A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics

by Lambertini, Marco

• ISBN13: 9780226468280
• ISBN10: 0226468283
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-05-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Every year hundreds of thousands of travelers head for the Tropics to thrill to the raucous call of a howler monkey booming across the emerald cathedral of a rainforest, or to marvel at a brightly colored clown fish gliding fearlessly among the stinging tentacles of a sea anemone on a coral reef. Ranging from South and Central America to Africa, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the Caribbean, A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics provides engaging overviews of the geology, climate, soils, plants, animals, and major ecosystems of the Tropics. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout with color plates, photographs, and drawings. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a veteran of many trips, this convenient guidebook can help you plan your vacation and serve as a knowledgeable companion to answer the many questions that may arise during the course of your journey. Why are tropical birds and fishes so colorful? What is an atoll, and how do they form? Why are tropical soils red and sterile, while rainforests are lush and green? Why does Madagascar have lemurs but not monkeys? Special features of the book include chapters on the conservation status of the Tropics and how to prepare with "caution without obsession" for tropical dangers such as infectious diseases and charging rhinoceroses. The first comprehensive introduction to the natural history of the Tropics worldwide, A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics has been completely revised and updated by the author and the translator to reflect the most current information available. * first field guide in English to cover all the world's tropics, not just specific regions or countries * more than 350 illustrations, many in color * sturdy flexibound cover and compact size ideal for travelers * boxes in text define scientific terms or explore side topics in more detail, such as "What Is Biodiversity?" and "Why Is Tropical Fauna So Colorful?" * discusses tropical dangers and precautions to cope with them, such as vaccinations to obtain and foods to avoid

Author Biography

Marco Lambertini is Director of Network and Programme for BirdLife International, UK.

Table of Contents

Text Boxes and Tables	ix
Photographs and Color Plates	xii
Foreword	xvii
Preface	xxi
Guide to Reading the Color Plates	xxiii
Acknowledgments	xxiii
Tropical Geography and Biogeography	1	(16)
Continents in Evolution	2	(5)
The Ice Ages	7	(10)
The Climate	17	(12)
Different Climates from the Equator to the Tropics	17	(3)
Scorching Sun and Pelting Rains	20	(5)
Seasonal Winds	25	(4)
The Soils	29	(4)
The Flora	33	(22)
Water, Heat, and Light: The Winning Formula in the Tropics	33	(3)
Analogies and Differences among Continents	36	(5)
The Richest Botany in the World	41	(14)
The Fauna	55	(36)
An Extraordinary Wealth	56	(1)
Great Diversity and Unexpected Look-Alikes	57	(6)
A Thousand Strategies for Survival	63	(19)
Homeland of the Great Fauna	82	(9)
Mangroves	91	(22)
The Nonexistent Mangrove Tree	92	(3)
Original Architecture and Adaptations	95	(5)
The Army of Specialist Crabs	100	(2)
A Fish out of Water...or In	102	(3)
The Strategy of Being Amphibian	105	(6)
An Exciting Habitat---An Important Resource	111	(2)
Forests	113	(38)
Virgin Forests and Secondary Jungles	114	(1)
Profile of a Tropical Forest	115	(3)
The Ecology of a Green Universe	118	(8)
The Collapse of Giants and the Feast of the Colonizers	126	(4)
A Universe of Fruits and Flowers	130	(3)
Climbers, Lianas, and Epiphytes	133	(4)
The Great Fauna of the Forests	137	(4)
A Fervid Aerial and Arboreal Life	141	(4)
Pollens and Pollinators	145	(6)
Coral Reefs	151	(34)
Reef-Building Corals	151	(2)
Geography of Coral Formations	153	(2)
Barriers, Fringes, and Atolls	155	(4)
Hard Corals, Soft Corals, and Still Others	159	(2)
The Structure of the Reef	161	(7)
Invisible but Indispensable Alage	168	(4)
A Universe of Life among the Corals	172	(4)
Change of Scene from Day to Night	176	(1)
Sands and Beaches	177	(8)
Savannas	185	(28)
Fire and Rain	185	(3)
Halfway between Desert and Forest	188	(8)
The Kingdom of Grasses and Herbivores	196	(7)
Characteristic, Specialized Fauna	203	(3)
Birds: Flying and Otherwise	206	(7)
Deserts	213	(22)
Hot and Cold Deserts, Arid and Semiarid Deserts	213	(1)
The Hydric Deficit	214	(5)
Sun, Heat, and Wind	219	(4)
Seas and Waves of Sand	223	(3)
The Difficult Contest for Those Living in the Desert	226	(9)
The Tropics in Peril	235	(32)
Tropical Dangers and Precautions	267	(26)
Caution without Obsession	267	(4)
Dangers with ``Small'' Beginnings	271	(3)
Dangers in the Sea	274	(19)
Suggested Reading	293	(10)
Index	303