Kappelle M., Lovejoy T.E. Costa Rican Ecosystems

Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2016. — 744 p. — ISBN: 022612150X, 022627893X.In the more than thirty years since the publication of Daniel H. Janzen’s classic Costa Rican Natural History, research in this small but astonishingly biodiverse, well-preserved, and well-studied Latin American nation has evolved from a species-level approach to the study of entire ecosystems. And from the lowland dry forests of Guanacaste to the montane cloud forests of Monteverde, from the seasonal forests of the Central Valley to the coastal species assemblages of Tortuguero, Costa Rica has proven to be as richly diverse in ecosystems as it is in species.
In Costa Rican Ecosystems, Maarten Kappelle brings together a collection of the world’s foremost experts on Costa Rican ecology — outstanding scientists such as Daniel H. Janzen, Jorge Cortés, Jorge A. Jiménez, Sally P. Horn, Robert O. Lawton, Quírico Jiménez M., Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Catherine M. Pringle, and Eduardo Carrillo J., among others—to offer the first comprehensive account of the diversity, structure, function, uses, and conservation of Costa Rica’s ecosystems. Featuring a foreword and introductory remarks by two renowned leaders in biodiversity science and ecological conservation, Thomas E. Lovejoy and Rodrigo Gámez Lobo, in addition to chapters highlighting the geology, soils, and climate of Costa Rica, as well as the ecosystems of its terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats, and including previously unpublished information on Isla del Coco, this beautiful color-illustrated book will be an essential reference for academic scientists, students, natural history guides, conservationists, educators, park guards, and visitors alike.Costa Rica’s Ecosystems: Setting the Stage
The Physical Environment
Climate of Costa Rica
Geology and Tectonic Geomorphology of Costa Rica: A Natural History Approach
Soils of Costa Rica: An Agroecological Approach
The Pacific Ocean and Isla del Coco
The Pacific Coastal-Marine Ecosystem
The Gulf of Nicoya Estuarine Ecosystem
Isla del Coco: Coastal and Marine Ecosystems
Isla del Coco: Terrestrial Ecosystems
The Northern Pacific Dry Lowlands
The Northern Pacific Lowland Seasonal Dry Forests of Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula
Biodiversity Conservation History and Future in Costa Rica: The Case of Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG)
The Central and Southern Pacific Seasonally Moist Lowlands and Central Valley
The Central Pacific Seasonal Forests of Puntarenas and the Central Valley
The Southern Pacific Lowland Evergreen Moist Forest of the Osa Region
The Moist and Clouded Highlands
The Montane Cloud Forests of the Volcanic Cordilleras
The Montane Cloud Forests of the Cordillera de Talamanca
The Páramo Ecosystem of Costa Rica’s Highlands
The Wet Caribbean Lowlands
The Caribbean Lowland Evergreen Moist and Wet Forests
The Caribbean Sea and Shore
The Caribbean Coastal and Marine Ecosystems
The Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands
Rivers of Costa Rica
Lakes of Costa Rica
Bogs, Marshes and Swamps of Costa RicaCosta Rican Ecosystems: A Brief Summary
Subject Index