Chapter 1
The dinosaur next door
Chapter 2
Weaponry of the rainforest
Chapter 3
Guardians of the green
Chapter 4
Humans and the modern dinosaur
YOUR GOAL
Master of The modern dinosaur with a dagger kick
Ch 3 · Guardians of the green
artiteacher Cassowary Rainforest Seed Dispersal
Swallowing the blue plum, walking through the Daintree, planting a new forest.
artiteacher Although female cassowaries are larger and more dominant, they abandon their eggs to find other mates, leaving males
artiteacher An Italian Renaissance painting shows a cassowary with sharp claws and prehistoric eyes.
Fun Fact
Super dads: Male cassowaries incubate the bright green eggs for fifty days and raise the striped chicks completely alone, without any help from the mother.
Glossary
keystone species (noun)
A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically. The southern cassowary serves this role in Australia's Daintree by dispersing seeds of over 230 plant species.
A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically. The southern cassowary serves this role in Australia's Daintree by dispersing seeds of over 230 plant species.
Quiz
What happens to some large seeds if they do not pass through a cassowary's digestive system?
Quiz
How long do cassowary chicks typically stay with their father before becoming independent?
Quiz
Why are cassowaries considered 'keystone species' in their rainforest ecosystems?
Quiz
Which parent cassowary is responsible for incubating the eggs and raising the chicks?