Organisms
In Gunung Leuser there are around 8,500 different plant species and over 700 species of animals.
The animals that live in Gunung Leuser include snakes, orangutans, rhinoceros, tigers, parrots, leopards, elephants, deer, monkeys, frogs, sea-eagles, and turtles.
Of these animals the orangutans, rhinoceros, and tigers are all endangered. The orangutans have about 6,600 left in Gunung Leuser. The rhinoceros have an estimated population of about 300. The tigers (which are the smallest tiger alive today (9)) have about 110 left in Gunung Leuser. These three animals are all on the endangered species list due to habitat loss, like illegal logging, poaching and pet trade. (11)
Plants that are found in Gunung Leuser are Casuarinas Trees, Wild Nutmeg, Camphor, Nibung Palms, Rotan, Mangrove Trees, Pandan, Pometia Pinnata, Meranti, Keruing, Camphor, Damar Durian, Mango, and Wild Banana (10). The taller plants form a canopy, which is a large covering made from tops of tree leaves and branches (21). This creates a heavily shaded bottom with gaps.
The animals that live in Gunung Leuser include snakes, orangutans, rhinoceros, tigers, parrots, leopards, elephants, deer, monkeys, frogs, sea-eagles, and turtles.
Of these animals the orangutans, rhinoceros, and tigers are all endangered. The orangutans have about 6,600 left in Gunung Leuser. The rhinoceros have an estimated population of about 300. The tigers (which are the smallest tiger alive today (9)) have about 110 left in Gunung Leuser. These three animals are all on the endangered species list due to habitat loss, like illegal logging, poaching and pet trade. (11)
Plants that are found in Gunung Leuser are Casuarinas Trees, Wild Nutmeg, Camphor, Nibung Palms, Rotan, Mangrove Trees, Pandan, Pometia Pinnata, Meranti, Keruing, Camphor, Damar Durian, Mango, and Wild Banana (10). The taller plants form a canopy, which is a large covering made from tops of tree leaves and branches (21). This creates a heavily shaded bottom with gaps.
Predation Relationships
One of the predator-prey relationships in Gunung Leuser are tigers eating deer. Predator-prey relationships help keep an ecosystem balanced. In the case of tigers eating deer, deer eat significant amounts of vegetation. When tigers eat the deer, it gives other animals in the ecosystem a chance to feed too. With just a few tigers left, deer roam freely eating almost anything they want. This significantly reduces letting other animals get sufficient amount of food. Another predator-prey relationship would be leopards (they are so rarely seen that there is so little known about them (20)) eating monkeys. With monkeys primarily staying in the canopy of the trees looking for food, few come to the ground to scavenge. Most of the ones to come down are too heavy to move safely through the trees (8). Here is where the leopard waits to attack. This makes more scavenging available for those that come down from the tops, and take their chance with the leopard.
Energy Movement
Energy movement in Gunung Leuser starts off with sunlight hitting producers. These are plants that make their own food. Then the primary consumers, like the deer, eat the leaves or nuts produced by the producers. As the primary consumers get bigger, they become more likely to be eaten by the carnivores, such as tigers, of Gunung Leuser. An example of of this would be sunlight hitting plants, monkeys or birds eating the nuts and fruits, snakes eating the monkeys or bird (depending on size), and then bird (depending on size) eating the snake, and then a leopard eating the bird or snake. The keystone species in the example below would be mangos or bananas. With most of the species feeding off these two fruits, they have a huge role in this ecosystem.
