Dynamics of Tropical Communities: 37th Symposium of the British Ecological Society(Symposia of the British Ecological Society)

Tropical communities are recognised as among the most species-rich and dynamic in the world. Yet far from existing as dynamic equilibria, large unpredictable disruptive events are seen as dominating the longer-term dynamics set against the background of global change. This 1998 volume challenges the dynamic equilibrium idea yet further, arguing for thinking on a timescale of decades to centuries, finding different ways to handle unpredictability and uniqueness, and evaluating species diversity and community change at different scales. The difficult search for robust generalizations and rules in tropical communities, which might allow better prescription through understanding rather than description is partly answered in this forward-looking book by the realization that an alternative framework and perspective is required for the tropics. This volume will continue to appeal to both researchers and advanced students of ecology.

Table of Contents:
1. Seeds and fruits of tropical rainforest plants: interpretation of the range in seed size, degree of defence and flesh/seed quotients P. J. Grubb; 2. Patterns in post-dispersal seed removal by neotropical rodents and seed fate in relation to seed size P.-M. Forget, T. Milleron and F. Feer; 3. Disturbance, phenology and life-history characteristics: factors influencing distance/density-dependent attack on tropical seeds and seedlings D. S. Hammond and V. K. Brown; 4. Gap-size niche differentiation by tropical rainforest trees: a testable hypothesis or a broken-down bandwagon? N. D. Brown and S. Jennings; 5. Differential effects of small-scale fishing on predatory and prey fishes on Figian reefs N. V. C. Polunin and S. Jennings; 6. Architecture and development of rainforest trees: responses to light variation F. Bongers and F. J. Sterck; 7. Limits to tree species distributions in lowland tropical rainforest E. M. Veenendaal and M. D. Swaine; 8. Community structure and the demography of primary species in tropical rainforest R. J. Zagt and M. J. A. Werger; 9. Risk-spreading and risk-reducing tactics of West African anurans in an unpredictably changing and stressful environment K. E. Linsenmair; 10. Limits to exploitation of Serengeti wildebeest and implications for its management S. Mduma, R. Hilborn and A. R. E. Sinclair; 11. Phenology and dynamics of an African rainforest at Korup, Cameroon D. M. Newbery, N. C. Songwe and G. B. Chuyong; 12. Primates, phenology and frugivory: present, past and future patterns in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon C. E. G. Tutin and L. J. T. White; 13. Effects of habitat fragmentation on plant-pollinator interactions in the tropics S. S. Renner; 14. A spatial model of Savannah function and dynamics: model description and preliminary results J. Gignoux, J.-C. Menaut, I. R. Noble and I. D. Davies; 15. Evolution and diversity in Amazonian floodplain communities P. A. Henderson, W. D. Hamilton and W. G. R. Crampton; 16. Community dynamics of arboreal insectivorous birds in African Savannahs in relation to seasonal rainfall patterns and habitat change P. Jones; 17. Species-richness of African grazer assemblages: towards a functional explanation H. H. T. Prins and H. Olff; 18. Niche specialty among tropical trees: a question of scales P. S. Ashton; 19. Disturbance and succession on the Krakatau Islands, Indonesia S. F. Schmitt and R. J. Whittaker; 20. Major disturbance in tropical rainforests T. C. Whitmore and D. F. R. P. Burslem; 21. The impact of traditional and modern cultivation practices, including forestry, on Lepidoptera diversity in Malaysia and Indonesia J. D. Holloway; 22. Tropical forests-spatial pattern and change with time, as assessed by remote sensing E. V. J. Tanner, V. Kapos and J. Adams.

About the Author :
David Newbery is Director of the Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Bern Professor Dr Prins is at Wageningen University Dr Brown is at the Oxford Forestry Institute