Large-scale experimentation allows scientists to test the specific responses of ecosystems to changing environmental conditions. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory together with other Federal and University scientists conducted a large-scale climatic change experiment at the Walker Branch Watershed in Tennessee, a model upland hardwood forest in North America. This volume synthesizes mechanisms of forest ecosystem response to changing hydrologic budgets associated with climatic change drivers. The authors explain the implications of changes at both the plant and stand levels, and they extrapolate the data to ecosystem-level responses, such as changes in nutrient cycling, biodiversity and carbon sequestration. In analyzing data, they also discuss similarities and differences with other temperate deciduous forests. Source data for the experiment has been archived by the authors in the U.S. Department of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information and Analysis Center (CDIAC) for future analysis and modeling by independent investigators.

In this richly illustrated guide, Bees of Costa Rica, leading bee experts showcase the diversity of bees in Costa Rica and the myriad ways in which they interact with flowers and people. Costa Rica is home to 117 bee genera and approximately 700 bee species. Focusing on the five bee families present in Costa Rica, the authors describe the bees' general physical traits, foraging and mating behavior, and nest characteristics. Chapters cover the relationships between bees and other insects, profiles of plants pollinated by bees, and practical suggestions for bee conservation. With identification keys and more than 150 color photographs, Bees of Costa Rica is essential for anyone looking to learn about and protect these important pollinators in Costa Rica and beyond.

Visitors to tropical forests generally come to see the birds, mammals, and plants. Aside from butterflies, however, insects usually do not make it on the list of things to see. This is a shame. Insects are everywhere, they are often as beautiful as the showiest of birds, and they have a fascinating natural history. With their beautifully illustrated guide to insects and other arthropods, Paul E. Hanson and Kenji Nishida put the focus on readily observable insects that one encounters while strolling through a tropical forest in the Americas. It is a general belief that insects in the tropics are larger and more colorful than insects in temperate regions, but this simply reflects a greater diversity of nearly all types of insects in the tropics. On a single rainforest tree, for example, you will find more species of ant than in all of England.Though written for those who have no prior knowledge of insects, this book should also prove useful to those who study them. In addition to descriptions of the principal insect families, the reader will find a wealth of biological information that serves as an introduction to the natural history of insects and related classes. Sidebars on insect behavior and ecological factors enhance the descriptive accounts. Kenji Nishida's stunning photographs-many of which show insects in action in their natural settings-add appeal to every page. A final chapter provides a glimpse into the intriguing world of spiders, scorpions, crabs, and other arthropods.