2. Types of tropical forests

Tropical forests encompass 60% tropical rainforest, while remaining 40% are comprised of seasonally dry tropical forest, mangroves, tropical freshwater swamp forest, dry forest, open eucalyptus forests, tropical coniferous forest, savannah woodlands, and montane forests [10–12]. The tropical forests have been classified as (i) tropical moist broadleaf forests, (ii) tropical dry broadleaf forest, and (iii) tropical coniferous forest. The detail of each forest type has been given below:

#### 2.1. Tropical moist broadleaf forests

These forests are the huge area located at equatorial belts between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn dominated with semi-evergreen and evergreen deciduous tree species. They receive >200 cm rainfall annually [13]. The tree canopy is multilayered, that is, upper story (emergent crown), medium layer, lower canopy, shrub layer, and understory. These forests are home for more than 50% of world wildlife species. The occurrence of higher number of wildlife species is due to diversity of vegetation (i.e., >1000 plant species/km<sup>2</sup> ) and multilayered vegetation structure. For example, upper story is suitable habitats for apes, monkeys, flying squirrels, and birds (i.e., flycatchers), the understory layer harbored diversity of mammals (big cats) and avian species, (i.e., babblers, bulbuls, and pittas, etc.), while undergrowth vegetation is ideal habitat for gorillas, deer, amphibians, snakes, and lizards.

#### 2.2. Tropical dry broadleaf forests

composition and structure (Figure 2), which has formulated heterogeneity of habitats to attract the wide array of wildlife species to inhabit and utilize the food resources in order to perform various activities and to increase the numbers of their individuals [3]. The richness and

Figure 2. Esthetic view of tropical forest. Source: http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/briefings/200912-Forest

Figure 1. Location map of tropical forest around the world. Source: URL at http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/con-

tent/royptb/361/1465/195/F2.large.jpg.

38 Tropical Forests - New Edition

Governance.pdf.

Tropical dry broadleaved forest is characterized with warm temperature and seasonal rainfalls that enable flora to withstand in rainy season as well as dry season to conserve water and shedding their leaves. These forests are located at tropical and subtropical latitudes, such as southern Mexico, Africa, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Central India, Indochina, Madagascar, New Caledonia, Eastern Bolivia and Central Brazil, Caribbean, North Andes, Ecuador, and Peru. They cover about 6 million km<sup>2</sup> or 4% of the Earth's surface [14] and are dominated by teak, ebony, bamboo, and fig trees [15]. The soil is highly productive, and tree canopy may attain 10– 30 m tall. Tropical dry broadleaved forest is suitable habitat for mammals (white-fronted capuchin monkeys, mantled howler monkeys, shrews, bats, coyotes, foxes, ringtails, raccoons, badgers, bobcats, and mountain lions), birds (crested guan, magpie jay, hawks, and bull finches), snakes, lizards, etc.

particular ecosystem. This could be that wildlife species are ecologically specialized in habitat

Tropical Forests Are An Ideal Habitat for Wide Array of Wildlife Species

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73315

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Being rich in biodiversity, the tropical forests have been vanished and altered due to anthropogenic activities [23–25], habitat destruction and fragmentation, invasive species, over-

Currently, tropical forests are facing severe potential threats due to human interventions, such as extensive habitat loss and degradation, isolation, and fragmentation due to heavy exploitation and conversions into agricultural fields and residential areas [29–31], which create a complex spatial disturbance [32–34]. More than 50% of the tropical forest areas have been lost during the past two decades through extensive deforestation for timber, fuelwood, agricultural

It has been stated that habitat loss and fragmentation of tropical forest is a major threat for wildlife species composition, relative abundance, species richness, and density, that is, it increases higher predation risk, reduced food occurrence and diversity, and genetic variability of birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles [38–43]. This may alter habitat thus makes it less productive and attractive thus caused the shift of wildlife species into human-dominated landscape that might be unsuitable and less productive for them [44–48]. However, the consequence of habitat loss and degradation may vary from species to species depending upon the nature and extent of habitat alteration, availability of food resources, and the rate of predation and parasitism [49, 50]. In addition, climate change is an important factor, which has effects on wildlife species phenology, geographic distribution, physiology, vegetation composition, and food resources [51, 52]. Thus, it ultimately exerts negative effects on the population community parameters of the species, i.e., some becomes endangered, vulnerable, and threatened [53–55]. This might be that the climate change may cause the rising of temperature and declining of the precipitation, which make the tropical forest dry and highly susceptible to fire and prone them into shrub lands, grassland, and savannah. The alteration in microclimate may alter the vegetation spe-

Tropical forests are more diverse in vegetation structure and composition, which offer higher habitat complexity, that is, provide a diversity of nesting sites, greater protection from predators and harsh weather, and also plenty of food resources [58]. The vegetation climax and diversity had attracted a wide array of avian species, which are habitat and diet specialist in nature. For example, Black-naped Monarch—Hypothymis azurea—often prefers canopy and foraged on flying insects, Blue-headed Pitta—Pitta baudii—prefers to utilized the ground

use, diet, and highly sensitive to habitat and microclimate alteration [20–22].

exploitation, and climate change [26–28].

expansion, and human-induced fire [35–37].

cies composition, richness, and diversity [56, 57].

5. Wildlife fauna of tropical forests

5.1. Birds of tropical forests

4. Threats to tropical forests

#### 2.3. Tropical coniferous forests

These forests occur in humid climate region at Nearctic and Neotropical Ecozones from Mid-Atlantic states to Nicaragua, the Greater Antilles, Bahamas, and Bermuda [16]. They are characterized by diverse coniferous species whose needles have adjusted to deal with low precipitation (around 2.4<sup>00</sup> or 60 mm) and moderate temperature (18 or 64�C or higher). These forests are dominated by Pinus caribaea, P. tropicalis, P. chiapensis, P. tecunumanii, P. ayacahuite, P. maximin, Byrsonima crassifolia, Colpothrinax wrightii, Chrysobalanus icaco, Quercus cubana, Calophyllum pinetorum, Erythroxylum minutifolium, Phania cajalbanica, Vaccinium cubense, Hyperbaena columbica, Clusia rosea, Aristida spp., Andropogon spp., Quercus corrugata, Q. skinneri, Q. oleoides, Q. candicans, Q. acatenangensi, Q. brachystachys, Q. peduncularis, Q. polymorpha, and Q. conspersa. The crown canopy is close and thick, the understory is rich in shrubs and small trees, while the ground is dominantly covered with ferns and grasses. These forests has harbored wide array of mammals (such as Cervus unicolor, Muntiacus muntjak, Sus scrofa, Selenarctos thibetanus, Capricornis sumatraensis, Rafuta spp.) and bird species (i.e., Polyplectron chalcurum, Pericrocotus miniatus, Chloropsis venusta, Myophonus melanurus, Niltava sumatrana, Cinclidium diana, Pycnonotus leucogrammicus, P. tympanistrigus, Hypsipetes virescens, Zosterops atricapillus, Garrulax palliatus, Napothera rufipectus, etc.).
