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What ecosystem does a silverback gorilla live in?
tropical forest
Gorillas primarily inhabit tropical forest habitats. Tropical forests are characterized as having little variance in temperature (around 23°C) and length of daylight (around 12 hours).
What do gorillas do in the ecosystem?
Gorillas play an important role in the tropical forests in which they live. They help disperse seeds throughout the forests and create places where seedlings can grow and replenish the forest.
What animals live in the same ecosystem as a gorilla?
Gorillas share their habitat with animals such as the African forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus), African gray parrots (Psittacus erithacus), African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), Giant Forest Hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) and leopards (Panthera pardus).
Why are gorillas keystone species?
Gorillas are considered keystone species, meaning they play a critical role in the ecosystem, particularly as seed dispersers. And gorillas are in trouble. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Redlist, all four subspecies are either listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered.
What are gorillas adaptations?
Lesson Summary Gorillas have many adaptations that help them to survive, like their opposable thumbs that help them to gather plants to eat and their large arm muscles for climbing trees, knuckle walking and defense. Troops of gorillas are protected by the silverbacks, who are the dominant males of the groups.
What plants live with gorillas?
In the Virungas, mountain gorillas and golden monkeys both use bamboo as a key food plant, so our biodiversity studies have also focused on the life of this species, recording data from 92 plots in the forest.
Are gorillas predators or prey?
Apart from humans, gorillas don’t really have enemies. The only predator to prey on gorillas is the leopard. Walter Baumgärtel found the remains of several gorillas after they had been killed by leopards in the Virunga Volcanoes.