Tropical Rain Forests: An Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison
by Richard B. Primack (Boston University); Richard T. Corlett (National University of Singapore)Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 2009-02-01
Publisher(s): Wiley-Blackwell
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Summary
The popular view of the tropical rainforest as a monolithic tangle of rain-soaked trees, vines, birds, monkeys and big cats is a widespread myth. Tropical Rain Forests: An Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison explodes that myth by showing that rain forests in different tropical regions are unique despite superficial similarities.Written by two leading figures in the field, this essential new volume: Emphasizes the distinctive characteristics of rain forests in tropical Asia, tropical America, Africa,Madagascar,New Guinea, and Australia Begins with an introduction to the climate, biogeographic history, and environment of tropical rain forests Presents an extended cross-continental treatment of major animal and plant groups Outlines a research program involving cross-continental comparisons Considers the impact of people on tropical forests and discusses conservation strategies based upon the characteristics of particular regions rather than a one-size-fits-all approach Includes natural history examples, figures, and a stunning collection of color photographs
Table of Contents
| Preface | |
| Acknowledgments | |
| Many Tropical Rainforests | |
| What are tropical rainforests? | |
| Where are the tropical rainforests? | |
| Rainforest environments | |
| Rainforest histories | |
| The origns of the similarities and differences | |
| Main rainforests | |
| Conclusions | |
| Further Reading | |
| Plants: The Building Blocks of the Rainforest | |
| Plant distributions | |
| Rainforest structure | |
| How many plant species? | |
| Widespread plant families | |
| Neotropical rainforests | |
| Asian rainforests | |
| Rainforests in New Guinea and Australia | |
| African rainforests | |
| Madagascan rainforests | |
| Conclusions | |
| Further reading | |
| Primate Communities: A Key to Understanding Biogeography and Ecology | |
| What are primates? | |
| Old World versus New World primates | |
| Primate diets | |
| Primate communities | |
| Primates as seed dispersal agents | |
| Conclusions | |
| Further reading | |
| Carnivores and Plant Eaters | |
| Carnivores | |
| Herbivores of the forest floor | |
| Conclusions | |
| Further reading | |
| Birds: Linkages in the Rainforest Community | |
| Biogeography | |
| Little, brown, insect-eating birds | |
| Forest frugivores | |
| Fruit size and body size | |
| Flower visitors | |
| Ground dwellers | |
| Woodpeckers | |
| Birds of prey | |
| Scavengers | |
| Night birds | |
| Migration | |
| A comparison of bird communities across continents | |
| Conclusions | |
| Further reading | |
| Bats and Gliding Animals in the Tree Canopy | |
| Fruit- and nectar-feeding bats | |
| Feeding habits | |
| Flying behavior | |
| Foraging behavior | |
| Bats as pollinators and seed dispersal agents | |
| Fruit bat conservation | |
| Gliding vertebrates | |
| Conclusions | |
| Further reading | |
| Insects: Diverse, Abundant, and Ecologically Important | |
| Butterflies | |
| Ants | |
| Termites | |
| Social wasps | |
| Bees | |
| Conclusions | |
| Further reading | |
| The Future of Rainforests | |
| Different forests, different threats | |
| The major threats | |
| The forces behind the threats | |
| Global climate change | |
| How bad is it? | |
| Rainforest extinctions | |
| Solutions | |
| Conclusions | |
| Further reading | |
| Bibliography | |
| Index | |
| Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved. |
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