Product Description: In this exciting adventure mixed with amazing scientific study, a young, exuberant explorer and geoscientist journeys deep into the Amazon—where rivers boil and legends come to life.When Andrés Ruzo was just a small boy in Peru, his grandfather told him the story of a mysterious legend: There is a river, deep in the Amazon, which boils as if a fire burns below it...read more

Product Description: This volume contains a comprehensive analysis of ecological gradients in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico.   This tropical island setting comprises six ecological life zones and is ideal for studying environmental gradients given dramatic differences in temperature and precipitation that are associated with a rise in elevation from sea level to more than 1000 m over a distance of 10-15 km...read more

Product Description: Until relatively recently the valuable tropical montane cloud forests (hereaf­ ter usually referred to as TMCFs) of the world had scarcely come under the assaults experienced by the downslope montane and lowland forests. TMCFs are not hospitable environments for human occupation, and their remoteness (except in places near Andean high mountain settlements and in the Ethiopian Highlands) and difficult terrain have given them de facto protection...read more

Product Description: Climate change represents one of the most alarming long-term threats to ecosystems the world over. This new collection of papers provides, for the first time, an overview of the potentially serious impact that climate change may have on tropical forests...read more

This introductory textbook examines diminishing terrestrial and aquatic habitats in the tropics, covering a broad range of topics including the fate of the coral reefs; the impact of agriculture, urbanization, and logging on habitat depletion; and the effects of fire on plants and animal survival. Includes case studies and interviews with prominent conservation scientists to help situate key concepts in a real world context Covers a broad range of topics including: the fate of the coral reefs; the impact of agriculture, urbanization, and logging on habitat depletion; and the effects of fire on plants and animal survival Highlights conservation successes in the region, and emphasizes the need to integrate social issues, such as human hunger, into a tangible conservation plan Documents the current state of the field as it looks for ways to predict future outcomes and lessen human impact “Sodhi et al. have done a masterful job of compiling a great deal of literature from around the tropical realm, and they have laid out the book in a fruitful and straightforward manner…I plan to use it as a reference and as supplemental reading for several courses and I would encourage others to do the same.” Ecology, 90(4), 2009, pp. 1144–1145

Historically, tropical ecology has been a science often content with descriptive and demographic approaches, which is understandable given the difficulty of studying these ecosystems and the need for basic demographic information. Nonetheless, over the last several years, tropical ecologists have begun to test more sophisticated ecological theory and are now beginning to address a broad array of questions that are of particular importance to tropical systems, and ecology in general. Why are there are so many species in tropical forests and what mechanisms are responsible for the maintenance of that vast species diversity? What factors control species coexistence? Are there common patterns of species abundance and distribution across broad geographic scales? What is the role of trophic interactions in these complex ecosystems? How can these fragile ecosystems be conserved? Containing contributions from some of the world’s leading tropical ecologists, Tropical Forest Community Ecology provides a summary of the key issues in the discipline of tropical ecology: Includes contributions from some of the world’s leading tropical ecologists Covers patterns of species distribution, the maintenance of species diversity, the community ecology of tropical animals, forest regeneration and conservation of tropical ecosystems

Provides an introduction to today's educational challenges and teachers' professional responsibilities, and discusses classroom environment, curriculum, planning instruction, questioning, and grouping students for learning.

In this work, Nancy Stepan explores the ways in which the Tropics, in particular tropical nature, places, animals and people, were imagined and presented in European culture from the 19th century on.

Discusses the future of nature conservation and argues that the suspension of all economic activity is the only way to save tropical forests

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A nature photographer and an ecologist present a portrait of the plant and animal life found on Panama's Barro Colorado Island, revealing the diversity of the island's inhabitants and the importance of tropical forests.

Product Description: Far into the Atlantic Ocean, the outflow from the Amazon River creates a "sweet sea" of fresh water. At the river's mouth, a vast delta of river channels and marshes, floodplain and upland forests, open and scrub savannas, floating meadows, and mangrove swamps hosts an astonishingly diverse assemblage of plant and animal life...read more

Product Description: Most scientists and researchers working in tropical areas are convinced that parks and protected areas are the only real hope for saving land and biodiversity in those regions. Rather than giving up on parks that are foundering, ways must be found to strengthen them, and Making Parks Work offers a vital contribution to that effort...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

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Product Description: This book examines behavioral adaptations of tropical birds in timing of breeding, life history traits, mating systems and parental care, territoriality, communication, and biotic interactions, and emphasizes the many gaps in our knowledge of tropical birds...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Freshwater infestation by the water hyacinth weed has reached crisis proportions in many areas of Africa and the Middle East. Accumulated environmental, economic and social damages to date are estimated in the billions of dollars...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Tropical habitats cover over one third of the Earth's terrestrial surface and harbor much of its biodiversity, with many areas rich in endemic species. However, these ecosystems are under significant and growing threat from issues such as deforestation, land degradation and ocean acidification...read more