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Tropical habitats cover over one third of the Earth's terrestrial surface and harbor much of its biodiversity, with many areas rich in endemic species. However, these ecosystems are under significant and growing threat from issues such as deforestation, land degradation and ocean acidification. This introductory textbook provides a comprehensive guide to the major tropical biomes. It is unique in its balanced coverage of both aquatic and terrestrial systems and in its international scope. Each chapter is built around a particular tropical ecosystem, with descriptive case studies providing a framework around which ecological concepts and applied ecological topics are presented. This second edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect recent advances in the field and includes a greater focus on the impact of global climate change. The text is supported throughout by boxes containing supplementary material and is illustrated with over 200 clear, simple line diagrams, maps and photographs.

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• Preface(p. xi)
• Abbreviations and units(p. xiii)
• 1 The tropical environment and climate(p. 1)
• 1.1 The tropics(p. 2)
• 1.2 Tropical and temperate environments(p. 3)
• 1.3 Tropical climates(p. 4)
• 1.4 Global climate change(p. 12)
• 1.5 Biogeographical regions(p. 18)
• Summary(p. 24)
• 2 Dry, hot deserts and environmental factors(p. 26)
• 2.1 Tropical deserts(p. 27)
• 2.2 The Sahara Desert and arid zones of northern Africa(p. 27)
• 2.3 The Namib Desert(p. 31)
• 2.4 Australian deserts(p. 35)
• 2.5 Environmental factors(p. 39)
• 2.6 Water"(p. 39)
• 2.7 Limiting factors and Liebig's law(p. 42)
• 2.8 Temperature(p. 45)
• 2.9 Salinity(p. 46)
• 2.10 Soils and nutrients(p. 47)
• 2.11 Environmental factors and plant and animal distributions(p. 51)
• 2.12 Desertification or land degradation?(p. 55)
• Summary(p. 56)
• 3 Grasslands and primary production(p. 59)
• 3.1 Grass structure and biology(p. 60)
• 3.2 Neotropical grasslands(p. 61)
• 3.3 Light as an energy source(p. 64)
• 3.4 Carbon dioxide uptake by plants(p. 65)
• 3.5 Photosynthesis(p. 66)
• 3.6 Photorespiration(p. 67)
• 3.7 Photosynthetic strategies(p. 67)
• 3.8 Respiration(p. 70)
• 3.9 Environmental factors and photosynthesis(p. 70)
• 3.10 Primary production(p. 73)
• 3.11 Assessment of grassland primary production(p. 74)
• 3.12 Effects of rainfall, grazing and fire on grass growth(p. 75)
• 3.13 Primary production rates in terrestrial biomes(p. 78)
• Summary(p. 79)
• 4 Savanna and population dynamics(p. 81)
• 4.1 Fire and savanna vegetation(p. 82)
• 4.2 Savannas of the world(p. 82)
• 4.3 The Serengeti(p. 87)
• 4.4 Savanna plants and heterogeneity(p. 89)
• 4.5 Animal population dynamics in the Serengeti(p. 91)
• 4.6 Herbivores and herbivory(p. 93)
• 4.7 Principles of population growth(p. 96)
• 4.8 Factors determining population density(p. 101)
• 4.9 Density-dependent mortality factors(p. 104)
• 4.10 Competition theory and the competitive exclusion principle(p. 109)
• 4.11 Predation(p. 111)
• 4.12 Density-independent mortality factors(p. 121)
• 4.13 Reproductive strategies and population growth(p. 121)
• 4.14 Population age structure and life tables(p. 125)
• 4.15 Key factor analysis(p. 132)
• 4.16 Conservation of African wildlife(p. 132)
• 4.17 Ecosystem dynamics and ecological models(p. 135)
• Summary(p. 139)
• 5 Lakes, energy flow and biogeochemical cycling(p. 142)
• 5.1 Thermal stratification(p. 143)
• 5.2 Pelagic zone production(p. 161)
• 5.3 Littoral zone producers and primary production(p. 166)
• 5.4 The catchment area concept(p. 168)
• 5.5 Aquatic consumers(p. 170)
• 5.6 The biota of tropical and temperate lakes: a comparison(p. 172)
• 5.7 Food chains and energy flow(p. 174)
• 5.8 Food chain energetics(p. 175)
• 5.9 Trophic levels(p. 176)
• 5.10 Limited length of food chains(p. 178)
• 5.11 Food chain efficiencies(p. 181)
• 5.12 Food web dynamics and trophic cascades(p. 182)
• 5.13 Biogeochemical cycles(p. 184)
• 5.14 Quantitative aspects of nutrient supply and cycling(p. 190)
• 5.15 Eutrophication(p. 193)
• 5.16 Aquatic resource management(p. 199)
• Summary(p. 201)
• 6 Rivers, floodplains and estuaries: the river continuum and flood-pulse concepts(p. 204)
• 6.1 Nile River(p. 205)
• 6.2 Purari River(p. 211)
• 6.3 Amazon River(p. 216)
• 6.4 Ecological concepts(p. 226)
• 6.5 Estuaries(p. 235)
• Summary(p. 239)
• 7.1 Sudd-communities of Lake Naivasha(p. 243)
• 7.2 Rooted emergent swamps of Lake Chilwa(p. 244)
• 7.3 Freshwater herbaceous wetlands: structure and function(p. 245)
• 7.4 Swamp forests(p. 249)
• 7.5 Wetland succession(p. 251)
• 7.6 Ecological succession(p. 253)
• 7.7 Community development and assembly(p. 254)
• 7.8 Wetland loss and conservation(p. 255)
• Summary(p. 257)
• 8 Tropical rain forests and biodiversity(p. 259)
• 8.1 How many species exist?(p. 260)
• 8.2 Biogeography of rainforests(p. 260)
• 8.3 Vegetation structure of tropical rain forests(p. 267)
• 8.4 Phenology and reproduction of tropical forest trees(p. 270)
• 8.5 Life-form concept of plants(p. 273)
• 8.6 Rain-forest animals(p. 273)
• 8.7 Convergent evolution(p. 276)
• 8.8 Plant-animal interactions(p. 277)
• 8.9 Co-evolution(p. 281)
• 8.10 Productivity and nutrient cycling in forests(p. 281)
• 8.11 Micro-climates and resource acquisition(p. 283)
• 8.12 Biological diversity(p. 285)
• 8.13 Why are rain forests so diverse?(p. 288)
• 8.14 Latitudinal gradients and species diversity(p. 289)
• 8.15 Gap theory(p. 293)
• 8.16 Processes maintaining local diversity(p. 296)
• 8.17 Tropical deciduous forests and ecotones(p. 300)
• 8.18 Low-diversity tropical rain forests(p. 300)
• 8.19 Deforestation(p. 301)
• 8.20 Rain-forest conservation and restoration(p. 304)
• 8.21 Biodiversity conservation(p. 309 Summary)
• 9 Mountains, zonation and community gradients(p. 315)
• 9.1 Environmental factors and altitude(p. 316)
• 9.2 Zonation on tropical mountains(p. 316)
• 9.3 Vegetation zonation on Mount Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea(p. 317)
• 9.4 Zonation in the Andes(p. 322)
• 9.5 Plant and animal ecophysiology: examples from Mount Kenya(p. 325)
• 9.6 Mountain zonation(p. 330)
• 9.7 Variation in plant and animal communities(p. 330)
• Summary(p. 332)
• 10 Mangroves, seagrasses and decomposition(p. 334)
• 10.1 Mangrove biogeography(p. 335)
• 10.2 Mangroves of New Guinea(p. 337)
• 10.3 Ecological adaptations of mangroves(p. 339)
• 10.4 Mangrove animals(p. 342)
• 10.5 Mangrove productivity(p. 345)
• 10.6 Seagrasses(p. 346)
• 10.7 Coastal vegetation and organic matter export(p. 347)
• 10.8 Decomposition(p. 349)
• 10.9 Decomposition rates and environmental factors(p. 352)
• 10.10 Detritus food chains(p. 353)
• 10.11 Decomposition in other tropical systems(p. 353)
• 10.12 Coastal zone management(p. 354)
• Summary(p. 355)
• 11 Coral reefs and community ecology(p. 358)
• 11.1 Coral reef communities(p. 359)
• 11.2 Coral biology(p. 361)
• 11.3 Coral reefs(p. 369)
• 11.4 Coral reef algae(p. 371)
• 11.5 Coral reef animals(p. 372)
• 11.6 Coral reef biogeography and biodiversity(p. 375)
• 11.7 Community ecology(p. 380)
• 11.8 Coral reef communities and phase shifts(p. 385)
• 11.9 Coral reef management and conservation(p. 386)
• Summary(p. 393)
• 12 Islands, archipelagos, biogeography and evolutionary ecology(p. 395)
• 12.1 Krakatau(p. 396)
• 12.2 Dispersal(p. 397)
• 12.3 Colonisation and community assembly(p. 401)
• 12.4 Island biogeography(p. 402)
• 12.5 Natural selection and evolution(p. 410)
• 12.6 The Galapagos Archipelago(p. 411)
• 12.7 Speciation(p. 414)
• 12.8 The Hawaiian Archipelago(p. 420)
• 12.9 Extinction(p. 421)
• 12.10 Exotic species on islands(p. 422)
• 12.11 Community ecology and evolution(p. 423)
• Summary(p. 425)
• 13 Cities and human ecology(p. 427)
• 13.1 Tropical cities(p. 428)
• 13.2 Evolution of human societies(p. 429)
• 13.3 World population growth(p. 431)
• 13.4 Food production(p. 435)
• 13.5 Industrialisation, natural resource use and pollution(p. 444)
• 13.6 Human population growth: consequences and solutions(p. 446)
• 13.7 Sustainable development(p. 449)
• 13.8 Conclusions(p. 450)
• Summary(p. 450)
• Glossary(p. 452)
• References(p. 471)
• Index(p. 501)

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CHOICE Review

Osborne (Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis) has revised his earlier work (CH, May'01, 38-5021) to provide information on recent advances in tropical ecology. To illustrate ecological principles, the author starts with a tropical ecosystem (Serengeti, Amazon, Namib Desert, etc.) and then illustrates a set of ecological principles (population growth, community assembly rules, the niche concept, etc.) using the organisms from the chosen ecosystem. For the most part, this works. At times, the pages rush by with glossary terms dangling. At other times, the story of the ecosystem flows nicely into sidebars and data-rich examples. It is hard to fault a textbook for sparse citations of the original literature because readability is a priority; however, many of the aforementioned "glossary terms" lack context, and the subtleties of their application are lost. Thankfully the glossary is well stocked with over 700 entries, despite the modest, idiosyncratic reference section. Where the author pauses to explain topics in detail, the writing is excellent and the charts/graphs are illustrative. The black-and-white photographs tend to be utilitarian rather than inspirational. Clearly, Osborne is a good teacher who has thought carefully about how to best explain tropical ecology using the entire world as his classroom. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates and general readers. G. C. Stevens formerly, University of New Mexico