Montreal Biodome, Montréal, QC, Canada, October 4, 2001

Year: 2001 (October 4, 2001)

11″ x 8.5″

Media: Canon® Pro Platinum High Gloss Photo Paper

Printers: Canon® PIXMA

Color

Art: Photo

Artist: Luc Paquin

Montreal Biodome

Tropical Rainforest

With its large diversity of terrestrial and aquatic plants and animals this ecosystem offers a unique opportunity to study the relationships between physical environmental factors and living organisms, as well as between organisms themselves. This ecosystem has made it possible to study important ecological processes that are generally difficult to isolate in natural environments, such as changes in the physical and chemical properties of the soil, the leaf phosphorus retranslocation of some tree species, the role of soil microorganisms, the foraging activity of pollen and nectar eating bats, and the growth of a free population of giant toads.

Capybara

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is a large rodent of the genus Hydrochoerus of which the only other member is the lesser capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius). The capybara is the largest rodent in the world. Close relatives are guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, chinchillas, and the coypu. Native to South America, the capybara inhabits savannas and dense forests and lives near bodies of water. It is a highly social species and can be found in groups as large as 100 individuals, but usually lives in groups of 10-20 individuals. The capybara is not a threatened species and is hunted for its meat, hide and also for a grease from its thick fatty skin which is used in the pharmaceutical trade.

Luc