Montclair State University

The Rainforest Connection Live - Belize!

The first rainforest video-chats of the school year were hosted from a remote eco-lodge in Belize in a forest with the highest density of jaguars in the world.  PRISM videoconference programs feature live conversations with scientists, researchers, naturalists, teachers, and students from locations such as Panama, Belize, and Australia.  The Belize experiences are hosted from ChanChich Lodge near the border of Guatemala, via satellite internet.  You can view the location at their website: (http://chanchich.com). 

Powerpoint overview of Belize for class preparation.

Jaguar photographed by our camera-traps at Chan Chich Belize

Rainforest Cats
Cautious and mostly nocturnal, the several species of rainforest cats are very hard to study. These cats are important predators of rainforests in the Neotropics and other habitats from North America to South America, They play a special role in food webs which can be learned through study of a surprising behavior. Talk with scientists about how ocelots are observed, what has been learned, and what still needs to be known.

• Photo Gallery: Scientists and Ocelots
• Ocelots on BCI
• Ocelot lives (YouTube video) or Ocelot lives (podcast Itunes download)

Diversity of Animals in Rainforest Biomes
There are many kinds of rainforests, but they all have some factors in common.  How are rainforests different from other forest biomes? What similarities do they share with other kinds of forests?  Why are they so interesting to scientists?  Why are rainforests endangered habitats?

• The Rainforest Connection: How We Study Mammals
• Mammal Directory
• Album of mammals at BCI
• Mammals and Birds of the Rainforests

Intro to Rainforest
What is a rainforest? Is there only one kind? Where are they? What lives there? How do we study them? What's so special about them.

• Bungle in the Jungle: What Not to Do Back in the Forest Again
  
• A Place with Many Levels
  
• A Walk in the Territory of Others
  
• Life at the Top
• Rainforest Botany

Food Webs
Who eats whom?  How do we know this?  What are the adaptations of predators for catching prey and for prey to avoid being eaten?  What is the role of plants?

• The Rainforest Connection: How We Study Mammals
  
• Mammal Directory

Adaptations of Monkeys
Learn about how monkeys live, their special adaptations, their unique behaviors and their ecological roles in rainforests.

• White-Throated Capuchin (Cebus Capucinus)
  
• Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta Palliata)
  
• New World Monkeys
  
• Spider Monkey (Ateles Geoffroyi)
  
• Tamarins Make a Great Day in the Forest
  
• Red-Naped Tamarin (Saguinus Geoffroyi)

Snakes and their roles in the Food Web
Some of the most wonderful and beautiful adaptations among animals are exhibited by snakes. Explore how they move, how they feed, how they play an important role in their ecosystems. What is venom and why does it interest pharmaceutical companies? Where do snakes live and how diverse are they?

• Meeting with a Snake
  
• A Memorable Reptile
  
• Snakes
  

For more information or to view pictures, click the links within the topic.