Tropinet Vol. 8 No. 4, December 1997



Association for Tropical Biology on the World Wide Web at http://atb.botany.ufl.edu/atb/. ATB members may want to check their listings in the Membership Directory posted on the homepage.

FEATURE

Fires in Indonesia in 1997

by Dr. Jeffrey A. Sayer, Director General, Center for International Forestry, P.O. BOX 6596, JKPWB, Jakarta 10065, Indonesia. j.sayer@cgnet.com Adapted from CIFOR Position Statement on Fires in Indonesia in 1997 (see www.cgiar.org/cifor/ for complete text).


In the wake of an extreme dry season presumably caused by the 1997 El Niño, wide-ranging, severe fires have occurred in forested areas of Indonesia, especially Sumatra and Kalimantan. At the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR.), we are deeply concerned about these fires. We believe they are a symptom of deficiencies in forest management systems, and in policies regulating the clearing of land for agriculture.

CIFOR believes that media reports have underestimated the extent of deliberate burning. This is done, taking advantage of exceptionally dry conditions, to clear land for large and small scale agriculture. There is currently a scramble for land at the forest frontier. The government has licensed many companies to develop new industrial plantations of rubber, oil-palm and pulpwood, and to develop sites for transmigration settlers. These activities require clearing hundreds of thousands of hectares, and fires are the cheapest method. In some areas of Indonesia, improved roads have enhanced access into forested areas. The traditional method of claiming land, as elsewhere in the world, has been to clear and plant. It seems likely that migrants, particularly in areas near cities, are clearing forest to establish land claims. Farmers may also be clearing larger areas for rice this year, as a risk-aversion strategy in a drought. This year, fires set to clear land are especially prone to get out of control. This effect is exacerbated where logging activities have dried nearby forests. We do not know, with any degree of certainty, how much land burned, or how the total burnt area is allocated among land in different use categories (fallows, industrially cleared land, logger-over forest, primary forest etc.).

The impact of the fires is greater in areas where forests and agriculture overlie deposits of peat. These have accumulated over the last 5,000-10,000 years and represent a huge and globally significant store of carbon. Burning this stored carbon has far more severe environmental impacts than simply burning annual accumulations of plant material in traditional shifting agriculture systems. Burning peat contributes to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and releases particulate matter and sulfur and nitrous oxides, making the "haze" a greater health threat.

CIFOR supports efforts to control the fires. Measures mobilizing people and equipment to prevent further damage are appropriate. Yet we also wish to emphasize that short term "solutions" to the fires will be insufficient. The real solution is to adopt better long term policies and regulations to improve land stewardship standards, to resolve unclear or contested land tenure, and to reinforce a fire management system to ensure that such fires do not recur during the next severe drought.

A major long term goal must be to ensure that programs to open new areas for agriculture take into account the fire hazards that can result. Caution should be exercised in allocating peat-land areas for agricultural development. There are enormous problems in maintaining soil fertility on these sites and in many cases the best long term use will be some form of forestry. Decisions on large scale land clearing and development have often been made without full appreciation of the value of forests. This is particularly true of the forests' value to local communities as a source of many products.

Fire is an essential part of traditional cultivation systems used in many tropical forest areas. Burning is a legitimate land management practice and is not necessarily bad if done by experienced people. Careful use of fire in humid forests, by people who feel secure in land ownership, has occurred for centuries. In the current context, incentives to burn could be substantially reduced if Indonesia were to reconcile contradictions between 'adat' law and national forest and land use laws.

Ways must also be found to help people deal with drier conditions (and resultant flammability) of forests that accompany logging and the development of industrial timber plantations. Clearer land tenure laws could reduce the incentive to burn forest land and to plant crops simply to claim the land. Experience in other tropical regions has shown that, if people have security of access to forested land, they have less incentive to clear forests. CIFOR recognizes the complexity of this issue, and the need to clarify ownership carefully and in a manner consistent with local norms, values and traditions.

Research has demonstrated that relatively inexpensive reduced-impact logging can greatly reduce the amount of woody debris remaining in the forest after logging. This in turn reduces both the danger and intensity of fires. For example, reduced-impact logging used by Innoprise Corporation in Sabah, Malaysia resulted in a reduction of forest residues by up to 50% compared to conventional logging. The guidelines developed by Innoprise and collaborators are the first to be extensively field tested by a major tropical timber company in a developing country. As a result of field trials, in which CIFOR is one cooperator, the State of Sabah has proposed legislation to mandate use of these guidelines by all logging operators. The events of this year indicate the importance of getting similar regulations incorporated into Indonesian forestry practice.

Those involved in forest research, policy, and management in Indonesia must learn from the 1997 fires. Fires in 1983, 1991 and 1994 provoked considerable international short term interest but the measures taken were palliative and did not address root causes. We must document and understand what happened in 1997. Post-fire research should make use of high resolution imagery (pre- and post-fire) to quantify area burnt by land use category. Sociological research should be undertaken to attribute the cause of the fires. With a solid understanding of the causes and extent of the 1997 fires, policies and regulatory measures must then be investigated and put in place to reduce the risks of similar fires occurring in future drought years.



AFRICA

Integrated Rural Development and Traditional Medicine. The Healing Forest Conservancy (HFC), an independent non-profit organization founded by Shaman Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announces a $40,000 donation to the Fund for Integrated Rural Development and Traditional Medicine. The Indigenous Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and the Orange Drug Company of Nigeria have pledged additional moneys to complement the HFC donation. The Fund for Integrated Rural Development and Traditional Medicine has an independent board composed of representatives of village councils and technical experts from scientific institutions. Its objective is to build technical skills in Nigeria so bioresources are a viable vehicle for sustainable development. The Fund offers an example of how countries, culture groups, and companies can work together successfully for the benefit of all stakeholders to sustainable develop biodiversity for human health. Information: Katy Moran, Director. The Healing Forest Conservancy. Tel: (202) 333-3438.


LATIN AMERICA

William L. Brown Fellowship Established. A fellowship fund has been established by the family of William L. Brown, a friend of many readers of this newsletter. Bill Brown will be remembered by many for his visits to La Selva, training sessions in identifying tropical ants, his kindness with students, his sense of humor and his prodigious memory for great stories. A book was published describing his visits to La Selva with his old friend and fellow myrmecologist Ed Wilson. He was Professor of Entomology at Cornell University and a former president of the Society for the Study of Evolution, among other distinctions. The fellowship will sponsor research in tropical biology by Latin American students through the Organization for Tropical Studies. A list of donors will be provided to Bill Brown's family. Donations may be sent to: Organization for Tropical Studies, 410 Swift Avenue, Durham NC 27705. Attn.: W.L.Brown fellowship fund.--MaryJane West-Eberhard, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Book Donations Sought.
The Universidade Paulista in Río Claro has 1500 students and two undergraduate and post graduate courses in Ecology and Biology. The university has just built a new and modern library but has no funds to subscribe to journals or to buy books. They seek donations of subscriptions of the following journals: Mammalia, American Journal of Primatology, International Journal of Primatology, Journal of Applied Ecology, Tropical Biodiversity, and Biodiversity and Conservation. They also need books on Ecology, Botany, Zoology, and Conservation Biology. Donations may be sent to: Mrs. Sueli C. Brito, Biblioteca, UNESP, C.P. 199, 13506-900 Río Claro, Såo Paulo, Brasil.


NORTH AMERICA

Association for Tropical Biology Annual Meeting. Baltimore, 2-6 August. ATB will meet with the American Institute of Biological Sciences and affiliated societies. The meeting will include symposia, contributed papers, and poster sessions. Meetings of the ATB Council and Board of Editors will be scheduled during the meeting. The Organization for Tropical Studies, celebrating its 35th anniversary, will hold a joint mixer with ATB. ATB will host a banquet for members and friends. Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 30 January 1998. Information: WWW:.atb.botany.ufl.edu or ATB Program Chair, Dr. Preston Aldrich, Department of Botany, MRC-166, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560. Email: aldrichp@nmnh.si.edu.


Field Station Profile: The Río Ñambí Nature Reserve, Colombia

The Río Ñambí Nature Reserve in southwestern Colombia is owned and managed by the Fundación Ecológica Los Colibris de Altaquer (FELCA), an NGO constituted of local people. The station is located near the Ecuadorian border on the Pacific slope of the Andes, 165 km west of the city of Pasto, Department of Nariño, and near the Tumaco-Pasto road. The reserve encompasses 1000 hectares of primary premontane rain forest and secondary vegetation, with an elevational range from 1100 to 1600 m. Rain falls year round due to the influence of Pacific winds, and the average temperature is 18 0 C. The topography is steep, with many gullies, streams, and rivers crisscrossing the area. The forests are dominated by palms and large epiphyte-laden trees, with a dense understory of rubiacs, melastomes, tree ferns, and other herbaceous vegetation.
The reserve is part of the Choco biogeographical region and supports high levels of endemism and biodiversity. Although species lists for the station are still incomplete, we have currently identified 307 species of birds, 21 species of bats, 17 species of lizards and snakes, 15 species of amphibians, 9 species of rodents, and 3 species of Felidae. 41 species of ants and 77 species of butterflies have been identified, but no detailed inventories of the other insect groups have been undertaken. Studies in primary forest have identified over 150 species of large trees. Recently, a species of bird new to science (Vireo masteri) was discovered.
The reserve provides lodging and cooking facilities to accommodate 20 people in a two-story cabin, with bedrooms, kitchen, dining area, bathrooms, and conference rooms. Electricity is available 24 hours a day.
FELCA invites researchers to visit and to submit research and education projects to be carried out at the reserve. The objectives of the reserve are to contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of ecological processes of tropical rainforests, to strengthen conservation and research policies in the Pacific area, to develop an environmental education program designed to benefit the local community, to evaluate the ecological impact of human activities on neotropical montane ecosystems, and to allow local communities to participate in management of their natural resources. For information: The Director, Reserva Natural Río Ñambí, Apartado Aereo 384, Paso, Nariño. Fax: 57-27-280598, Ricaurte, Nariño. Please make arrangements at least three months in advance, as communications may be delayed.


ANNOUNCEMENTS

Meetings and Events

Items marked (*) are new this issue

1998
*Association for Tropical Biology Annual Meeting. Baltimore, 2-6 August. ATB will meet with the American Institute of Biological Sciences and affiliated societies. The meeting will include symposia, contributed papers, and poster sessions. Meetings of the ATB Council and Board of Editors will be scheduled during the meeting. The Organization for Tropical Studies, celebrating its 35th anniversary, will hold a joint mixer with ATB. ATB will host a banquet for members and friends. Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 30 January 1998. Information: WWW: atb.botany.ufl.edu or ATB Program Chair, Dr. Preston Aldrich, Department of Botany, MRC-166, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560. Email: aldrichp@nmnh.si.edu.
*Ecological Society of America. The ESA will hold its 83rd Annual Meeting in Baltimore, 2&endash;6 August, in concert with the annual meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Baltimore is situated at the mouth of the Patapsco River, emptying into Chesapeake Bay. With the Bay's watershed having the highest land&endash;water ratio of any major body of water in North America, the conference theme "Ecological Exchanges Between Major Ecosystems" has been chosen. Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 31 January 1998. Information: WWW: http://www.esa.sdsc.edu or ESA Program Chair, Dr. Fred Wagner, Ecology Center, Utah State University , Logan, UT 84322&endash;5205. Tel: (801) 797&endash;2555. Email: fwagner@cc.usu.edu.
*American Institute of Biological Sciences. Baltimore, 2-6 August. The theme of this year's meeting is "Managing Human-Impacted Systems". Information: WWW: www.aibs.org or Marilynn Maury, AIBS Meetings Director. Tel: (703) 834-0812 x203; Fax: (703) 834-1160; Email: .
*North American Ornithological Conference. St. Louis, Missouri, 6-12 April. Annual meeting of the AOU, AFO, COS, CWS, and AWOS 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.
*Columnar Cacti and their Mutualists: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation. Tehuacan City, Mexico, 29 June &endash; 3 July. Workshop/symposium including invited talks, posters, informal discussions, and field trips. Information: Ted Fleming. Tel: (305) 284-6881. Fax: (305) 284-3039. Email: tfleming@umiami.ir.miami.edu or or Alfonso Valiente-Banuet avaliente@miranda.ecologia.unam.mx .
*Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 18-22 July. Contributed talks and posters on "Spiders in Behavioral Ecological Research". Plenary speakers include Sidney Gauthreaux, Jane Brockmann, and Jeff Galef. Information: Lee Drickamer, Local Host, Dept. Zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901. Tel: (618) 536-2314. Email: Drickhamer@zoology.siu.edu. WWW: www.cisab.indiana.edu/abs/index.html.
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: afa-rina@tamnet.it. WWW: www.tamnet.it/intecol.98 .

Courses

Ometepe Biological Field Station: Advanced Primate Behavior and Ecology. Summer 26-day courses located in field station on Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua. Vertebrates of Lake Nicaragua. 22 June-17 July. Limnology of Lake Nicaragua. 26 day course: 22 June-17 July. Information: P.O. Box 59-1768, Miami, FL, 33159-1768. Email: lasuerte@safari.net. WWW: www.studyabroad.com/lasuerte.
La Suerte Biological Field Station: Costa Rica: Tropical Herpetology. 22 June-17 July. Diversity, Ecology and Behavior of Neotropical Birds. 20 July-14 Aug. Biology of Neotropical Fish. 25 May-19 June. Rainforest Ecology. 25 May-19 June, 22 June-17 June, 20 July-14 Aug. Information: P.O. Box 59-1768, Miami, FL, 33159-1768. Email: lasuerte@safari.net. WWW: www.studyabroad.com/lasuerte.
Brazilian Ecosystems: The Protection and Management of Diversity. Paraná, Brazil. September-December 1998. Application Deadline: 15 March. Information: Brazil Ecology, Antioch Education Abroad, Antioch College, Yellow Springs Ohio 45387. Tel: (800) 874-7986. Email: AEA@antioch-college.edu.

Positions

OTS La Selva Biological Station. The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) announces openings for a full-time administrator and a half-time (or more) scientific director at its La Selva Biological Station in northeastern Costa Rica. La Selva is a multi-use, easily accessible field station in a well-known tropical rainforest that attracts a broad range of researchers and education groups. See our website at <>.
The La Selva administrator is responsible for the management of the field station, including personnel, accommodations, budget, marketing, physical plant and infrastructure. Minimum 5 year experience in scientific and/or hotel administration, with relevant graduate degree and fluency in English and Spanish.
The La Selva scientific director is responsible for scientific oversight and coordination of services to education and research users, talks on La Selva and its science, writing scientific reports and proposals in Spanish and English, coordinating review of research proposals, and maintains liaison with the Costa Rican and international scientific community. Ph.D. required; tropical experience preferred. This 1/2 time position is based at La Selva; the other 1/2 time is available for research. Salary support for more than half time may become available. Term appointment for 1-2 yrs., renewable; sabbatical applicants invited.
Candidates combining the requisites for these two positions will also be considered, with appropriate restructuring of the job description to be negotiated. Send letter of application, curriculum vitae and contact information including e-mail addresses for three references to: Dr. C. E. Schnell, OTS Associate Executive Director, % Interlink 341, Box 526770, Miami, FL 33152. An EOAA Employer.
Galapagos National Park: Specialist in Alien Mammals. The Charles Darwin Research Station solicits applications for a research-oriented individual to join restoration ecology programs. Responsibilities include designing, implementing, and realizing projects aimed at discovering efficient means by which the Galapagos National Park Service can monitor, control, and eradicate island populations of alien mammals. Requirements: Research graduate degree (at least a Masters), research experience in the control and eradication of alien mammals, ability to speak and write in Spanish and English, experienced in living and working in remote settings. Information: Howard L. Snell. Email: Howard@fcdarwin.org.ec .
Postdoctoral Associate, University of Florida. The successful candidate will head a continuing long-term project at the Savannah River Site (Aiken, SC). The project focuses on fruit and hard mast production and consumption by birds. Must be adept at bird identification. Plant identification skills desirable. Technician and two trucks provided. One year appointment, with reappointment for second year
likely. To apply send letter of interest, CV, and three letters of recommendation to Doug Levey, Dept. Zoology, P.O. 118525, Univ. Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525. Receipt deadline 9 January. E-mail inquiries encouraged; Email: DLEVEY@zoo.ufl.edu.
Professor, Vertebrate Biology. The Department of Biology, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia is searching for a full-time professor in the area of Biology of Vertebrates. Candidates should have a Ph.D. or Doctorate in Science degree, as well as certified fluency in spoken and written English (and Spanish for non-Colombians). The Department is interested in professionals with leadership capacity who possess, as an integral part of their area of research, a solid experience in field or laboratory work. They will be expected to establish innovative lines of research which involves the teaching and training of undergraduate and graduate (masters and doctoral) students. Applicants should send a complete curriculum vitae, with each item appropriately substantiated, including undergraduate and graduate transcripts, as well as three letters of recommendation, reprints or copies of the three most recent publications in international journals, and a research proposal in their area of interest (three pages, double spaced). The accepted candidate is expected to begin in March of 1998. All correspondence should be addressed to the Decanatura, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia, A.A. 1226, Medellín, Colombia. Additional information may be requested via Tel: (574) 210-5624, Fax: (574) 263-8282 or (574) 233-0120. Email: jmoreno@matematicas.udea.edu.co or callejas@quimbayal.udea.edu.co.

Funding Opportunities

Star Grants. Grants for Environmental Research on Ecological Indicators, Water and Watersheds, Global Climate Change, and other topics of interest can be found on the EPA's home page: www.epa.gov/ncerqa. Program Manager: levinson.barbara@epamail.epa.gov .
The Center for Field Research: Field Grants. Invites proposals for 1998-99 field grants funded by Earthwatch. Earthwatch is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to sponsoring field research and promoting public education in the sciences and humanities. Information: The Center for Field Research, 680 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown, MA 02272, Tel: (617) 926-8200. Fax: (617) 926-8532, Email: cfr@earthwatch.org. WWW: www.earth-watch.org/cfr/cfr.html
Huyck Preserve Research Grants. The Biological Research Station of the Edmund Nile Huyck Preserve offers grants to support research utilizing the resources of the Preserve. The 2000 acre preserve is located on the Helderberg Plateau, 30 miles SW of Albany. Habitats include northeast hardwood hemlock forests, conifer plantations, old fields, permanent and intermittent streams, 10 and 100 acre lakes, and several waterfalls. Deadline is 1 February 1998. Applications from: Dr. Richard Wyman, Executive Director, E.N. Huyck Preserve and Biological Research Station, P.O. Box 189, Rensselaervile, NY 12147.
Fellowships at the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution offers in-residence fellowships for research and study in fields including evolutionary and systematic biology, animal behavior, ecology, and environmental science, with emphasis on the tropics. Senior, postdoctoral, and predoctoral fellowships for three to 12 months, and 10-week graduate student fellowships, are offered. Postmark deadline: 15 January 15 1998. Information and applications: Office of Fellowships and Grants, Smithsonian Institution, Desk P, 955 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 7000, MRC 902, Washington DC 20560. 202-287-3271. Email: siofg@ofg.si.edu WWW: www.si.edu/research+study.


Book review

Read this book. Tropical Forest Remnants: ecology, management, and conservation of fragmented communities. William F. Laurance and Richard O. Bierregaard, Jr. (eds.). 1997. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637. ISBN: 0-226-46898-4 (cloth); 0-226-46899-2 (paper).
This book carries important messages for all tropical biologists. Bill Laurance and Richard Bierregaard have put together a collection of papers that represent the state of knowledge on ecological processes associated with fragmented tropical forest communities. The volume grew out of a symposium at the 1995 Ecological Society of America meeting, but is much more than a rehash of the papers presented at that symposium: a post-symposium workshop resulted in two synthetic chapters, and new data papers are also included. The 33 chapters (!) are organized into seven sections: the first four sections document current patterns of loss and effects of that loss ("The Scale and Economics of Tropical Deforestation", "Physical Processes and Edge Effects", "Tropical Forest Faunas", "Plants and Plant-Animal Interactions"); the fifth and sixth sections discuss issues of restoration and reserve design; and the final section, with three multi-authored chapters, presents synthetic summaries and new perspectives on forest fragmentation. Both editors and many chapter authors have long associations with the INPA/WWF/Smithsonian Biolgical Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) near Manaus, Brazil (the volume includes a foreword by T. Lovejoy, the initial force behind the project). Although the chapters represent an almost overwhelming diversity of approaches and perspectives to studying forest fragments, the book has been carefully edited to provide a cohesive and comprehensive treatment. This process is aided by the introductions to each section (all authored by Laurance). Each chapter concludes with "bullets" summarizing the important implications, a feature that will increase the books' value to generalist tropical biologists, teachers, students, and the general public.
Coverage is broad, conceptually, taxonomically, and geographically, with some obvious gaps that almost certainly reflect gaps in our collective knowledge. The neotropics and Australia are most heavily represented: six papers resulting from the BDFFP, nine from other Neotropical sites, six from Australia, and one each from sites as diverse as Singapore and Hong Kong, the Mascarene Archipelago, Madagascar, and Thailand. The editors express their hope that studies representing other geographical regions will be stimulated. Taxonomically, papers include papers on woody and herbaceous plants, small mammals, frogs, birds (especially well-represented), butterflies beetles, ants, and centipedes (interestingly, no studies report the response to fragmentation of bats, primates, or reptiles). Conceptually, the papers represent a variety of approaches from careful empirical studies of one or several species, to descriptions of community-level responses, to analysis of biogeographical patterns, to modeling.
I learned something important from each chapter. Here, I have only enough space to mention a few highlights. Whitmore uses the most recent FAO figures to provide an update on rates of habitat loss and conversion by region and forest type, concluding that the magnitude of extinction is not easily predicted, and that significant lag times in extinction for long-lived tree species may mean that some species are committed to an extinction trajectory. He makes a strong plea for research into the conservation value of production forests. Kahn and McDonald, in an extremely useful primer on economic factors relevant to deforestation, report that 90% of total debt retired in 31 debt-for-nature swaps completed by the end of 1993 is accounted for by Costa Rica and Ecuador. Didham estimates that for some litter invertebrates, the effects of the forest edge penetrate at least 100m into the forest, and consequently fragments of 100 ha are too small to support intact terrestrial invertebrate communities. Nason et al. show that the genetic neighborhood for some neotropical tree species may be on the order of tens to 100's of hectares. Assemblages of neotropical montane frugivorous birds may be surprisingly robust to human disturbance (Restrepo et al. ). In Queensland, Warburton found that small fragments can support a significant fraction of avian species, but large fragments (>600 ha) are needed to conserve the total fauna.
The final chapters are devoted to a synthesis of the state of knowledge and an analysis of key research priorities. Not surprisingly, there is a realization of the eclectic nature of fragmentation studies, making generalization difficult. The authors call for integration of studies across regions and taxa, obtaining basic natural history information, and acquiring data in a way that it will have some predictive value. Of all the contributions in this book, I found Crome's essay on the realities of doing research on forest fragmentation to be among the most thought-provoking, and it is broadly applicable to many kinds of research. His final piece of advice, "Above all, don't give up" sums up the realities and motivation of doing research in disappearing tropical systems.--Elizabeth Braker

Publications

The Butterflies of Costa Rica: vol. 2. Riodinidae P.J. DeVries. 1997. Princeton University Press. The long-awaited second volume of DeVries' handsome and information-packed series includes identification, taxonomy, life history, distribution, host plant relationships, and ecological relationships. 368 pp. ISBN: 0-691-02889-3
A Neotropical Companion, Second Edition.
J. Kricher. 1997. Princeton University Press. Written to serve as an introduction to the Neotropics, the revised edition is expanded throughout, with new chapters on riverine ecology, montane ecology, human ecology, and biodiversity and conservation issues. 536 pp. ISBN: 0-691-04433-3. $29.95. 822-6657 (800) 777-4726.
Handbook of Nutrition and Diets for Wild Animals in Captivity. The Zoo Conservation Outreach Group (ZCOG) and the Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo Department of Nutrition are distributing English and Spanish versions of this manual, edited by Drs. Ellen Dierenfeld and Wendy Graffam. The manual outlines methods for developing comprehensive feeding programs and dietary management regimes for neotropical zoo animals. Free to Latin American zoological institutions, $20 for North American and European institutions. The mission of ZCOG is to assist Latin American zoos and aquariums in their wildlife and habitat conservation efforts by providing direct material, technical, and financial aid. Orders: ZCOG, c/o The Audubon Zoo, 6500 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70118. www.selu.com/~bio/zcog.
A Festschrift in Honor of John J. Wurdack. L.J. Dorr and B.Stergios D. (eds) 1997. BioLlania, Edición Especial No. 6. Published in honor of Wurdack's 75th year and his outstanding contributions to systematic botany and plant exploration. Contains thirty-seven papers concerning the taxonomy and ecology of Neotropical plants. ISBN 980-231-131-6. Paper $10.00. Orders: L.J. Dorr, Dept. of Botany, MRC-166, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560. Email: dorr@nmnh.si.edu.
Plant Collectors in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands.
A Biographical and Bibliographical Guide to Individuals and Groups who have Collected Herbarium Material of Algae, Bryophytes, Fungi, Lichens, and Vascular Plants in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. L.J. Dorr. 1997. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. A biographical dictionary that will be a valuable reference for all those interested in the unique flora and fauna of Madagascar. ISBN 1-900347-18-0 (cloth and read only CD), $116.00. ISBN 1-900347-24-5 (full version CD) $55.20. Orders: Balogh Scientific Boods, 1911 North Duncan Rd. Champaign, IL 61821. Email: balogh@balogh.com .
Evolution and Environment in Tropical America
. J. B.C. Jackson, A. F. Budd, A.G. Coates (eds.). 1996. University of Chicago Press. Resulting from the Fifth North American Paleontological Convention, 1992, this volume presents new data that construct a historical framework for understanding the diversity and structure of the tropical American biota. 425 pp. ISBN (cloth) 0-226-38942-1 $ 75.00, (paper) 0-226-38944-8 $27.50.
Titles from Springer-Verlag. Tel: (800) SPRINGER. Fax: (201) 348-4505. WWW: www.springer-ny.com . Biodiversity and Ecosystem Process in Tropical Forests. G.Orians, R.Dirzo, and J.H. Cushman (eds). 1996. Ecological Studies Volume 122. Examines the impact of biodiversity on ecosystem processes in tropical forests. Covers the relationships between biodiversity and primary production, secondary production, biogeochemical cycles, soil processes, plant life forms, responses to disturbance and resistance to invasion. 240 pp. ISBN: 3-540-59275-X.: $79.95. The Central Amazonian River Floodplains: Ecology of a Pulsing System. W.J. Junk. 1997. This volume provides a study of a tropical floodplain system during both the terrestrial and aquatic phases as well as a unified interpretation of data. 350pp. ISBN 3-540-59276-8. Hardcover: $197.00. Lemurs of the Madagascar and the Comorans. F. McIntyre. 1997. CD-ROM. This CD-ROM provides a complete overview of all lemurs and includes detailed color drawings, spectacular photography and sounds for most of the species. ISBN 3-540-14551-6/Windows $71.95. ISBN 3-540-14552-4/Macintosh $71.95.
Behavioral Approaches to Conservation in the Wild. J.R. Clemmons and R. Buchholz (eds.). 1997. Cambridge University Press. 382 pp. Based on papers from a symposium held at the 1995 Animal Behavior Society annual meeting. ISBN (cloth) 0-521-58054-4, $80.00; 0-521-58960-6 (paper), $29.95.
New titles in tropical ecology from Columbia University Press. So Fruitful A Fish: Ecology, Conservation, and Aquaculture of the Amazon's Tambaqui. C. Araujo-Lima and M.Goulding. 1997. 192pp. ISBN 0-231-10830-3 $45.00. The Catfish Connection: Ecology, Migration, and Conservation of Amazon Predators. R. Barthem and M.Goulding. 1997. 184pp. ISBN: 0-231-10832-X $45.00. Rainforest Cities: Urbanization, Development and Globalization of the Brazilian Amazon. J.O.Browder and B.Godfrey. 1997. 424pp. ISBN 0-231-10655-6. $19.50. Floods of Fortune: Ecology and Economy Along the Amazon. M.Goulding, N.J.H. Smith, and D.Mahar. 1995. 193pp. ISBN 0-231-10420-0. $29.95, cloth. Orders: Tel: (800) 944-8648. Fax: (800) 944-1844. Columbia University Press, Order Dept. 136 South Broadway. Irvington, New York 10533.
New titles in conservation from Chapman and Hall. Conservation Genetics: case histories from nature. J. C. Avise and J.L. Hamrick (eds.). 1996. Chapman and Hall. 533 pp. ISBN (cloth): 0-413-05581-3; (paper): 0-412-14581-2. Conservation Biology, 2nd ed. For the Coming Decade. P.L. Fiedler and P.M. Kareiva (eds.). 1998. ISBN (cloth): 0-412-09651-X; (paper): 0-412-09661-7. 512pp. International Thomson Publishing, 7625 Empire Drive, Florence KY 41042. Tel: (606) 525-6600, (800) 842-3636. Fax: (606) 525-7778. Email: rder@chaphall.com. WWW: www.chaphall.com.