Biogeography and Ecology of the Rain Forests of Eastern Africa

About this book

Eastern African rain forests are remarkable in their high level of endemism. Miocene uplift of the central African plateau separated these montane and coastal forests from the main Guineo-Congolian forest of west and central Africa. Since then, stable Indian Ocean temperatures maintained a region of high rainfall throughout Pleistocene droughts that devastated forest elsewhere on the continent. Relics of the former Pan-African rain forest survived here, the study of which provides a unique insight into tropical evolutionary processes.

This book brings together research on the animals, plants and geography of this intriguing residual forest, and highlights the need for effective management practices to conserve its exceptional biodiversity in the face of increasing pressure for land for cultivation.

Paperback re-issue, originally published in 1993.

Contents

Part I. Introduction: 1. Overview of the biogeography and ecology of the rain forests of eastern Africa S. K. Wasser and J. C. Lovett; 2. The geological evolution of east Africa C. J. Griffiths; 3. Climatic history and forest distribution in eastern Africa J. C. Lovett; Part II. Forest Flora of Eastern Africa: 4. Eastern Arc moist forest flora J. C. Lovett; 5. East African coastal forest botany W. D. Hawthorne; Part III. Forest Fauna of Eastern Africa: 6. Biogeography of the east African montane forest millipedes R. L. Hoffman; 7. The lynyphiid fauna (araneae: lynyphiidae) of the forests in the Eastern Arc mountains N. Scharff; 8. The montane butterflies of eastern Africa R. De Jong and C. E. Congdon; 9. Herpetofauna of the eastern African forests K. M. Howell; 10. The zoogeography of the montane forest avifauna of Eastern Tanzania S. N. Stuart; 11. Mammals in the forests of eastern Africa J. Kingdon and K. M. Howell; 12. Ecology of the Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey, Colobus badius kirkii (Gray, 1968), in comparison with other red colobines F. A. Omari; 13. The socioecology of interspecific associations among the monkeys of the Mwanihana rain forest, Tanzania: a biogeographic perspective S. K. Wasser; Part IV. Conservation: 14. The conservation of the forest resources of eastern Africa: past influences, present practices and future needs W. A. Rodgers.

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