A Naturalist's Guide To The Tropics - Marco Lambertini

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Résumé :
Every year hundreds of thousands of travelers head for the Tropics to thrill to the raucous call of a howler monkey booming across the emerald cathedral of a rainforest, or to marvel at a brightly colored clown fish gliding fearlessly among the stinging tentacles of a sea anemone on a coral reef. Ranging from South and Central America to Africa, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the Caribbean, A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics provides engaging overviews of the geology, climate, soils, plants, animals, and major ecosystems of the Tropics. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout with color plates, photographs, and drawings.

Whether you're a first-time visitor or a veteran of many trips, this convenient guidebook can help you plan your vacation and serve as a knowledgeable companion to answer the many questions that may arise during the course of your journey. Why are tropical birds and fishes so colorful ? What is an atoll, and how do they form ? Why are tropical soils red and sterile, while rainforests are lush and green ? Why does Madagascar have lemurs but not monkeys ? Special features of the book include chapters on the conservation status of the Tropics and how to prepare with caution without obsession for tropical dangers such as infectious diseases and charging rhinoceroses.

The first comprehensive introduction to the natural history of the Tropics worldwide, A Naturalists Guide to the Tropics has been completely revised and updated by the author and the translator to reflect the most current information available.

Biographie:
Marco Lambertini is Director of Network and Programme for BirdLife International, UK, and is also a freelance scientific journalist for several national magazines and newspapers in Italy who has traveled to thirty-five tropical countries. He is author of several books in Italian, including Safari in Africa, and is coeditor of Where to Watch Birds in Italy. John Venerella is an active member of the American Translator's Association and is accredited for translation from Italian into English.

Sommaire:

• Tropical geography and biogeography
• The climate
• The soils
• The flora
• The fauna
• Mangroves
• Forests
• Coral reefs
• Savannas
• Deserts
• The tropics in peril
• Tropical dangers and precautions