insect repellant .
Traditional Preparation: A Brazil nut a day is a great way to get the daily recommended amount of natural selenium.
Contraindications: Brazil nuts, like many other nuts, can cause allergic reactions in some sensitive individuals. If you are allergic to other nuts, like peanuts, you might be allergic to Brazil nuts as well.
By Annalese H.K, a.k.a The Botanist
The Population Expert - Rainforest Values
In many tribes in the Rainforest, things are very different to what they are here. Some rainforest people do not have schools, but are taught by their elders the values which have been passed down generations. However, the things they learn could be considered just as important as what we learn. The boys are taught to hunt and fish while the girls are taught to prepare the food.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Botanist
The Botany Expert:
Hello my name is Annalese, and today I’m teaching you facts about the plants you can find in The Amazon. They are all so amazing as well as unique. So here we are The Amazon, not I’m just kidding I’m only studying it so yeah here we go on a adventure.
Hello my name is Annalese, and today I’m teaching you facts about the plants you can find in The Amazon. They are all so amazing as well as unique. So here we are The Amazon, not I’m just kidding I’m only studying it so yeah here we go on a adventure.
Facts and Information about...... Botany!
For the people who don't know what botany is, it's a study of Plants.
The Amazon is wonderful place full of nature and extraordinary sights, full of plants and wildlife living, growing and having their lives. These are some facts:-First more than two thirds of the world's plant species are found in the tropical rainforests these plants are plants that provide shelter and food for rainforest animals as well as having a part to change our carbon dioxide into oxgen so that we can breath and live. These plants live in a warm environment(that usually has water around) that makes them adapt to different some like the orchids; have beautiful flowers adapted to attract the profusion of forest insects.
Competition at ground level for light and food has lead to evolution of plants which live on the branches of other plants, or even strangle large trees to fight for survival. The aerial plants often gather nourishment from the air itself using so-called 'air roots';. The humidity of the rainforest encourages such adaptations which would be impossible in most temperate forests with their much drier conditions. there are more than half a million plants in the whole of the rainforest, there are still even some that aren’t even discovered yet but lets go on a trip to learn about the most common ones.
The Amazon is wonderful place full of nature and extraordinary sights, full of plants and wildlife living, growing and having their lives. These are some facts:-First more than two thirds of the world's plant species are found in the tropical rainforests these plants are plants that provide shelter and food for rainforest animals as well as having a part to change our carbon dioxide into oxgen so that we can breath and live. These plants live in a warm environment(that usually has water around) that makes them adapt to different some like the orchids; have beautiful flowers adapted to attract the profusion of forest insects.
Competition at ground level for light and food has lead to evolution of plants which live on the branches of other plants, or even strangle large trees to fight for survival. The aerial plants often gather nourishment from the air itself using so-called 'air roots';. The humidity of the rainforest encourages such adaptations which would be impossible in most temperate forests with their much drier conditions. there are more than half a million plants in the whole of the rainforest, there are still even some that aren’t even discovered yet but lets go on a trip to learn about the most common ones.
Friday, May 8, 2009
The Biologist - Pink River Dolphins
Pink river dolphins are the smartest of all dolphins. Their brains are a lot larger than ours They are very friendly. They are highly endangered. Some of the dolphins are gray in color and these are sacred to the natives. They can turn their heads completely from side to side. Because it has no real enemies in the water, these dolphins do not swim in schools. They are not fast swimmers, and sometimes swim upside down. They love to play! They like to throw sticks and even small animals like turtles.
The Geography Expert - Handy South American Rainforest Map
O.K, this is completely random, I know, but I saw this and thought it might be interesting. This map shows the rainforest in South America, the green areas tropical and the blue areas temperate (if you are unsure of the difference, see my other postings).
EDIT: Oh, great, I've found another. This one is pretty much the same thing, only it shows the area of South America that the Amazon Rainforest covers. It zooms in a bit.
The Population Expert - Kayapo Tribe Chiefs
This is a photo of Kayapo tribe chief.Kayapo tribe chiefs in the photo above: Raoniiii, Kaye, Kadjor, Panara.
Usually, the names that different people use for themselves, like Waorani or Matsigenka, simply mean 'us' or 'people who live in a certain place' and the names they give their traditional terriories often mean 'our land'.
In 2003, they populated up to 7,096.
The Geography Expert - Rainforest Characteristics
Hello, I am the geography expert, and will be answering all questions related to the geography side of things. I will be looking at the different Rainforests and their characteristics, and where they are located. Though Rainforests only cover roughly 6% of the world, they are home to over half of the worlds plants and animals. For this reason, we can not afford to lose them at the rate we are doing now.
What makes a Rainforest a tropical Rainforest, as opposed to a temperate Rainforest?
If a Rainforest is close to the equator, it means it is tropical. Temperate ones are generally closer to costal or pacific areas. Another way to tell is a tropical Rainforest does, as the name may suggest, lie in the tropics.
Rainforests and their characteristics...
The Amazon
Is the biggest tropical rainforest in the world. It is in South America, 60% of it covering Brazil and the rest of it covering other South American countries such as Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname.
Central American Rainforest
Once upon a time, this area was once completely covered in Rainforest, but a lot of it has since been cleared for farming purposes, such as cattle ranching and growing sugar cane. I think this is a good example of how rainforest animals, wildlife, and natives (a lot of humans do live in rainforests) are dying because of human interference. This region is particularly famous due to the large number of tropical birds and parrots that live there.
African Rainforest
Again, African rainforests are dying out. This is mainly due to Road Construction, Farming, and Deforestation.
Southern Asian Rainforest
The Southern Asian Rainforests range from India to Burma in the west, and then to Malaysia and the islands of Java and Borneo in the east. Mangrove means a tree or shrub that grows in tropical conditions. Bangladesh, in Southern Asia, has the largest area of mangrove forests in the world.
In Southeast Asia, the entire year is faced with a hot, humid climate. A Subtropical area is a region adjacent to or bordering on the tropics. In the mainland Asia it has a subtropical climate with never ending monsoon rains followed by a dry periods.
Australasian Rainforest
Australia, New Zealand and the island of New Guinea were, millions of years ago, their own southern continent, called Gondwana (Gondwanaland). This means that they were seperate from the rest of the world, so today, even after they have separated, these countries still contain many different species of animal that can’t be found anywhere else.
P.S - Annoyingly, though I managed to find a wide variety of pictures and maps for you that would better illustrate what I am trying to say here, I was unable to, despite my best efforts, post the pictures beneath the words. And as I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to these things, I decided it would be better to have no pictures at all than a clump of disorganized, not captioned, and disconnected pictures. If you think you know how to get the pictures below the words, please let me know.
What makes a Rainforest a tropical Rainforest, as opposed to a temperate Rainforest?
If a Rainforest is close to the equator, it means it is tropical. Temperate ones are generally closer to costal or pacific areas. Another way to tell is a tropical Rainforest does, as the name may suggest, lie in the tropics.
Rainforests and their characteristics...
The Amazon
Is the biggest tropical rainforest in the world. It is in South America, 60% of it covering Brazil and the rest of it covering other South American countries such as Peru, Columbia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname.
Central American Rainforest
Once upon a time, this area was once completely covered in Rainforest, but a lot of it has since been cleared for farming purposes, such as cattle ranching and growing sugar cane. I think this is a good example of how rainforest animals, wildlife, and natives (a lot of humans do live in rainforests) are dying because of human interference. This region is particularly famous due to the large number of tropical birds and parrots that live there.
African Rainforest
Again, African rainforests are dying out. This is mainly due to Road Construction, Farming, and Deforestation.
Southern Asian Rainforest
The Southern Asian Rainforests range from India to Burma in the west, and then to Malaysia and the islands of Java and Borneo in the east. Mangrove means a tree or shrub that grows in tropical conditions. Bangladesh, in Southern Asia, has the largest area of mangrove forests in the world.
In Southeast Asia, the entire year is faced with a hot, humid climate. A Subtropical area is a region adjacent to or bordering on the tropics. In the mainland Asia it has a subtropical climate with never ending monsoon rains followed by a dry periods.
Australasian Rainforest
Australia, New Zealand and the island of New Guinea were, millions of years ago, their own southern continent, called Gondwana (Gondwanaland). This means that they were seperate from the rest of the world, so today, even after they have separated, these countries still contain many different species of animal that can’t be found anywhere else.
P.S - Annoyingly, though I managed to find a wide variety of pictures and maps for you that would better illustrate what I am trying to say here, I was unable to, despite my best efforts, post the pictures beneath the words. And as I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to these things, I decided it would be better to have no pictures at all than a clump of disorganized, not captioned, and disconnected pictures. If you think you know how to get the pictures below the words, please let me know.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Geography Expert - Destruction of Rainforests
How does the destruction of rainforest affect the rest of the world?
Wildlife:
A lot of the worlds plants, trees, animals and insects are only found in the rainforest. So, as we cut them down to make room for farming and construction, we are killing a lot of the worlds wildlife. If major predators die, their intended prey will overpopulate certain areas. Plus, they are important research tools and we can tell a lot by studying them.
Medical Purposes:
More medical resources than people realize are taken from the rainforest. So when we cut down rainforest we are losing important ingredients. One hundred and twenty one prescription drugs sold world wide come from plant sources in the Amazon.
People:
A lot of people do not realize that when we cut down rainforest, we are also actually killing people. Large communities of natives can be found in the rainforest, who, there entire lives, have only known that environment and would have no idea how to survive somewhere else.
Wildlife:
A lot of the worlds plants, trees, animals and insects are only found in the rainforest. So, as we cut them down to make room for farming and construction, we are killing a lot of the worlds wildlife. If major predators die, their intended prey will overpopulate certain areas. Plus, they are important research tools and we can tell a lot by studying them.
Medical Purposes:
More medical resources than people realize are taken from the rainforest. So when we cut down rainforest we are losing important ingredients. One hundred and twenty one prescription drugs sold world wide come from plant sources in the Amazon.
People:
A lot of people do not realize that when we cut down rainforest, we are also actually killing people. Large communities of natives can be found in the rainforest, who, there entire lives, have only known that environment and would have no idea how to survive somewhere else.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Biologist - The Anaconda
Anacondas The Anaconda is a cold-blooded animal witch means that they are the same temperature as the air around them.
Anacondas are meat-eaters they eat fish, caimans, deers, birds, ducks and turtles.
To catch their pray they squeeze their prey until it cannot breathe and Anacondas also bite their prey with their sharp teeth and hold on with their powerful jaws and pull them under the water. They usually wait until their prey comes to them but they will also hunt. They swallow their prey whole head first and they don't chew their food.
Anacondas hide from enemies in the water. They can stay under water for 45 minutes. The colors and patterns on their skin help it hide where they live. Their greatest enemy are humans who kill them for their skin.
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Biologist - Giant River Otters
Giant river Otters are mammals.
Size of animal
Giant river otters can grow to over six feet long and weigh more than 70 pounds.
What it eats
Giant river otters eat mostly fish, but they will also eat small reptiles such as snakes and caiman, and also birds. and meat eaters.
How it captures prey
They use their whiskers to find prey. Giant river otters hunt together in the water. They can hold their breath for several minutes as they search for food in the water.
How it protects itself
Giant river otters will make a loud snorting noise when they are frightened.and can be attacked by caimans, jaguars, pumas, and anacondas.
Other facts
The giant river otter is the rarest mammal in the Amazon. They are highly endangered. They are the largest otters in the world. They live in family groups of five to nine animals. They have webbed feet to help them swim.
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