Anuran Communities On The Cutting Edge Analysing Patterns And Processes In Anthropogenically Altered Tropical Forests

The Atlantic Forest is one of the 36 hotspots for biodiversity conservation worldwide. It is a unique, large biome (more than 3000 km in latitude; 2500 in longitude), marked by high biodiversity, high degree of endemic species and, at the same time, extremely threatened. Approximately 70% of the Brazilian population lives in the area of this biome, which makes the conflict between biodiversity conservation and the sustainability of the human population a relevant issue. This book aims to cover: 1) the historical characterization and geographic variation of the biome; 2) the distribution of the diversity of some relevant taxa; 3) the main threats to biodiversity, and 4) possible opportunities to ensure the biodiversity conservation, and the economic and social sustainability. Also, it is hoped that this book can be useful for those involved in the development of public policies aimed at the conservation of this important global biome.

Until relatively recently the valuable tropical montane cloud forests (hereaf ter usually referred to as TMCFs) of the world had scarcely come under the assaults experienced by the downslope montane and lowland forests. TMCFs are not hospitable environments for human occupation, and their remoteness (except in places near Andean high mountain settlements and in the Ethiopian Highlands) and difficult terrain have given them de facto protection. The ad jacent upper montane rain forests have indeed been under assault for timber, fuelwood, and for conversion to grazing and agriculture for many decades, even centuries in the Andes, but true cloud forest has only come under ex ploitation as these lower elevational resources have disappeared. They have also been "nibbled" at from above where there have been alpine grasslands under grazing pressure. Increasingly now, however, these cloud forest eco systems are being fragmented, reduced, and disturbed at an alarming rate. It is now becoming recognized that steps must be taken rapidly to increase our understanding of TMCF and to achieve their conservation, because: their water-capture function is extremely important to society; • their species endemism is high; they serve as refugia for endangered species being marginalized in these environments by increasingly transformed lower elevation ecosystems; they are relatively little studied; yet, their value to science is extremely high; they have low resilience to disturbance; vii viii Preface and many other reasons, which will be discussed subsequently in this publi cation.

This book discusses advanced statistical methods that can be used to analyse ecological data. Most environmental collected data are measured repeatedly over time, or space and this requires the use of GLMM or GAMM methods. The book starts by revising regression, additive modelling, GAM and GLM, and then discusses dealing with spatial or temporal dependencies and nested data.

Operational overview. Villages and communities. Field sample selection. Village-based activities. First community meeting. Community landscape mapping. Selecting local informants. Community-based data collections. Field-based activities. Site, vegetation and trees. Plants and site - ethnoecological data. Soil assessment. Data control and management. Plant taxonomy and verification. Database. Conclusiones.

Ecological Informatics is defined as the design and application of computational techniques for ecological analysis, synthesis, forecasting and management. The book provides an introduction to the scope, concepts and techniques of this newly emerging discipline. It illustrates numerous applications of Ecological Informatics for stream systems, river systems, freshwater lakes and marine systems as well as image recognition at micro and macro scale. Case studies focus on applications of artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic and adaptive agents to current ecological management issues such as toxic algal blooms, eutrophication, habitat degradation, conservation of biodiversity and sustainable fishery.

This book presents a technical review of ecological and life history information on a range of Bornean wildlife species, aimed at identifying what makes these species sensitive to timber harvesting practices and associated impacts. It addresses three audiences: 1) those involved in assessing and regulating timber harvesting activities in Southeast Asia, 2) those involved in trying to achieve conservation goals in the region, and 3) those undertaking research to improve multipurpose forest management. This book shows that forest management can be improved in many simple ways to allow timber extraction and wildlife conservation to be more compatible than under current practices. The recommendations can also be valuable to the many governmental and non-governmental organisations promoting sustainable forest management and eco-labelling. Finally, it identifies a number of shortcomings and gaps in knowledge, which the hope can interest the scientific community and promote further research. This review is, an important scientific step toward understanding and improving sustainable forestry practices for long-term biodiversity conservation. Even in the short term, however, significant improvements can be made to improve both conservation and the efficiency of forest management, and there is no need to delay action due to a perceived lack of information. In the longer term it is expected that the recommendations from this review will be implemented, and that further research will continue to help foster an acceptable balance among the choices needed to maintain healthy wildlife populations and biodiversity in a productive forest estate.

This new edition of Whitmore's classic introduction to tropical rain forests has been comprehensively revised and updated, reflecting the changes which have taken place since it was first published in 1990. The sections on human impact have been extended, including a new global assessment of deforestation, and details of new research on biodiversity and conservation. The book remains unique in linking rain forest biology and ecology with silviculture, and with concerns over sustainable resource utilization and the future of the tropical rain forests. Accessibly written and illustrated throughout, it is a must for biology and geography students, and anyone who seeks to know more about the nature and importance of the world's tropical rain forests.