Name: __________________________Date: __________

Grade: _____________________ Section: ___________

Learning Competency: The learners should be able to explain the need to

protect and conserve tropical rainforests, coral reefs and mangrove swamps.

(S6LT-IIi-j-6)

__________________________________________________________________________

Objectives: Discuss the needs and ways to protect and conserve:

- Tropical rainforests

- Coral reefs

- Mangrove swamps

Cognitive: Discuss the proper care of rainforests, reefs and swamps.

Psychomotor: Participate actively in the activities given.

Affective: Appreciate the uniqueness and function of rainforests, reefs and

swamps.

What I Need to Do

In this lesson, you are going to learn and master the competency. Make sure

that you read all the information written in this activity sheet. If you have

confusions, feel free to ask your teacher about it. I know that you will enjoy

ii
this lesson today. Make sure to do all the activities and answer the

assessments. After going through this module, you are expected to be able

to:

Discuss the needs and ways to protect and conserve:

1. Tropical rainforests

2. Coral reefs

3. Mangrove swamps

Discuss the proper care of rainforests, reefs and swamps.

Gearing Up

Direction: Identify the following images.

_____________________ __________________ ___________________

Getting Better
Tropical Rainforest

According to the Oxford dictionary, " rainforest means a thick forest in

tropical parts of the world that have a lot of rain."

According to the Cambridge dictionary, " tropical rainforest means thick

forest that grows in hot parts of the world."

Features

 The biotic and abiotic factors depend on each other. A minor change

in one area will affect the other.

 These areas have huge biodiversity.

 The temperature is almost the same the whole year and never comes

below 20°C and exceeds 35°C rarely.

 There are no seasons and a hot or humid atmosphere is found here.

 Rainfall occurs a lot here thus the soil is not so fertile here because

most of the nutrients are washed away due to rainfall.

 The forests have a dense canopy here and sunlight does not reach the

ground.

 They have different layers such as the ground level, the shrubs, the

under and main canopy, and the emergent.

These forests are found in between the tropics ie. Tropic of Cancer and

Tropic of Capricorn. These are mainly found in South America, Western or

Central Africa, India and Southeast Asia, and some other areas. The extent

of their distribution can be seen on the map.

These areas are dominated by maritime tropical air masses and usually

have the same temperature over the year. The average monthly temperature

found here is 27°C which does not vary so much. The temperature is always

moderate due to the presence of clouds or precipitation or regular sea and

land breezes. Average annual rainfall in these areas is always above 150cm

and can be around 250cm to 300cm in some areas. There is no winter and

no month without rainfall. 

Various precious minerals are found here such as gold, copper, diamonds,

and other gemstones. Besides these, they are also a great source of oil

reserves as well. Extraction of these minerals or oil reserves here is a

difficult task because it affects the natural ecosystem and environment a

lot.

These regions are sparsely populated. People like primitive ones and more

advanced ones are used to practicing shifting cultivation here. There is no

problem or shortage of food as well and they do not need to stock food items

for the future. Shifting cultivation is common where dense forests are found

in the world. Even in India, in North East regions, this type of farming is

practiced. Besides farming, people do other commercial activities as well.

Such as collection of wild rubber by the Indian tribes in the Amazon basin,

nuts collection by the pygmies in the Congo basin, etc. The conditions of

these areas are also favorable for products of industrial use such as the

cultivation of natural rubber which has a great demand. Cocoa is also a very

important crop which is grown here. Other important crops are coconuts,

coffee, tea, tobacco, sugar, spices, etc. 

Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are important ocean habitats and offer a compelling case of

the risks of climate change. Reefs provide a large fraction of

Earth’s biodiversity—they have been called “the rain forests of the seas.”

Scientists estimate that 25 percent of all marine species live in and

around coral reefs, making them one of the most diverse habitats in the

world.

Reefs provide a variety of economic benefits,

including recreational activities, tourism, coastal protection, habitat for

commercial fisheries, and preservation of marine ecosystems.

Corals live with algae in a type of relationship called symbiosis. This

means the organisms cooperate with each other. The algae, called

zooxanthellae, live inside the corals, which provide a tough outer shell made

from calcium carbonate. In return for that protection, the algae provide

their host with food produced through photosynthesis. Zooxanthellae also

provide corals with their striking colors. This symbiotic relationship is

strongly dependent on the temperature of the surrounding water. As the

water warms, zooxanthellae are expelled from a coral’s tissue, causing it to

lose its color and a major source of food. This process is known as “coral

bleaching.” Coral bleaching does not always mean the death of a coral reef.

Corals can recover their zooxanthellae in time, but the process requires

cooler temperatures.

Warmer Ocean water also becomes more acidic. Ocean acidification is

making it more difficult for corals to build their hard exoskeletons. In

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, coral calcification has declined 14.2 percent

since 1990—a large, rapid decline that hasn’t been seen for 400 years.

Mangrove Swamps

Mangrove swamps are coastal wetlands found in tropical and

subtropical regions. They are characterized by halophytic (salt loving)

trees, shrubs and other plants growing in brackish to saline tidal waters.

These wetlands are often found in estuaries, where fresh water meets

salt water and are infamous for their impenetrable maze of woody

vegetation. In North America, they are found from the southern tip of
 Florida along the Gulf Coast to Texas. Florida's southwest coast

supports one of the largest mangrove swamps in the world.

Mangrove trees dominate this wetland ecosystem due to their ability to

survive in both salt and fresh water. In the continental United States, only

three species of mangrove grow: red, black, and white mangroves. Red

Mangrove (Rhizophera mangle) is easily recognized by its distinctive arching

roots. Black Mangrove (Avicennia sp.), which often grows more inland, has

root projections called pneumatophores, which help to supply the plant with

air in submerged soils. White Mangroves (Laguncularia racemosa) often grow

even farther inland with no outstanding root structures.

A wide diversity of animals are found in mangrove swamps. Since these

estuarine swamps are constantly replenished with nutrients transported by

fresh water runoff from the land and flushed by the ebb and flow of the

tides, they support a bursting population of bacteria and other decomposers

and filter feeders. These ecosystems sustain billions of worms, protozoa,

barnacles (Balanus spp.), oysters (Crassostrea spp.), and other

invertebrates. These organisms in turn feed fish and shrimp, which support

wading birds, pelicans, and the endangered Crocodile.

Protecting Tropical Rainforests, Coral Reefs and Mangrove Swamps

Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife. Support companies

that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.

Deforestation of tropical rainforests has a global impact through species

extinction, the loss of important ecosystem services and renewable

resources, and the reduction of carbon sinks.

- Recycle and dispose trash properly

 - Minimize use of chemical fertilizers

- Use environment-friendly mode of transportation

- Save energy at home and at work

Gaining Mastery

Directions: Identify the given organisms if they belong to

Tropical Rainforests, Coral Reefs or Mangrove Swamps
1.

_____________

2.

_____________

3.

__________

4.
5.

__________________
_________

6.

_________

7.

________

8.

________

9.

__________
10.
 __________

Rubrics for Scoring

If applicable, provide rubrics on how the learners or their outputs

will be graded.

What I Need to Remember

Tropical rainforests, also known as lowland equatorial evergreen

rainforests, are those that grow in regions with a tropical rainforest climate,

which means there is never a dry season and all months have an average

precipitation of at least 60 mm. A subset of the tropical forest biome that

often occurs within the 28-degree latitudes, true rainforests are typically

found between 10 degrees north and south of the equator (see map) (in the

equatorial zone between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn).

Tropical rainforests are a kind of tropical moist broadleaf forest (also known
as tropical wet forest), which also includes the more extensive seasonal

tropical forests, according to the World Wildlife Fund's taxonomy of biomes.

An underwater environment known as a coral reef is characterized by

corals that construct reefs. Coral polyp colonies are bound together by

calcium carbonate to build reefs. Stony corals, whose polyps gather

together, make up the majority of coral reefs.

Shallow coral reefs make up some of the planet's most diversified

ecosystems and are sometimes referred to as underwater rainforests. At

least 25% of all marine species, including fish, mollusks, worms,

crustaceans, echinoderms, sponges, tunicates, and other cnidarians, have

their home there, while taking up less than 0.1 percent of the ocean's

surface, or roughly half the area of France. In ocean conditions with few

nutrients, coral reefs thrive. Coral reefs can be found on a smaller scale in

deep water and cold water, but they are most frequently seen at shallow

depths in tropical environments.

A mangrove is a tree or shrub that thrives in brackish or salty water

along the coast. The phrase is also applied to such species-rich tropical

coastal vegetation. In the tropics, subtropics, and even some temperate

coastal regions around the world, mangroves are most common between

latitudes 30° N and 30° S, with the largest mangrove area occurring within

5° of the equator. During the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene epochs,

mangrove plant families first evolved. In part because of tectonic plate

movement, they spread widely. The earliest mangrove palm fossils

discovered stretch back 75 million years.

References
Tropical rainforest boitany (thinglink.com)

Why Coral Reef Protection Is Very Important - SailingEurope Blog

My Journeys: Pichavaram mangrove forest (subith-premdas.blogspot.com)

Tropical Rainforest - Definition, Features, Climate and Plants (vedantu.com)

Coral Reefs | National Geographic Society

Mangrove Swamps | US EPA

What You Can Do to Help Protect Coral Reefs | US EPA

How to Save Tropical Rainforests (mongabay.com)

Blog not found (blogger.com)

Video: What Animals Live in a Coral Reef? | California Academy of Sciences (calacademy.org)

First genetically engineered coral created to help save reefs from climate change | The Independent
| The Independent

Fascinating Animals That Live In Mangrove Forests - WorldAtlas

Warming alters herbivore control of plant life history – Lemoine Lab (natelemoine.com)

Tropical rainforest - Wikipedia

Coral reef - Wikipedia

Mangrove - Wikipedia

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 Answer Key

An answer key may be included for teachers use only (separate sheets)

Tropical Forest Coral Reefs Mangrove Swamps

1. Tropical Rainforests

2. Coral Reefs

3. Coral Reefs

4. Mangrove Swamps

5. Mangrove Swamps

6. Tropical Rainforests

7. Tropical Rainforests

8. Tropical Rainforests

9. Mangrove Swamps

10. Mangrove Swamps

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