Forest & Desert Ecology, Ecosystems
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Overview
Loaded with aerial plants and the millions of creatures dependent upon them, tropical tree crowns are the last and greatest ecological frontier. Hundreds of species - earthworms, frogs, flowers, shrubs - never descend to earth during their lifetimes. Eight out of ten remain unnamed and unclassified by science. In The High Frontier, Mark W. Moffett does for the tropical rainforest canopy what Jacques Cousteau did thirty years ago for undersea life. Donning rock climbing gear to join researchers working 150 feet and more above the ground, Moffett photographed strangler trees in Borneo, giant squirrels in India, and canopy bears in Colombia. He entered the terrifying world of arboreal spiders and ants, photographing them under extreme magnification. His coverage of this new science is unparalleled in any other field. Described as a "world-roving zoologist" by National Geographic magazine for his work on five continents, Moffett has documented virtually every major active canopy research site. The immediacy of his writing and the intelligence of his photography make the canopy's fantastic architecture and unearthly inhabitants accessible to the general reader. In the tradition of the great nineteenth-century explorers, he captures the struggles of the individual scientists and the passions that enable them to brave perilous situations in pursuit of their work. The High Frontier is a modern classic of scientific discovery.Moffett presents unparalleled coverage of the aerial plants and the millions of creatures--many of which have never been classified by science--whose survival depends upon them, in a fascinating look at the Earth's last and greatest ecological frontier: tree crowns in the rainforest canopies. 133 color photos.
Editorials
Library Journal
A tree-climber when young, Moffett has combined his early agility with his doctoral rain forest research to write a fascinating account of the fauna of the rain forest canopy. It has been only in the last 20 years that biologists have been able, through a variety of techniques, to get up into the canopy, often 100 to 200 feet above the forest floor, and study the teeming animal life there. Moffett visited most of the researchers now active in this very special field. He mixes the science in an interesting way, offering glimpses into the life and research methods of these biological specialists. Illustrated with many spectacular photographs taken by the author and written in a very readable style, this book will be of interest to both the biologist and general reader.-- Eleanor Maass, Maass Assocs., New Milford, Pa.Booknews
Combining his skills as zoologist, writer, and photographer, Moffett recounts his high- and far-flung experiences studying life at the roof of the rainforest. He conveys his passion for science, exploration, and his subject while surveying advances in the field for the general reader. Beautiful photos accompany lucid narrative, the whole elegantly produced. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)Book Details
Published
March 1, 1994
Publisher
Harvard University Press
Pages
192
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780765446138