The first edition of Tropical Rain Forests: an
Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison exploded the
myth of 'the rain forest' as a single, uniform entity.
In reality, the major tropical rain forest regions, in
tropical America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Madagascar,
and New Guinea, have as many differences as
similarities, as a result of their isolation from each
other during the evolution of their floras and faunas.
This new edition reinforces this message with new
examples from recent and on-going research. After an
introduction to the environments and geological
histories of the major rain forest regions, subsequent
chapters focus on plants, primates, carnivores and
plant-eaters, birds, fruit bats and gliding animals, and
insects, with an emphasis on the ecological and
biogeographical differences between regions. This is
followed by a new chapter on the unique tropical rain
forests of oceanic islands. The final chapter, which has
been completely rewritten, deals with the impacts of
people on tropical rain forests and discusses possible
conservation strategies that take into account the
differences highlighted in the previous chapters.This
exciting and very readable book, illustrated throughout
with color photographs, will be invaluable reading for
undergraduate students in a wide range of courses as
well as an authoritative reference for graduate and
professional ecologists, conservationists, and
interested amateurs. |
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