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Tropical Rainforests

Past, Present, and Future

Synthesizing theoretical and empirical analyses of the processes that help shape these unique ecosystems, Tropical Rainforests looks at the effects of evolutionary histories, past climate change, and ecological dynamics on the origin and maintenance of tropical rainforest communities. Featuring recent advances in paleoecology, climatology, geology, molecular systematics, biogeography, and community ecology, the volume also offers insights from those fields into how rainforests will endure the impact of anthropogenic change. With more than sixty contributors, Tropical Rainforests will be of great interest to students and professionals in tropical ecology and conservation.


672 pages | 8 color plates, 2 halftones, 131 line drawings, 46 tables | 6 x 9 | © 2005

Biological Sciences: Biology--Systematics, Botany, Conservation, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Natural History, Tropical Biology and Conservation

Reviews

"A well-written, up-to-date account of various aspects of tropical . . . rainforests. As such it is a welcome addition to our knowledge of these forests and should find its way to all professionals interested in rainforests."

Frits Adema | BLUMEA

"This book will be of value to a general ecological audience as well as to rainforest specialists because it covers such a wide range of theoretical and technical approaches."

David W. Hilbert | BioScience

"Whether your orientation is biological, geophysical, climactic, historic or management, there is much in this book to increase your awareness of the status of knowledge of tropical rainforests and the processes underlying the development and maintenance of high biodiversity."

A. J. J. Lynch | Austral Ecology

"An important reference for any scientist sudying tropical rainforests, this volume also provides a sound scientific basis for conservation efforts."

Southeastern Naturalist

Table of Contents

1. From the Past to the Future: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation of Tropical Rainforests

Craig Moritz, Christopher W. Dick, and Eldredge Bermingham

Part I. Evolutionary and Ecological Determinants of Tropical Rainforest Diversity

2. Overview: The History and Ecology of Tropical Rainforest Communities

Eldredge Bermingham and Christopher W. Dick

3. Phylogenetic Perspectives on Patterns of Regional and Local Species Richness

Robert E. Ricklefs

4. Large-Scale Diversity and Species-Area Relationships in Tropical Tree Communities under the Neutral Theory

Stephen P. Hubbell

5. Palynological Richness and the Tropical Rainforest

John R. Flenley

6. The Pleistocene Vector of Neotropical Diversity

Paul Colinvaux

7. The History of Amazonian Mammals: Mechanisms and Timing of Diversification

James L. Patton and Maria Nazareth F. da Silva

8. Biogeography and Diversification of African Forest Faunas: Implications for Conservation

Jon Fjeldså, Michelle K. Bayes, Michael W. Bruford, and Michael S. Roy

9. Evaluating the Divergence-with-Gene-Flow Model in Natural Populations: The Importance of Ecotones in Rainforest Speciation

Thomas B. Smith, Robert K. Wayne, Derek Girman, and Michael W. Bruford

10. Geologic, Evolutionary, and Ecological Bases of the Diversification of Neotropical Butterflies: Implications for Conservation

Keith S. Brown Jr.

11. Dynamic Landscape Models for Tropical Rainforests

Brendan Mackey and Wengui Su

12. Understanding and Conserving Tropical Diversity: Perspectives from Barro Colorado Island

Egbert Giles Leigh Jr. and Ira Rubinoff

13. Landscape Heterogeneity and Species Diversity in Amazonia

Kalle Ruokolainen, Hanna Tuomisto, and Risto Kalliola

14. Spatial Changes in Tree Composition of High-Diversity Forests: How Much Is Predictable?

Richard Condit, Salomón Aguilar, Andrés Hernández, Rolando Pérez, Suzanne Lao, and Christopher R. Pyke

15. The El Niño Southern Oscillation Influences Tree Performance in Tropical Rainforests

S. Joseph Wright

Part II: A Multidisciplinary Perspective on an Entire Rainforest System: The Australian Wet Tropics

16. Overview: Rainforest History and Dynamics in the Australian Wet Tropics

Craig Moritz

17. The Origin and Evolution of Australia’s Eastern Highlands

Jonathan Nott

18. The Origins and Tertiary History of Australian "Tropical" Rainforests

David R. Greenwood and David C. Christophel

19. Patterns and Causes of Vegetation Change in the Australian Wet Tropics Region over the Last 10 Million Years

A. Peter Kershaw, Patrick T. Moss, and Russell Wild

20. Effects of Quaternary Climate Change on Rainforest Diversity: Insights from Spatial Analyses of Species and Genes in Australia’s Wet Tropics

Christopher J. Schneider and Stephen E. Williams

21. Mosaic Macroevolution in Australian Wet Tropics Arthropods: Community Assemblage by Taxon Pulses

Patrice Bouchard, Daniel R. Brooks, and David K. Yeates

22. Biodiversity of the Freshwater Invertebrates of the Wet Tropics Region of Northeastern Australia: Patterns and Possible Determinants

Richard G. Pearson

23. Dynamics of Seedling Recruitment in an Australian Tropical Rainforest

Joseph H. Connell, Igor Debski, Catherine A. Gehring, Lloyd Goldwasser, Peter T. Green, Kyle E. Harms, Peter Juniper, and Tad C. Theimer

24. The Theory and Practice of Planning for Long-Term Conservation of Biodiversity in the Wet Tropics Rainforests of Australia

Nigel E. Stork

Part III: Rainforest Futures

25. Overview: Processes, People, and Prospects for Tropical Rainforests

Craig Moritz, Christopher W. Dick, and Eldredge Bermingham

26. Evolutionary Approaches to the Conservation of Tropical Rainforest Vertebrates

Craig Moritz and Keith R. McDonald

27. Parks, People, and Policies: Conflicting Agendas for Forests in Southeast Asia

Kathy MacKinnon

28. The Future of the Amazon

William F. Laurance, Scott Bergen, Mark A. Cochrane, Phillip M. Fearnside, Patricia Delamônica, Sammya Agra D’Angelo, Christopher Barber, and Tito Fernandes

References

List of Contributors

Index

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