Costa Rica's Rainforests
eBook - ePub

Costa Rica's Rainforests

The Natural History of the Plants and Animals of La Selva

  1. 484 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Costa Rica's Rainforests

The Natural History of the Plants and Animals of La Selva

About this book

The most comprehensive and richly illustrated guide to Costa Rica’s rainforests and their plants, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and fishes

The lowland rainforest of Costa Rica is one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet. This lavishly illustrated book provides a fascinating, up-to-date, and accessible introduction to the natural history of this forest and its flowering plants, ferns, fungi, birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, fishes, and insects. The book focuses on La Selva Research Station, one of the best-studied tropical forests in the world, but it applies to all of Costa Rica’s lowland rainforests, and the species it covers are common throughout much of Central America and the Neotropics.

More than an identification guide, the book tells the stories of the many plants and animals of the rainforest, explains how they interact with each other, and describes how and where to find and observe them in the forest. A comprehensive account of how plants and animals sustain the rainforest ecosystem, Costa Rica’s Rainforests is the perfect companion for anyone visiting these spectacular natural wonders.

  • Features more than 800 stunning color photographs
  • Covers flowering plants, ferns, fungi, birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, fishes, and insects
  • Essential for anyone visiting the Costa Rican rainforest
  • Accessible to ecotourists, students, and scientists alike

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Preface: Why Did I Write This Book? What Is Its Purpose? Why Should You Read It?
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Chapter 1. An Introduction to Rainforests and the La Selva Research Station
  9. Chapter 2. Biodiversity and Conservation in the Neotropics
  10. Chapter 3. Change—The Only Constant in Ecology
  11. Chapter 4. Naming and Classifying Living Organisms
  12. Chapter 5. An Introduction to Plants: Their Place in the Forest and How They Grow
  13. Chapter 6. How to Examine a Plant
  14. Chapter 7. Common Plant Families: Magnoliids
  15. Chapter 8. Common Plant Families: Monocots I
  16. Chapter 9. Common Plant Families: Monocots II—Palms
  17. Chapter 10. Common Plant Families: Monocots III—Giant Herbs of the Ginger Order
  18. Chapter 11. Common Plant Families: Eudicots—The True Dicots
  19. Chapter 12. Ferns and Lycophytes
  20. Chapter 13. Fungi by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian (New York State Museum)
  21. Chapter 14. How to Find Animals in the Tropical Forest
  22. Chapter 15. Birds
  23. Chapter 16. Amphibians
  24. Chapter 17. Reptiles
  25. Chapter 18. Mammals
  26. Chapter 19. Fishes by Ronald M. Coleman (California State University, Sacramento)
  27. Chapter 20. Insects and Other Arthropods by Christian A. Perez-Martinez (University of Missouri, Columbia)
  28. Appendix 1. Must-Know Plants: 50 Common Tropical Plant Families and Their Distinguishing Features
  29. Appendix 2. Key to the Palms (arecaceae) of the La Selva Research Station
  30. References
  31. Index

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Information

Year
2026
Print ISBN
9780691251998
Subtopic
Ecology
eBook ISBN
9780691295305

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Yes, you can access Costa Rica's Rainforests by Scott Wesley Shumway in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Ecology. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.