TROPINET, Vol. 8, No. 1, March 1997
The Association for Tropical Biology will meet with the Organization for Tropical Studies in San José, Costa Rica. Diverse symposia are planned and include: "Arthopod Diversity", "Conservation and ecology of tropical bats", Biodiversity of Coral Reefs", "Assessing Costa Rican fungal diversity", Mechanisms that Generate and Maintain Biological Diversity" and " Biological dynamics of forest biota in a fragmented landscape: what can we learn from Las Cruces, Costa Rica." The meeting will also include contributed poster and paper sessions, workshops, field trips, social events and business meetings. Program details are available on the ATB and OTS web sites (URL's given below) or by contacting Jorge Jiménez at the address below.
The Association for Tropical Biology has funds for modest travel awards for students or young researchers to present papers or posters at the ATB-OTS meetings this June. Please send an e-mail request including a copy of your abstract and a short description of your professional background and current situation. Julie S. Denslow, Executive Director, ATB, Department of Plant Biology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 USA. FAX: (504) 388-8459. Email: jdenslo@unix1.sncc.lsu.edu.
Registration information for the ATB Meeting can be found at the OTS webservers (www.ots.ac.cr or www.ots.duke.edu) under meetings or at the ATB server (ecology.umsl.edu/atb). All ATB active members will receive a printed registration package. Those others interested in receiving the printed package please write to atbots@ns.ots.ac.cr, including your mail address. Deadline for registration of authors is 10 March 1997. Information: ATB Program Chair, Dr. Jorge Jiménez, Organization for Tropical Studies, 676-2050 San Pedro, San Jose, Costa Rica. Tel: (506) 240-6696. Fax: (506) 240-6783. Email: atbots@ns.ots.ac.cr.
Summary Statement of a Workshop hosted by WCS and BOLFOR in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 13-15 November 1996.
Protected areas in the tropics are too limited in size, number, distribution and composition to protect biological diversity. Production forests within forested landscapes can complement the existing system of reserves, and can make significant contributions to biodiversity conservation. However, we have little information on the impacts of current exploitation trends and practices within production forests. We need to understand the effects of management practices on biological diversity and how to mitigate negative aspects, as well as where our efforts should focus in the future to achieve ecological and economic sustainability of our natural resources.
In December of 1996, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Bolivian Forestry Department (BOLFOR) sponsored a workshop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia to evaluate our understanding of interactions between wildlife and timber production in the tropics, and implications for sustainable forest management. Foresters, wildlife biologists, resource managers and policy makers reviewed the importance of wildlife as a component of production forests and the ways in which conventional logging practices may have an impact on wildlife populations. Discussions focused on clarifying: a) the reasons for conserving wildlife in production forests; b) the methods needed to evaluate timber harvesting-wildlife interactions; c) current techniques to reduce silvicultural impacts on biodiversity; d) the role of natural forest management and certification programs in biodiversity conservation; and e) where research and management efforts should be focused in the future. The key findings of the workshop are summarized below. The full text of the workshop summary is available from the author or can be viewed on the WCS web site.
1. Biological diversity is important for maintaining long-term health and productivity of natural forests. Production forests that are carefully managed for timber and non-timber products (NTFP) can contribute significantly to the conservation of biodiversity at the stand and landscape levels.
2. A few tropical forests are carefully managed for long-term productivity and ecological integrity, but for the foreseeable future, most timber harvesting practices will continue to degrade the biological quality of production forests. Economic incentives and government policies may shift this trend of forest exploitation towards sustainable forest management.
3. Techniques exist to evaluate the impacts of timber harvesting practices on biodiversity. A two-tiered approach to biodiversity inventory and monitoring, using longitudinal (pre-/post-treatment), multi-taxonomic studies at the landscape level, and evaluations of rare, threatened, and exploited species (plant and animal) at the stand or management unit (i.e. concession) level, is suited to providing resource planners and managers with feedback on their management prescriptions.
4. Techniques exist to mitigate negative impacts associated with silvicultural practices. Careful implementation of reduced logging impact (RIL) measures can lower direct and indirect impacts on native fauna and flora (minimizing roads, directional felling, control of hunting, etc.).
5. Stream corridors and steep sloping sites within concessions should be withdrawn from harvesting activities. Additionally, ten percent or more of the proposed cut area should be considered for reserve status to create refuges from which animals and plants can eventually recolonize and stabilize the post-treatment area.
6. Priority research topics include: a) clarifying the role of keystone/indicator species within logged and unlogged landscapes; b) assessing site-specific impacts on stand structure and biodiversity of silvicultural practices, including harvesting systems and intermediate practices; c) determining size, shape, distribution, value, and percentage of reserve areas within actively managed landscapes; d) identifying similarities and dissimilarities between natural disturbance events and silvicultural practices; e) locating gazetted tropical production forests onto GIS maps that identify the biodiversity values of these forests; and f) establishing rotation lengths and recovery periods for major forest types that maintain both ecological health of the resource and economic viability of the management operation.
7. For forest managers to implement practices that reduce ecological impacts while maintaining the economic viability of silvicultural treatments, changes must occur in the policy, legal, and public sectors. Specific steps identified to overcome these obstacles are listed in the full policy statement from the workshop.
8. In many production forests, reducing harvesting impacts and regenerating commercial timber species for a long-term yield of timber, offer the best hope of retaining forest cover and the habitat it creates for the native fauna and flora. However, in other areas biodiversity may best be conserved by other means, including gazetting the forest for other purposes such as NTFP production, low impact recreation, ecological research, watershed protection or some mix of these low-intensity, resource-use activities. A central challenge for donors, policy makers, conservation biologists and foresters is to identify and adopt the most effective means to conserve biodiversity in forest landscapes including production and protected forest areas.
By early 1998 WCS will have completed an edited volume, containing 28 chapters addressing logging-wildlife issues in the tropics. For additional information on this book, the multi-lingual working paper being developed from the workshop sessions, and/or other aspects of the WCS forestry program, contact Dr. Robert A. Fimbel, Research Forester, Wildlife Conservation Society, International Programs, 185th Street and Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY 10460. Tel: (718) 220-5888; Fax: (718) 364-4275; Email: 104440.2127@compuserve.com.
FORUM '97: New Linkages in Conservation and Development, Istanbul, Turkey. 16-21 November 1997. The Conservation and Development Forum (CDF) announces a four day international conference designed to review experiments in conservation and development over the past decade, highlight the most pressing practical problems in this emerging field, and facilitate the creation of new North-South and South-South partnerships for mutual understanding and effective action. The conference themes have been chosen to raise critical and controversial issues in conservation and development, and include: Culturally Conflicting Views of Conservation, Engaging Communities in Conservation and Development, Ethics and Responsibility in Environmental Action, Conservation and Developments in War and Peace, Business as a Partner in Environmental Action, and Institutional Pathways to Sustainability. These general conference themes will be explored in plenary sessions that lay the groundwork for panel discussions and practical workshops. Forum '97 is an open, participatory conference in which representative of non-governmental organizations, government agencies, donors, universities, grassroots action organizations and community groups will be invited to define new approaches to critical issues in conservation and development. CDF will work to ensure broad participation in the forum dialogue, and to support this goal, anticipates the availability of stipends to cover travel and lodging expenses for participants in need of assistance. Information: Conservation and Development Forum, University of Florida, PO Box 115531. Gainesville, FL 32611-5531. Tel: (352) 392-0085. Fax: (352) 392-0085. Email: CDF@tcd.ufl.edu. WWW: www.cdf.ufl.edu/cdf/.
Biodiversity and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles of Tropical Forests. The Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi, Vietnam. The tentative date for this conference is 1-3 June 1998. There will be ten plenary lectures, each dealing with a different geographical area, including Vietnam, China, Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, South and Central America and Africa. In addition, there will be several local excursions as part of the symposium. Information: Professor Kao Van Sung, Institute of Ecology and Bioresources, Vietnam National Institute for Natural Science and Technology, Nghia Do-Tu Liem-Hanoi, Vietnam.
International Conference on Medicinal Plants. Conservation, Utilization, Trade, and Cultural Traditions. Bangalore, Indi a. 16-20 February 1998. The central theme of this conference, held at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, will be "Medicinal Plants for Survival". Topics to be addressed will be approaches and strategies pertaining specifically to medicinal plants and related to conservation action, databases, national conservation policies, community oriented applications, domestication and cultivation, trade and small enterprise developments, contributions of indigenous knowledge systems, and traditional knowledge and resource rights. Registration deadline is 31 March 1997. Information: Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions, No.50, 2nd Stage, MSH Layout, Anandanagar, Bangalore-560024, India. Tel: 91-80-3336909/0348. Fax: 91-80-3334167. Email: darshan@frlht.ernet.in.
LATIN AMERICA
The III Congresso de Ecología do Brasil was held in Brasilia, DF, 6-11 October 1996. This meeting was sponsored by the Brazilian Ecological Society and was organized by the Departamento de Ecología of the Universidade de Brasilia. The central theme for this Congress was "Global Change and Management of Ecosystems", with three symposium sessions devoted these topics. Overall, 15 different symposia were organized and eight round-table discussions were also held, on topics such as: Conservation Biology, Water Resources in the Federal District of Brazil and Ecophysiology of Planktonic Organisms and Environmental Education. The number of attendees was a record, with over 1500 persons officially registered. Over 1000 abstracts were submitted and 980 were accepted for presentation as posters. The Congress had a distinct international flavor, with invited speakers for the symposium sessions from 7 countries (10 from the U.S., 2 from Australia, and 1 each from Canada, Mexico, U.K., Venezuela and Zimbabwe). The quality of the sessions, both poster and symposia was considered to be excellent and the Congress was an important step in the consolidation of ecological research in Brazil.--John Du Vall Hay, Departamento de Ecología, Universidade de Brasilia, <jhay@guarany.cpd.unb.br>.
Field Station Profile
Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER). ACEER is located in the Amazonian rainforest of northeastern Peru (UTM coordinates 732367, 9640667, Zone 18), near the confluence of the Napo and Sucusari rivers, approximately 100 river miles from the city of Iquitos, Peru. The station can be reached by 4.5 hr boat ride from Iquitos followed by a one km walk. During high water, direct boat access via Quebrada Grande to the ACEER is possible. The station is owned by the ACEER Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located at Ten Environs Park, Helena, Alabama 35080 (Tel: (800) 255-8206; Fax: (205) 428-1711). The ACEER is also registered in Peru as a non-profit, with offices at: Av. Abelardo Quinonez Km 2.5, Iquitos, Peru. The mission of the ACEER Foundation is rainforest conservation through environmental education and research. The station serves both as a training site and a research facility.
ACEER is located in primary lowland rainforest and is adjacent to a 250,000 acre reserve. An extensive trail system exists around the ACEER facilities. A variety of habitats and features, including purma, second growth, flooded forest, primary terra firme forest, riverine systems, ox-bow lakes, villages and mineralized zones that attract wildlife, are accessible via boat or trails. A key feature of the ACEER is its Canopy Walkway system. This system of suspended walkways and platforms allows researchers to ascend to the top of the rainforest canopy for observation and on-going research. The only facility of its kind in the western hemisphere, the 400m walkway includes the longest single suspended span (90m) in the world. Around ACEER and walkway are existing test plots created by the Missouri Botanical Garden, including the plots of the late Dr. Alwyn H. Gentry. Some of the highest plant diversity on the planet is found near ACEER. Recent primate surveys indicate that at least seven primate species reside in the vicinity. The ACEER also maintains a six ha ethnobotanical education and research garden dedicated to medicinal plants, with over 200 species identified. The garden curator is Don Antonio Montero, a local shaman.
In support of education and research at the station, a 20-room lodge with accommodations for up to 43 individuals is maintained, complete with dining service, filtered river water showers and latrines. All linens, towels, bedding, food, potable water, etc. are provided. Limited power from generators augments the kerosene lighting; solar power is being installed in 1997. Adjacent to the lodge is the Dr. Alwyn H. Gentry Laboratory. Two buildings provide dedicated space (approximately 2500 square feet) for meetings, seminars, sample analyses, specimen preparation and other laboratory work. In 1997, live satellite uplinking capabilities will be established allowing for live and delayed broadcasts of audio, video and data from the station and then via the Internet through the ACEER web site. Computer facilities, including geographic information system (GIS) capabilities-ARC/INFO, ArcView, IDRISI-exist at the Iquitos office of ACEER. The ACEER has created a digital data base for natural resources data for a 12,000 square km area surrounding the station. Included are Landsat TM data, all existing 1:20,000 aerial photographs, digital maps for soils, forest type, physiography, stages of succession, ecological life zones, geology and demographic data. A second region, the Tapiche watershed south of Iquitos and near the Pacaya-Samiria reserve, is being added in the spring of 1997. Research using the data base has resulted in the development of phytohabitat predictive models for 15 ethnobotanically important plants, and a preliminary ecological assessment of the Tapiche area, especially its reported 17 species of primates, will be completed in 1997. Recent work at ACEER includes: ecology and systematics of Annonaceae by Chatrou and others (the Netherlands); hydrologic and energy balance characteristics of the Amazon by a team of researchers (U. Louisville and Arizona State U.); nesting biology and foraging behavior of Dinoponera by Morgan; parental care in an undescribed frog (Osteocephalus sp.) by Haugen; population dynamics and diversity of canopy epiphytes by Murray (Scotland); the relationship between resource use and vegetation change by Lamont (Miami U.); behavioral studies of katydids by Nickle and Castner (Smithsonian Institution); canopy hepatics by Timme (SI); and bat studies by Wilson (SI). Recent publications resulting from work done at ACEER include an Amazonian Ethnobotanical Dictionary (CRC Press) by Duke and Vazquez, and a Field Guide to the Frogs of the Iquitos Area, in cooperation with the University of Kansas. The ACEER maintains a complete library of research data, published and unpublished, and is in the process of acquiring other data and results from throughout the Peruvian Amazon. Information on access to this data base will be provided on the ACEER web site in the near future at www.aceer.org/aceer/.
The ACEER invites applications to conduct research from investigators and also provides seed money for ethnobotanical research through the Dr. James Duke Ethnobotanical Research Fund; one-half of all awards are dedicated to researchers from Peru. Contact the ACEER Foundation for complete application packets.
In addition to our research mission, the ACEER sponsors and hosts a wide variety of academic credit bearing, as well as non-credit, courses and workshops on rainforest ecology, environmental education, phytomedicinals, environmental impact assessment and GIS and image processing. Universities from throughout the world use the ACEER for their own courses and professional associations conduct conferences and symposia at the station. Information: foundation headquarters in Alabama, or Foundation President, Dr. Roger W. Mustalish at Tel: (610) 436-2101; Fax: (610) 436-2860; Email: rmustalish@wcupa.edu.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Meetings and Events (Items marked * are new this issue)
1997
*Annual Animal Behavior Society Meeting. University of Maryland, College Park, 21-26 June. Special symposia include "Sperm Competition", "Phylogeny and Sexual Selection", "Behavior in Zoo Conservation", and a workshop on "Applied Animal Behavior". Information: Dr. Art Popper. Email: <Popper@zool.umd.edu>. WWW: www.bsos.umd.edu/cebh/abs97.
*International Orchid Conservation Conference. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida, 5-8 June. International Conference bringing together scientists, writers, collectors, environmental conservationists, commercial growers and hobbyists to exchange information on successful orchid conservation methods, issues, regulations and innovative "grass roots" projects world-wide. Information: Tel: (941) 366-5731, x10.
*The 8th Global Warming International Conference and Expo. New York, NY, 25-28 May. Sessions: Global Warming and Climate Change, Global Surveillance, Education, Global Warming and Public Health, Energy and Natural Resource Management, International Law and Policy Making, State and Local Governments Actions, Executive Workshop on Industrial Technology and Greenhouse Gas Emission. Information: Fax: (630) 910-1561.
The Society for Conservation Biology Annual Meeting. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 6-9 June. The major theme this year is Marine Conservation Biology. Single and multi-day field trips are planned for 10-14 June, and will include topics and destinations such as: Forests and Forestry in the Carmanag Valley, Gray Whales of Clayoquot Sound, Marine Biota of the Strait of Georgia, and Ethnobotany of British Columbia Aboriginal People. Information: Pat McGuire, Conference Management, University of Victoria, PO Box 3030, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8W 3N6. Tel: (250) 721-8746. Fax: (250) 721-8744. Email: SCB97@uvcs.uvic.ca, WWW: geography.geog.uvic.ca/dept/announce/scb_page.html.
Society of Ethnobiology Annual Conference. Athens, GA, USA, 26-29 March. Information: L. Bryan, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. 30602. Tel: (706) 542-1433.
Tenth Annual Meeting of the Society of Caribbean Ornithology. Dutch West Indies, 1-6 August. Information: Roeland E. De Kort, Dept. Housing Development and Environment, Frankrijkstraat #7, Oranjestad, Aruba. Tel: 297-8-32345. Fax: 297-8-32342.
Association of Systematics Collections. Annual meeting held jointly with the Association of Science Museum Directors (ASMD). "The Collections-Based Mission of Natural History Collections". Atlanta, Georgia, USA. 24-26 April. Information: ASC, 1725 K. St. N.W. Suite 601, Washington D.C. USA 20006-1401. Tel: (202) 835-9050. Fax: (202) 835-7334. Email: asc@ascoll.org. WWW: www.ascoll.org/.
North American Benthological Society - 45th Annual Meeting. Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. 26-30 May. The Plenary Session of the meeting will be: "Aquatic Endangered Species: Their Role in Ecosystems and Water Quality and Quantity Issues". Information: Dr. Tom Arsuffi, Program Chair., Dept. of Biology - Aquatic Station, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666. Tel: (512) 245-2284. Fax: (512) 245-7919.
Evolution of Biological Diversity: From Population Differentiation to Speciation. London, UK, 9-10 July. Information: The Science Promotion Section, The Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London, UK SW1Y 5AG.
1998
*North American Ornithological Conference. St. Louis, Missouri, 6-12 April. Annual meeting of the AOU, AFO, COS, CWS and WOS with RRF special symposium. Information: Bette Loiselle, Local Co-Chair, Dept. of Biology, University of Missouri St.-Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121-4499. Tel: (314) 516-6224. Email: bird_stl@umsl.edu, WWW: www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET.
INTECOL: VII International Congress of Ecology. Florence, Italy. 19-25 July. Information: Almo Farina, INTECOL Vice President, Secretariat VII International Congress of Ecology, Lunigiana Museum of Natural History, Fortezza della Brunella, 54011 Aulla, Italy. Tel: +39-187-400252. Fax: +39-187-420727. Email: <afarina@tamnet.it>, WWW: <<http//www.tamnet.it/intecol.98>>.
Second International Canopy Conference. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida, USA. 4-9 November. Extensive methods workshop and post conference field trip to major canopy site. Information: Meg Lowman, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 811 South Palm Ave. Sarasota, FL. 34236. Tel: (941) 955-7553. Fax: (941) 951-1474. Email: <lowman@virtu.sar.usp.edu>.
FUNDING / OPPORTUNITIES
Summer Project Directors/Internships/Volunteers: Operation Crossroads, Africa and Brazil. Crossroads offers an opportunity to do summer work and participate in multi-disciplinary grassroots projects that Africans and Brazilians in rural and urban communities deem valuable. 20-25 projects are being organized. Plans are for 150-200 volunteers/interns, and 15-20 Project Directors. Students generally arrange with their campuses to receive academic credit (7-15 units) for their summer internship experience. The program starts with a several-day training orientation in NYC in early July. Volunteers return to the US in mid-August. To Apply: Online applications are available for Project Directors/leaders (26 years and over with experience), and for Volunteers/Interns (college age and up, all are welcome). Operation Crossroads, Attn: Overseas Department/LaVerne Brown, 475 Riverside Dr. Suite 1366, New York, NY 10027. Tel: 212-870-2106. Email: both "Applications\New Programs" International_Programs@Juno.Com, and "Brochure\Update" oca@igc.apc.org. In the subject field, put either of the following, "Send Volunteer\Intern Packet" or "Send Leader\Project Director Packet" Project director/Leader applicants must include a brief paragraph on their background and interests to receive an application.
Mellon Awards for Workshops in Tropical Biology. The Organization for Tropical Studies and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute invite proposals for two workshops focused on synthesizing research objectives for tropical forest ecology in Costa Rica and Panama. Funding is up to $15,000 for each workshop. Proposals should describe the general topic, the specific objectives, the venue and projected products (publications, etc.) of the workshop, as well as list the participants and their special contributions to the workshop. Application deadline is 2 September 1997. Information: Bill Wcislo, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002-0948. Fax: (507) 232-5978. Email: wcislow@ic.si.edu.
Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force Seed Grants. Awards of between $500 and $2,000 for the support or initiation of research projects which further the DAPTF's Mission. Succinct proposals of less than 4 pages should include a description of the intended work and a statement as to how the project will fulfill Task Force objectives. Send proposals to: Tim Halliday
The BP Conservation Programme: Grant Support for Conservation Research. The BP Programme supports undergraduate projects with a long term impact on biodiversity conservation, investigating threatened animals, plants and habitats. All projects applying to the Programme must address a conservation issue of global importance, have a high degree of host country involvement (locals participating in fieldwork and preferably also in planning and in report writing), and the majority of team members must be undergraduates. Each year four prizes are given to the best projects in the four categories: Globally threatened species, Oceanic islands and marine habitats, Tropical Forest and Wetlands, grasslands, savannas and deserts. This year, the Programme is pleased to support the International Year of the Reef with an additional Coral Reef Award. Eight other projects receive runner-up prizes. The Programme Follow-Up Award is given to the best proposal for follow-up work submitted by one of the previous years winners. Information: Katharine Gotto, Expeditions Officer, BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge, CB3 0NA, UK. Tel: +44(0)1223 277318. Fax: +44(0)1223 277200. Email: katharine.gotto@birdlife.org.uk.
POSITIONS
RARE Center for Tropical Conservation seeks a President to lead the organization in its mission to promote the conservation of tropical wildlife and its habitats by developing and demonstrating comprehensive model programs for use by local and international organizations. The ideal candidate possesses a keen understanding and deep familiarity with international conservation issues, significant fund raising experience at the institutional and major donor levels, superior communication skills, considerable management experience, and proven ability to work with a geographically diverse, volunteer board. Spanish fluency is desired. Send letters of application with resume, salary history, and names of three references to: President Search Committee, RARE Center for Tropical Conservation, 1616 Walnut Street, Suite 1010, Philadelphia PA 19103. RARE Center is an equal opportunity employer.
Resident Faculty and Program Director Positions. The School for Field Studies seeks to fill several positions. Resident faculty (Rainforest Resource Specialist, Queensland, Australia, and Resource Economists (Australia, Turks and Caicos, and Costa Rica). Faculty teach the equivalent of one and a half courses per semester and oversee student-directed research projects. Qualifications include: Ph.D. or equivalent within an appropriate field, 2 years teaching at the undergraduate level, international work/living experience and ability to live in a remote field setting for extended periods of time. A Field Director is sought for the SFS Center for Wildlife Management Studies in East Africa. Applicants should have a strong background, including research and teaching experience, in a field directly related to wildlife conservation and management. Qualifications: Ph.D. or equivalent in a field concerned with wildlife conservation, relevant environmental studies teaching experience, five years administrative experience in a similar position, two years experience working in East Africa and fluency in Swahili, proven field leadership skills, demonstrated commitment to environmental issues and ability to live and work in a remote field setting for extended periods under spartan conditions. A Program Director is sought for the Centre for Coastal Studies, British Columbia to lead an interdisciplinary team of faculty in a unique educational program for college undergraduates. Requirements: Ph.D. in a field related to the center topic (coastal zone management, forestry, watershed management, natural resource management, applied economics or a related field), at least 3 years teaching at the undergraduate level, experience teaching and working in an interdisciplinary team, program management, supervisory and management experience and a demonstrated work history of commitment to working on environmental issues from a problem solving basis. Complete job description and information: The School for Field Studies, BC-PD Search, Box T, 16 Broadway, Beverly, MA 09195. Tel: (508) 922-7200 x304. Fax: (508) 927-5127. Email: <sfshome@igc.apc.org>.
Los Bosques de Roble (Quercus) de la Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica: Bioversidad, Ecología, Conservación y Desarrollo. M. Kappelle. 1996. University of Amsterdam and Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, The Netherlands and Costa Rica. First edition in Spanish. Focuses on one particular cloud forest area in the Neotropical Realm. Examines the Talamancan oak-dominated mountain forests of Costa Rica. Seeks patterns in biodiversity, especially vascular and non-vascular plant diversity, and addresses current issues in ecology, nature conservation and sustainable development. 320 pp. Paper bound and illustrated with 32 full color photos. ISBN 99 6870 205 6. Dutch Guilders 45.00, US 25.00. Add $8.00 for shipping and handling for each book. Send orders to: Hugo de Vries Laboratory, Secretary, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Fax: 31-20-5257662. Email: <santos@bio.uva.nl>. Or to: INBio, c/o Programa Gestion Social, Apartado Postal 22-3100, Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica. Fax: (506) 2442816. Email: <esanxho@quercus.ingio.ac.cr>.
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Journal. This new journal is devoted to the preservation of amphibian and reptile diversity. Information and subscription details: Craig Hassapakis, 2255 North University Prkwy. No. 15, Provo, Utah, 84604-7506. Email: <ARC@byu.edu>.
Ecotono. This newsletter is published in Spanish by the Tropical Studies Program of the Center for Conservaton Biology (PIT/CBC) at Stanford University. The Winter 1996 issue summarized the relationship between habitat fragmentation and metapopulations, gave helpful advice for writing a scientific paper, and summarized new projects of PIT/CBC in Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador. Subscriptions to Ecotono are free, although $15.00 donations are accepted to defray publication and mailing costs. Information and subscriptions: Ecotono, CCB, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford CA 94305-5020. Tel: (415) 723-5924; FAX: (415) 723-5920; Email: <CONBIO@igc.org>; WWW: www.leland.stanford.edu/group/CCB.
Publications from the World Resources Institute. The following recent publications are available from WRI Publications, PO Box 4852, Hampden Station, Baltimore, MD 21211. Tel: (800) 822-0504 or (410) 516-6998. Email: send Visa or Mastercard information to ChrisD@wri.org.
World Directory of Country Environmental Studies. World Resources Institute. 1996. A reference of different countries' environmental efforts and goals. Contact: World Resources Institute, 1709 New York Ave., NW. Washington, DC., 20006. Tel: (202) 638-6300. WWW: <<www.wri.org/wri/>>.
New Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture. L.A. Thrupp (ed.). 1996. What works to develop sustainable agriculture practices? From rice paddies in Bangladesh to cornfields in Iowa, innovative people and organizations are working together and making progress to replace chemical-intensive farming methods with alternative approaches. The nine case studies featured in this report - from Asia, Africa, and Latin and North America - show how ecologically-oriented integrated pest and crop management practices can maintain or increase yields, increase soil quality and resilience, reduce afrochemical inputs and costs, and achieve other benefits. 148 pp. Large format paperback. ISBN: 1-57973-102-0. $14.95.
Profit Without Plunder: Reaping Revenue From Guyana's Tropical Forests Without Destroying Them. N. Sizer. 1996. Governments in Guyana and many other economically strapped developing tropical countries are under intense pressure to sell their invaluable forest resources to foreign firms for quick cash. Profit Without Plunder shows how Guyana can avoid the mistakes other countries have made and maximize both the economic and environmental benefits of its extraordinary natural resources. 68 pp. Large format paperback. ISBN: 1-56973-103-9. $14.95.
Has Environmental Protection Really Reduced Productivity Growth? R. Repetto, D. Rothman, P. Faeth, D. Austin. 1996. This report counters the argument that environmental regulation spawned the productivity slowdown by showing how the conventional measure of productivity growth misrepresents the industrial process by taking into account only pollution abatement costs and ignoring pollution damages averted. Authors propose an alternative, unbiased productivity picture in case studies of the electric power, pulp and paper, and agricultural sectors. 46 pp. Large format paperback. ISBN: 1-56973-101-2. $14.95.
Ozone Protection in the United States: Elements of Success. E. Cook. 1996. Examines how and why many of innovative regulatory initiative and voluntary actions to phase-out the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were so successful. Presents ten case studies showing how economic incentives, entrepreneurial government activities, corporate leadership and competition - as well as scientific advances and public activism - made significant contributions to the adoption of CFC alternatives. 130 pp. Large format paperback. ISBN: 1-56973-088-1. $14.95.
Vida Silvestre Neotropical Bi-annual Wildlife Conservation Journal. Trilingual (English, Spanish and Portuguese). Topics (all with a neotropical focus) include: Sustainable-use management of wild flora and fauna, natural forest management, conservation of endangered species and ecosystems, maintenance of biotic diversity, indigenous use of wildlife, biological inventories with broad or unique conservation implications, new research and management techniques, biological basis for the design of protected area systems, control of pest species, and research on wildlife biology and ecology. Information and subscription: Tel: (506) 277-3440/237-7039. Fax: (506) 237-6942/237-7036. Email: revista@irazu.una.ac.cr.
New Tasks for Ecologists After Rio '92. VII International Congress of Ecology. Contact: Almo Farina, VP. INTECOL, c/o Lunigiana Museum of Natural History, Fortezza della Brunella, 54011, Aulla, Italy. Email: afarina@tamnet.it.
Economics of the Tropical Timber Trade. E. Barbier, J. Burgess, J. Bishop, B. Aylward. 1995. St. Lucie Press. Presents a broad discussion of the tropical forest resources and international trade, markets for tropical timber products, and tropical forest policies and the environment. Orders: 100 E. Linton Blvd. Suite 403B. Delray Beach, FL. 33483. Tel: (407) 274-9906. Fax: (407) 274-9927. Email: information@slpress.com.
Ecology, Conservation, and Management of Southeast Asian Rainforests. R.E. Primack and T.E. Lovejoy. 1995. Yale University Press. 300 pp. 76 illus. ISBN: 06234-6. $35.00. Orders: Yale University Press, PO Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040. Tel: (800) 987-7323. Fax: (203) 432-0948.
Evolution and Environment in Tropical America. J.B. Jackson, A.F. Budd, A.G. Coates (eds.). 1996. The University of Chicago Press. 434 pp. Cloth: $75.00, Paper: $27.50. Information: Tel: (773) 702-0279. Fax: (773) 702-9756. Email: <da@press.uchicago.edu>. 188 pp. Hardcover, book code KP3. $39.95. Orders: The University of Chicago Press Order Department, 11030 South Langley Ave., Chicago, Illinois, 60628.