TROPINET Vol. 7, No. 1


Editor: Elizabeth Braker, Department of Biology, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA 90041. FAX 213- 341- 4974, Email BBRAKER@OXY.EDU, MCI 387- 8813. Associate Editor: Lucinda McDade, EEOB Department, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ 85721. Editorial Assistant: Dylan Schilk

ASIA


Salim Ali International Award for Nature Conservation.

In celebration ofthe birth centenary of the world famous ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali, the Bombay Natural History Society has instituted the Salim Ali Award for Nature Conservation. The biannual award, which will first be given in 1996, will honor an individual of any nationality for outstanding contribution and achievement in the field of protection, management and conservation of natural resources. The Bombay Natural History Society was founded in 1883 and today is the largest non-governmental organization in the subcontinent engaged in the conservation of nature and natural resources, education, and research. The Society's guiding principle has been that conservation must be based on scientific research a tradition exemplified by its late president, Dr. Salim Ali. Information: The Director, Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Dr. Salim Ali Chowk Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023. Tel: 284321, 2843869, FAX: 2837615.

LATIN AMERICA


The Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation.

Sociedad Mesoamericana para la Biologia y la Conservacion was formed on 14 January 1996, at Lake Yojoa, Honduras, by a group of biologists from five countries and numerous branches of the biological sciences. The new society will serve biologists and conservationists throughout Central America and southern Mexico, by publishing a news bulletin Mesoamericana, and by sponsoring annual congresses in Mesoamerica. Persons interested in the society, as members or potential officers, are invited to become founding members, subscribe to the bulletin, and attend the first general meeting of the membership in Tegucigalpa in June 1996. Institutions are also invited to help found the society, the first ever of its kind in Mesoamerica. Members will receive the quarterly Mesoamericana, which will include news in Spanish and English of current projects, meetings, and literature, as well as biographical sketches on founding members, and short, non-technical articles of general use to biologists working in Mesoamerica. Technical articles will be published in proceedings of annual symposia or congresses. The first issue of Mesoamericana will be published in June 1996. Information on Mesoamericana: Carlos RenÇ Ram°rez Sosa, 4a. Avenida Sur #1, Apopa, San Salvador, El Salvador. Tel: (503) 336-0152; Email: crrlc@cunyvm.cuny.edu The cost of basic membership is $20 for 1996 (includes 3 issues of Mesoamericana). One can become a founding member for $50. Institutions can become founders for $200, which includes a subscription to the bulletin. Founding members and founding institutions will be acknowledged in the bulletin. Founding memberships will be available only through the end of 1996. Donations larger than $200 are welcome, and donors will be recognized in print as benefactors. Membership fees or other donations may be sent to Oliver Komar (address below). Checks should be made out to "Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation" or "Sociedad Mesoamericana para la Biologia y la Conservacion." Mesoamerican residents have lower membership costs, and can contact directly one of the acting secretaries, Silvia C. Chalukin, at Departmento de Recursos Naturales y Conservacion Biol¢gica, Escuela Agricola Panamericana, Apartado 93, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Tel. (504) 76-6140; FAX (504) 76-6234; Email: eapdrn@ns.hondunet.net or eaphpcs@ns.hondunet.net. The first meeting of MSBC will be held at the Universidad Nacional Aut¢noma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, tentatively planned for 21-22 June 1996, at which the Society's membership will approve its statutes and elect a board of officers and trustees. The meeting includes a one-day symposium on Mesoamerican biology, with invited papers and an open poster session. Information on program and local arrangements: MSBA Acting President Gerardo Borjas, Apartado 30-357, Toncontin, Tegucigalpa M.D.C., Honduras. Tel./FAX: 50-33-9576. Information on local lodging arrangements and registration is also available from Oliver Komar. --Oliver Komar, Department of Zoology, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware OH 43015. Tel: 614-369-0175; Email: ookomar@cc.owu.edu Call for Help. On 9 October 1995 the strongest earthquake on record since 1939 (magnitude 8.5 Richter) struck the coastal area of Jalisco and Colima, MÇxico. Over 60 people died and thousands were left injured and homeless. One affected institution was the Center for Coastal Ecology of the University of Guadalajara, located in San Patricio/Melague. The Center coordinated the marine field trip during the 1994 SCB/ATB meeting in Guadalajara. It specializes in marine turtle conservation, with over 12 years of continuous work in Jalisco, management of coastal areas, and marine ecology. A portion of the main building collapsed, and construction and equipment losses amount to $75,000 and $40,000 USD, respectively. The Center is requesting international support for reconstruction of the building and the acquisition of lost equipment. To help, send contribution by wire or money order to: Eduardo Santana Castell¢n, Chair, Dept. of Ecology and Natural Resources, Centro Universitario Costa Sur, University of Guadalajara, Ave., Independencia Nacional No. 151, Autln de Navarro, Jalisco, MÇxico. Tel.: 338-10257; FAX: 338-10385.

NORTH AMERICA

BioMon


In 1986, the Smithsonian Institution joined with UNESCO-MAB to create the SI/MAB Biodiversity Program, part of the Biodiversity Programs of the Smithsonian International Museum of Natural History. SI/MAB focuses on problems associated with maintaining global forest biodiversity, emphasizing the practical application for research in achieving sustainable resource management. It combines long-term biodiversity measuring and monitoring with professional training courses that each the principles and procedures of monitoring and of data collection, verification, and dissemination. The work is accomplished in a global network of permanent, long-term biodiversity monitoring plots in biosphere reserves and other protected forest areas--centering on habitats that are riches in biodiversity or are most threatened--to record forest composition, structure, and dynamics, and environmental changes. Biodiversity measuring and monitoring require an effective information management system, one that can produce comparable data from a variety of research plots. SI/MAB has devised and refined an integrated, computerized data-management system, the Biodiversity Monitoring Database for Long-term Plot Research (BioMon), for data entry, interpretation, storage, and use in preparing publications. Through BioMon, accurate results of plot monitoring are available rapidly for researchers and host-country professionals. SI/MAB primarily records vegetation data, but the system is designed to incorporate future links to handle results from different types of research, such as fauna, hydrologic, and soil surveys. BioMon is flexible and user-friendly, designed for researchers with little prior training in the system. It has two modules, designed for field and office. The field module is used to record and store standard observations (tree types, measurements, locations, diameters, stem conditions, height, etc.), along with notations. The field module displays an array of basic calculations for each plot, including the number of species and their relative density, dominance, and frequency. The program can generate maps of the trees in the plot. Thus, researchers can receive instant feedback to help verify and interpret data while in the field. The office module provides access to data from all SI/MAB plots, stored within its own directory in a series of tables. The structure of the tables is identical for each site so that researchers can make comparisons across plots. The office module allows movement from database management into statistical analysis, map creation, and use of data for publications. SI/MAB's protocol for measuring and monitoring biodiversity addresses methods, format, and appropriate review standards for publishing data processed in BioMon. User and field guides from each monitoring site are made available soon after data are interpreted. User guides contain up-to-date, detailed biological information about the plots so that researchers, managers, and support personnel can conduct more effective programs. The companion field guides are condensed versions of the user guides for application on site at the plots. The data also form the basis for numerous articles and reports disseminated to a wide audience through journals and other means. BioMon is enhancing the content of SI/MAB's publications, and allowing new staff and international counterparts to carry out improved biodiversity monitoring and dissemination of information.

Information: SI/MAB, Smithsonian Institution, Suite 3123, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW, Washington D.C. 20560 USA. Email: ic.simab.ic.si.edu. Association of Systematics Collections. Please note the following new address for ASC: 1725 K Street NW, Suite 601, Washington, DC 20006-1401. Tel: 202-835-9050; FAX: 202-835-7334; Email: asc@ascoll.org.

Facilities Profile: Ferreira Penna Research Station, Brazil.


The Amazon Basin encompasses one of the last and most diverse tropical rain forests in the world; the intense and inordinate pattern of human occupation in the basin, however, make it very rare that researchers have the opportunity to develop studies in pristine areas that will remain dedicated exclusively for research. The Ferreira Penna Research Station, a joint effort of the governments of Brazil and Great Britain, offers this opportunity. The Ferreira Penna Research Station, inaugurated in 1993, encompasses 33,100 hectares of primary tropical rain forest, flooded forests, secondary vegetation and non-forested areas in the Caxiuana National Forest, Brazil. The station is located at 400 km southwest of Belem in an area accessible only by boat. Although knowledge about the eastern Amazon's geography and biodiversity is very limited, primary studies of fauna and flora have identified six species of monkeys, 53 species of reptiles, 35 species of fish, 29 species of amphibians, 28 species of birds, five species rodents, and three species of Edentata. Sixty species of mosquitoes have been identified, but no major studies of other insect groups have been undertaken. Surveys of the tropical forest and flooded forests have identified over 381 species of large trees. Seven Caboclo families live around the periphery of the station; fishing and the extraction of natural products provide their subsistence. Outside the preservation area, approximately 100 families who survive through fishing, occasional extraction of forest products, and subsistence agriculture of manioc, bananas, and sugar cane. The Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi (MPEG) manages the Ferreira Penna station. MPEG invites researchers to visit, and to submit research and education projects to be conducted at the station. The objectives of the Ferreira Penna station include: to be a center of knowledge about the dynamics of ecological systems in eastern Amazonia, to contribute to the development of conservation policies, to evaluate the ecological impact of human activity on tropical ecosystems, and to contribute to the understanding of processes of human biological adaptation to the tropical ecosystem based on archeological and contemporary research. Currently, 39 projects ranging from fauna and flora biodiversity and conservation biology to human adaptability and Caboclo social systems are being conducted at the station. The station provides boats for transportation to and from the station, lodging and cooking facilities to accommodate 64 people, laboratories, a computer room, library, and a 45 meter observation tower. The station has electricity and treated running water 24 hours a day and is permanently staffed by 11 workers including a mechanic and a nurse.

For further information and details about application procedures please contact in the USA: Hilton P. Silva at Department of Anthropology, Ohio State University, 244 Lord Hall, 124 W. 17th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210. Tel: (614) 294-5874, FAX: (614) 292-4155, Email: hsilva@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu. In Brazil contact: Dr. Pedro Lisboa at Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Campus de Pesquisa, Caixa Postal 399, CEP 66000, Belem, Para, Brazil. Tel: 55(91)228-2341, FAX: 55(91)226-3824, Email (c/o Samuel Almeida): samuel@marajo.ufpa.br.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Meetings and Events Items marked * are new this issue

1996


Global Genetic Resources: Access, Ownership, and Intellectual Property Rights. Beltsville, Maryland, USA, 19-22 May.

Annual Meeting of the Association of Systematics Collections. Information: Amy Rossman, Tel: 301-504-5364; Email: amy@fungi.ars.grin.gove.

44th Annual Meeting North American Benthological Society. Kalispell, Montana, USA. 3-7 June. Information: Dr. Jack A. Stanford, Program Chair, Flathead Lake Biological Station, 311 Biostation Lane, Polson MT 59860 USA. 406-982-3301; FAX: 406-982-3201.

8th International Coral Reef Symposium. Panama City, Panama, 24-29 June. Information: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, STRI Unit 0948, APO AA 34002-0948, USA. Email: stri01.naos.brenesm@ic.si.edu.

Animal Behavior Society. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, 3-8 August. Information: Con Slobodchikoff, Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ 86011. Tel: 602 523-7231 Email: con.slobodchikoff@nau.edu

Association for Tropical Biology. Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 11-15 August. Information: Dr. Colian Orians, Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medfor MA 02155. Tel: (617) 627-3543; FAX: (617) 627-3805; Email: corians@emerald.tufts.edu.

Ecology and Problem Solving. Providence, Rhode Island, USA, 11-15 August. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Information: Dr. Jill Baron, Program Chair, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO 80523. Tel: (303) 491-1968; Email: jill@nrel.colostate.edu.

World Heritage Tropical Forests: Science for Better Conservation Management. Cairns, North Queensland, Australia, 2-7 September. Information: Conference Secretariat: Tel. (07) 369 0477, FAX: (07) 369 1512.

5th Intecol International Wetlands Conference. Perth, Australia, 22-28 September. Information: Dr. Jenny Davis, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150. Tel: 61 9 360 2939; Email: davis@essun1.murdoch.edu.au. III

Latin American Congress of Ecology. MÇrida, Venezuela, 22-28 October. Information: Dr. Jaime E. PÇfaur, Secretario Ejecutivo, III Congreso Latinoamericano de Ecologia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, MÇrida, Venezuela 5101.

Pan-African Ornithological Congress. Accra, Ghana, 1-8 December. Dr. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, Ghana Wildlife Society, PO Box 13252, Accra, Ghana.

*Biodiversity, Conservation and Management Symposium. Beni Biosphere Reserve, La Paz, Bolivia, 3-6 December. Information: Francisco Dallmeier, Smithsonian/MAB Biodiversity Program, 1100 Jefferson Drive, SW Suite 3123, Washington DC 20560, USA. Tel: (202) 357-4793 FAX: (202) 786-2557. Email: ic.fgd@ic.si.edu. Or Carmen Miranda, Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Bolivia, Av. 16 de Julio 1732, Casilla 5829, La Paz, Bolivia. Tel or FAX: (581-2) 350612. Email: cMiranda@ebb.bo.

Natural Science Collections: A Resource for the Future. Durham, England. 19-21 December. 2nd International Symposium and Work Congress on the Preservation of Natural History Collections. Information: Chris Collins, Natural Science Congress 96, Geological Conservation Unit, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Downing St., Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK

Positions


Director, Undergraduate Semester Program in tropical biology, language, and culture. The Organization for Tropical Studies, a consortium of 55 universities, seeks a Ph.D. biologist to plan and implement a new program which teaches tropical biology in a cultural context: direct faculty, liaise with universities, administration, and limited teaching. The successful candidate will have knowledge of Costa Rica, Spanish and English skills, experience with study abroad programs, exceptional interpersonal skills, willingness to travel 50% of the time and reside in Costa Rica. Position is full-time beginning May, 1996. Salary range is $35,000 to $40,000 with Duke University benefits. Review begins March 1, until position is filled. Send application including Telephone numbers of 4 references: OTS, Box 90633, Durham, NC 27708. Equal Opportunity Employer.

Field Project Manager: Rainforest Conservation through Sustainable Timber Extraction and Sawnwood Production in Buffer Zones around the Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Applications are being accepted for the position of Field Project Manager for a new rainforest conservation project at the Gunung Palung National Park. The project started in January, 1996, and the position is for a two-year term, beginning immediately, or at the latest in June, 1996. The objective of the 3-yr project is to develop a community enterprise based on the sustainable, low-impact extraction of timber and sawnwood production from a 5,000 ha selectively logged, buffer zone forest adjacent to the National Park. The project is viewed by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry as a model to guide future rainforest conservation policies. Project activities include: 1) research to develop a robust model for logging operations and silvicultural techniques in relation to objectives of enterprise profitability, forest sustainability (e.g., growth & yield studies), wildlife conservation benefits and socioeconomic incentives; 2) developing a profitable community-based logging and sawnwood marketing business; 3) monitoring studies to evaluate project effects on the conservation status of the buffer zone forest, and on community socioeconomic variables; and 4) training to help community members develop self-sufficiency. The field project manager will have primary responsibility for #s 1 & 2, and will work with a small team comprised of Indonesian university, NGO, village and forest department collaborators, and U.S. students, under the direction of the Project Director. The ideal candidate would possess a strong commitment to rainforest conservation; an academic and practical background in tropical forest ecology and management, especially emphasizing production forestry; skills in forestry financial appraisal and business development; a prodigious capacity to learn and integrate interdisciplinary information, and excellent cross-cultural management abilities and prior experience living in remote rainforest settings. Shortcomings in some of these areas are expected (!). Moderate Indonesian language skill must be rapidly achieved if not already in hand. The project manager will be based at the field site, with a limited period in the U.S. each year. Salary of up to $22,000 per annum will be provided, depending on credentials, in addition to full benefits as a Harvard staff member. Please send c.v. and letter to: Dr. Mark Leighton, Project Director -- or contact by phone or email Peabody Museum for further details: Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138. Tel: (617) 495-2288; FAX: (617) 496-8041; Email: leighton@fas.harvard.edu. Applications will be perused in February after Dr. Leighton returns from the field. A few will be selected for interviews in Cambridge.

Field Director for School for Field Studies. SFS seeks a unique blend of academic knowledge, entrepreneurial spirit, and proven management skills to lead a faculty team and up to 32 college students in a field-based applied program. The Field Director as overall academic and administrative responsibility for the program and takes the lead in institution building within the region. Locations include Australia and Costa Rica. Requirements: Ph.D. or Masters degree with 7+ years of applied experience; proven management experience with staff, logistics, and creation of educational programs and budgets, teaching at the college level; familiarity with the region of the center; and an ability to lead and motivate staff in a remote setting. Position is residential. Send a detailed letter and c.v. to The School for Field Studies, Box T, 16 Broadway, Beverly, MA, 01915. FAX: 1 (508) 927-5127. Resident Faculty Positions: The School For Field Studies. SFS seeks educators experienced in field-based education to work in various locations worldwide including Australia and Costa Rica. Experience in the following disciplines are needed: Tropical Forestry and Ecology and Development Economics. Each center has an ecologist, a resource manager and an economist. All positions are residential. Qualifications: Ph.D. or Masters with 4 years of applied experience, 2 years teaching at the college level, experience in the region, and ability to live in a remote field setting. Send a detailed letter explaining skills and experience with c.v. to The School for Field Studies, Box T, 16 Broadway, Beverly, MA, 01915. FAX: (508) 927-5127.

Biological Research Station Manager. The University of California at Berkeley seeks to fill the position of Manager for the R.B. Gump South Pacific Biological Research Station on Moorea, French Polynesia. Duties include management of the station and its programs and research in marine or terrestrial biology, biogeography, geology or anthropology. The Manager will reside at the station and supervise a staff of 3-4 persons. Organization, administrative and mechanical skills are important prerequisites. The applicant should hold a Ph.D. or Masters degree in the natural sciences, be conversant in French, and a certified scuba diver. Salary range $31,920-$51,972 and commensurate with experience. Send c.v. with names of three references to Dr. Vincent H. Resh, R.B. Gump South Pacific Biological Research Station, Dean's Office, College of Natural Resources, 101 Giannini Hall, #3100, University of California, Berkeley CA 94720. Application deadline 31 March 1996.

Courses


International courses offered by the Tropical Science Center, Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, San JosÇ, Costa Rica. A Life Zone Ecology course offered in Spanish will take place 15 April - 3 May, 1996. A Tropical Dendrochronology course is offered in English 24 June - 12 July. Information: Dr. Humberto Jiminez Saa, Tropical Science Center, P.O. Box 8-3870-1000, San Jose, Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 225-2649. FAX: (506) 253-4963. Email: hjimenez@cariari.ucr.ac.cr. Fellowships and Funding Fellowship Opportunities for Conservation Professionals from the Caribbean and Latin America on Land Conservation and Stewardship.

The Atlantic Center for the Environment will conduct a five-week fellowship program on land conservation and stewardship for conservation professionals from countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. Six positions will be available. This intensive program will be practical and problem-solving in its approach, introducing participants to conservation issues in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, and goals are to provide training and professional development for conservation leaders from the Caribbean and Latin America, promote an exchange of ideas and innovations in the area of landscape conservation and stewardship, and strengthen the capacity of NGOs in both regions to conserve natural areas through stewardship. Through round-table discussions, site visits and internships, participants will have the opportunity to share ideas with their counterparts, acquire new information and develop their practical skills. Dates: 8 July- 11 August 1996 (to be confirmed). To apply, send letter of application, c.v., brief description of organization for which you work, and two letters of reference (one from the leader of another NGO). Application deadline: 15 April 1996. Information and detailed application instructions: Brent Mitchell, Director of Stewardship, QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environment, 55 South Main Street, Ipswich MA 01398, USA. Tel: (508) 356-0038; FAX: (508) 356-7322; Email: atlantictr.igc.apc.org.

Publications


Lecythidaceae of a Central Amazonian Moist Forest. Scott A. Mori and Nadja Cunha, 1995. This treatment of Lecythidaceae is part of a larger study, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the Instituto de Pesquisas da Amazìnia (INPA), to assess the effects of fragmentation on tropical rainforest. Mori and Cunha provide a taxonomic treatment of Lecythidaceae, including habitat, phenology distribution and representative specimens of the family. Three new species are described. Also included are a description of the subfamily Lecythidoidae and keys to the genera. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden, vol. 75. ISBN 0-89327-396-1. $12.50 plus postage and handling (US orders: $3.50 + 5% of subtotal; non-USA orders: $4.50 + 6% of subtotal). The New York Botanical Garden, Scientific Publications Department, Bronx, New York NY 10458-5126 USA. FAX: 718-817-8842.

Biodiversity and Conservation of Neotropical Montane Forests: Proceedings of the Neotropical Montane Forest Biodiversity and Conservation Symposium, June 1993. S. P. Churchill, H. Baslev, E. Forero, and J. Luteyn (eds.), 1995. In June of 1993, nearly 200 scientists converged upon The New York Botanical Garden to share information that would lead to a better understanding of the biodiversity fond in the montane regions of the Neotropics and to exchange ideas on fostering greater public awareness of the vast deforestation taking place there. This resulting volume is both a biological inventory and a call for immediate protection and conservation. ISBN 0-89327-400-3. $85.00, plus postage and handling (US orders: $3.50 + 5% of subtotal; non-USA orders: $4.50 + 6% of subtotal). The New York Botanical Garden, Scientific Publications Department, Bronx, New York NY 10458-5126 USA. FAX: 718-817-8842.

Extractivism in the Brazilian Amazon: Perspectives on Regional Development. M. Clusener-Godt and Ignacy Sachs (eds.), 1995. UNESCO, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France.

Lemurs of Madagascar. R.A. Mittermeier, I. Tattersall, W.R. Konstant, D.M. Meyers and R. B. Mast, 1994. Conservation International, 1015 Eighteenth Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036 USA

Priority Areas for Threatened Birds in the Neotropics. D.C. Wege and A. Long, 1995. This book presents areas country-by-country from Mexico south and including Major Caribbean islands the most important areas for bird conservation. Includes maps and tables. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC 20560.

Three new reports from the World Resources Institute: New Roots: Institutionalizing Environmental Mechanisms in Africa. C. Dorm-Adzobu, 1995, Lessons from the Ground Up: African Development that Works. P. G. Veit, A. Mascarenhas and O. Ampadu-Agyei; and Policy Hits the Ground: Participation and Equity in Environmental Policy-making. A. Zazueta, 1995. World Resources Institute, 1709 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20006.

Domestication of Tropical Trees for Timber and Non-timber Products. R. Leakey and A. Newton (eds.). UNESCO, 7 Place de Fotnenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France.

Investigacion, Conservacion, y Desarrollo en Selvas Subtropicales de Montana. Brown, A.D. and H.R. Grau (eds.). 1995. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Ecol¢gicas de las Yungas (LIEY). This book resulted from an international conference in Tucumn, Argentina en April of 1993, which had the goal of bringing together professionals from a diverse set of disciplines to discuss and plan strategies for investigation, conservation, and long term development for the mountainous region of northeastern Argentina and southern Bolivia. The subtropical mountain forests of the region are under pressure from development and deforestation, although the water derived from them is essential for industrial, agricultural, and urban uses in the lowlands. The volume contains papers on ecology, climate, floristics, and fauna. $US 15.00 from: Myrian Roxana Aragon, C.C. N. 34 (4107), Yerba Buena, Tucumn, Argentina.

The Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone of Southeastern Peru: A Biological Assessment. 1994. Rapid Assessment Program Working Paper #6, Conservation International, Department of Conservation Biology, 1015 18th Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington DC 20036.

Casuarinas. N.S. Subarao and C. Rodriguez-Barrueco, 1995. This book examines the biology, taxonomy, management, cultivation practices, and economics of the tree species of this tropical family; with major emphasis on the microbial associations that render Casuarinas self-dependent in nutrient requirements. Science Publishers Inc., 52 LaBombard Road North, Lebanon, NH 03766, USA.