Rivers

=Rivers=

Introduction
Biomes are climatological conditions that are on the Earth. We see Biomes everywhere we go, it is a community of every organism living here on Earth. One of those many Biomes are Rivers. Rivers gives organisms such as fish, nourishment and a short path to travel. Rivers also affect humans and other animals that doesn't have to be in the water. Lately, rivers had been slowly polluted by human actions and now humans are trying to find a way to protect and reduce the amount of pollution that had been caused in the Rivers.

(Adrianne E.) Fauna
Rivers are found in many diverse places in the world, and many varieties of Fauna live, in and out of these ecosystems.

The Amazon River

 * Jaguar** //**(Panthera onca)**//- Jaguars are the third largest cat in the world, and can reach up to 300 pounds. Jaguars are often spotted relaxing among trees during the day. They have adapted to the Amazon by swimming for prey, and can be found hunting for Amazonian fish such as the pirarucu or Piranha, and turtles. They have also adapted to hunting around nightfall, which gives them the higher advantage over their prey. Unfortunately, they are becoming extinct, due to habitat loss and over hunting.


 * Amazonian Manatee (//Trichechus lninguis)//**- The Amazonian Manatee lives in the fresh waters of the Amazon River. They are also known as //Sea Cows//, but are also named after mythological creatures such as //mermaids// or //sirenians.// They have adapted to their environment by their flippers, which help them move gracefully through the water. They are mainly aquatic animals, and feed on the aquatic plants that grow in the water, or float on top.


 * Piranha**- This Amazonian fish is one of the Amazon’s more feared carnivorous fish. Their teeth are their main adaptation, which are triangular shaped, and razor sharp. They are attracted to the scent of blood, and can shred flesh to pieces with ease. Piranhas actually breathe oxygen, and must surface for air every 15 minutes. Although they are very dangerous, they are still prey to the natives of the Amazon, and larger animals such as the Jaguar.

The Amazon River

 * Orchids-** Orchids are very beautiful and are found by the Amazon river inside the rainforest. The sweet smell that they give of attracts insects which help by pollinating the flowers.


 * Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata)-** The water lily can measure 6 feet in diameter wich makes it the biggest flower in the world. This large flower is found on calm rivers and calm lakes. They are really thin so thats why they are able to float on top of the river.


 * Heliconia (Heliconia rostrata)-** The heliconia has a leaf that looks like a lobster claw but with really bright colors. Some times the colors get mixed so it creats a bright and beautiful unique color. Heliconia's are usually hidden with other plants and only birds can reach them to get nectuar from them.


 * Kapok Tree-** This tree can grow to be 200 feet tall which makes this the biggest tree in the Amazon rainforest. The Kapok tree is a home for many species such as monkeys, insects, and many other animals. Bats are really attracted to the Kapok tree because of there flowers. They give off a sweet smell which makes the bats go to them so the can eat. This is a good thing because the bats help fertilize by spreading the pollen around.

(Richard P.) Free Topic
Humans relying on the River can be a privilege, abusing it will make it disappear.

The Amazon River
__**Reducing the Polluted**__ In the Amazon River, the number of fishes had been reduced due to polluted drinking water and humans overfishing. A group known as the WWF(World Wild Life) are trying to protect the environment from oil and fishing companies. They try negotiating with those companies and try to balance the use of the legal system. The WWF do their best to repair any damages that happened in the Amazon River from the abused use Fishing companies used and the oiling that Oil companies had caused.

__**People losing Natural Resources**__ The Candoshi community relies a lot on the Amazon River, but because of the pollution and overfishing, many of the natural resources such as the number of fish in the river, slowly decreases. The Candoshi community changed their ways and fished more less than they usually do, so the fish population are balanced. The WWF linked the Candoshis to markets so they can purchase fish there instead of fishing.





**Fauna**:
“Animal Info- Amazonian Manatee.” //Animalinfo.org.// Animal Info. n.d. Web. Nov. 2010 [|]

“Amazon River Animals.” //Destination360.com.// Destination360. n.d. Web. Nov. 2010 [|]

“Amazon-Species.” //Worldwildlifefun.org.// World Wild Life Fund. n.d. Web. Nov. 2010 <[|http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/amazon/species.html>] “Amazon Rainforest Animals.” //unique-southamerica-travel-experience.com.// unique-southamerica-travel-experience. n.d. Web. Nov. 2010 <[|http://www.unique-southamerica-travel-experience.com/amazon-rainforest-animals.html>] “Amazon River Fish: Piranha.” //-southamerica-travel-experience.com.// unique-southamerica-travel-experience. n.d. Web. Nov. 2010 <[|http://www.unique-southamerica-travel-experience.com/amazon-river-fish.html>]


 * Free Topic:**

"Amazon - People" WorldWildLife.org People Info. n.d. Web Nov 2010 <@http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/wherewework/amazon/people.html