Tropical Rain Forests (PDF)

The first edition of Tropical Rain Forests: an Ecological and
Biogeographical Comparison exploded the myth of 'the rain
forest' as a single, uniform entity. In reality, the major
tropical rain forest regions, in tropical America, Africa,
Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and New Guinea, have as many
differences as similarities, as a result of their isolation from
each other during the evolution of their floras and faunas. This
new edition reinforces this message with new examples from recent
and on-going research.

After an introduction to the environments and geological
histories of the major rain forest regions, subsequent chapters
focus on plants, primates, carnivores and plant-eaters, birds,
fruit bats and gliding animals, and insects, with an emphasis on
the ecological and biogeographical differences between regions.
This is followed by a new chapter on the unique tropical rain
forests of oceanic islands. The final chapter, which has been
completely rewritten, deals with the impacts of people on tropical
rain forests and discusses possible conservation strategies that
take into account the differences highlighted in the previous
chapters. This exciting and very readable book, illustrated
throughout with color photographs, will be invaluable reading for
undergraduate students in a wide range of courses as well as an
authoritative reference for graduate and professional ecologists,
conservationists, and interested amateurs.