Thomas is a retired teacher living in Spring Hill, FL. He has education degrees from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Penn State University, Tom has taught Environmental Sciences and Tropical Ecology at the high school level. At the university level, he taught Educational Psychology and supervised student teachers.
Rainforest Glossary
Learn about the rainforest and use this glossary to help with the puzzles on the following pages.
You can also download and print the glossary by clicking the download button here!
| Adaptation | A structure or behavior that helps a living thing survive. Gracie’s adaptation in the story is her color and ability to be very still. |
| Bud | Can grow into a new twig |
| Branchlet | This is the growth of a branch from the previous year |
| Calories | A measure of how much energy there is in carbohydrates and fats |
| Camouflaged | An animal’s color blends into its habitat |
| Canopy | This level is the thickest level of a rainforest where most animals live. Flowers and fruit are abundant in the Canopy. |
| Carbohydrates | Sugars (high-energy), starch (can be changed into sugars or fats), and fiber (no-energy) are carbohydrate foods |
| Cecropia Tree | Small tropical trees that grown in open areas |
| Commensalism | One member of a symbiotic relationship is helped and the other member is not helped or harmed |
| Compete | This is the behavior an animal will do to defend its territory |
| Detritus | The dead plant and animal material on the forest floor. |
| Emergent | This is the highest level of a rainforest. The Emergent level has the tallest trees that “pop” out of the canopy. |
| Fat | Is a food that has stored-energy which can be used when carbohydrate energy is low |
| Food | Plants and animals need carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and vitamins to grow and stay alive |
| Food Chain | A food chain shows what an animal eats and what eats that animal. Some food chains have more than three levels. |
| Forest Floor | The small plants (mosses, herbs) and leaf litter on the ground make up the forest floor level |
| Harpy Eagle | The harpy eagle is the largest bird predator in the rainforest |
| Herbivores | Herbivores are animals that eat parts of green plants. |
| Howler Monkey | Spider monkeys and howler monkeys are the two largest monkeys in the Amazon rainforest |
| Leaf | The leaf is the structure (organ) of a plant that uses sunlight, air, and water to produce sugar |
| Leaflet | The leaflet is a part of a compound leaf |
| Leafstalk | The leafstalk connects the leaf to the twig |
| Mutualism | Mutualism is when both members of a symbiotic relationship help each other |
| Nectar | Nectar is a liquid produced by plants full of sugar |
| Niche | The niche is a job a living thing has in their habitat |
| Opposable | Your thumb is opposable, or opposite, your fingers |
| Parasitism | Parasitism is when one member of a symbiotic relationship is helped and the other member is harmed |
| Predators | Predators are animals that kill and eat other animals |
| Prehensile Tail | This adaptation allows animals to hang from their tails without using hands of feet |
| Producers | Producers are green plants that use sunlight, air, and water to make sugar |
| Specialist | In a food chain, a specialist will eat mainly one kind of food |
| Symbiosis | Symbiosis is when two kinds (species) of living things have a relationship |
| Talons | The claws of a predator bird |
| Territory | This is the area within a habitat that an animal, or a group of animals, defend as their own |
| Twig | A twig is the newest growth at the end of a branch |
| Understory | The understory level of a rainforest has small trees, palms, and shrubs |