Life in the Cape York Rainforest


Book Description

- Stunning color photographs - Unrivalled and authoritative coverage of an area of great biological interest The remote, beautiful and poorly known rainforests of Cape York Peninsula tell a special story about Australia's historic and present-day connections to New Guinea. This book highlights the connections by examining the fascinating biology of some of the most spectacular birds and other animals shared between the two regions. The author recounts his own ground-breaking research on cross-dressing eclectus parrots, musical palm cockatoos and multi-colored pythons, together with the exotic lifestyles of other animals, while painting the bigger picture of the past when Australia and New Guinea were joined by extensive landbridges. Australia's disconnection from New Guinea is probably only temporary, and even today many bird species continue to fly the short distance between the two landmasses. The book uses the beautiful photographs of Michael Cermak and others to draw the reader in, and lively informative text to describe the remarkable behavior of many of the rainforest creatures, and to emphasize the shallow and transient nature of Torres Strait as a barrier between Cape York and New Guinea. Whether just browsing the beautiful photos and informative captions, or reading it in its entirety, this book will provide a useful guide for a greater understanding of the unique attributes of the Cape York rainforests.




Life in the Cape York Rainforest


Book Description

The remote, beautiful and poorly known rainforests of Cape York Peninsula tell a special story about Australia’s historic and present-day connections to New Guinea. Life in the Cape York Rainforest highlights these connections by examining the fascinating biology of some of the most spectacular animals shared between the two regions. The author recounts his own ground-breaking research on ‘cross-dressing’ Eclectus parrots, musical palm cockatoos and multi-coloured pythons, together with the exotic lifestyles of other animals, while painting the bigger picture of the past when Australia and New Guinea were joined by extensive land bridges. Australia’s disconnection from New Guinea is probably only temporary, and even today many bird species continue to fly the short distance between the two landmasses. Whether just browsing the beautiful photos and informative captions, or reading it in its entirety, readers will gain a greater understanding of the unique attributes of our Cape York rainforests.













Land and Language in Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf Country


Book Description

This volume offers a state-of-the-art survey of linguistic, anthropological, archaeological and historical work focused on Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf Country, in Australia’s northeast. The volume also honours Bruce Rigsby, emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of Queensland, whose work has inspired all of the contributors. The papers in the volume are organized in terms of five key themes, including the use of historical and archaeological methods to reconstruct aspects of language and social organization, anthropological and linguistic work uncovering aspects of world view embedded in languages and ethnographic data sets, the study of post-contact transformations in language and society, and the return of archival data to communities. Its thematic intersections draw together the varied disciplinary threads in an overview of the cultures and languages of the region, and will appeal to all those interested in Australian Aboriginal studies, linguistics, anthropology and associated disciplines.




The Flowering of Australia's Rainforests


Book Description

The Flowering of Australia’s Rainforests provides a comprehensive introduction to the pollination ecology, evolution and conservation of Australian rainforest plants, with particular emphasis on subtropical rainforests and their associated pollinators. This significantly expanded second edition includes new information on the impact of climate change, fire, fragmentation and invasive species. Rainforests continue to be a focus of global conservation concern, not only from threats to biodiversity in general, but to pollinators specifically. Within Australia, this has been emphasised by recent cataclysmic fire impacts, ongoing extreme drought events, and the wider consideration of climate change. This second edition strengthens coverage of these issues beyond that of the first edition. The Flowering of Australia’s Rainforests makes timely contributions to our understanding of the nature and function of the world’s pollinator fauna, plant-reproduction dependencies, and the evolutionary pathway that has brought them to their current state and function. Illustrated with 150 colour plates of major species and rainforest formations, this reference work will be of value to ecologists and field naturalists, botanists, conservation biologists, ecosystem managers and community groups involved in habitat restoration.




Strahan's Mammals of Australia


Book Description

Fully updated and with completely reworked text and images, this is the Fourth Edition of the acclaimed The Mammals of Australia. Strahan's Mammals of Australia is the best book available on the subject, being the most definitive, comprehensive and up-to-date. It provides a written account of every species of native mammal known to have existed in Australia since European settlement, with 403 species covered in total. It is beautifully illustrated with more than 1,500 colour photographs, while each species account includes a detailed description of the animal and its behaviour. Species covered range from marsupials, monotremes and rodents through to bats, seals and whales. The new edition sees the addition of 14 newly described species and includes all the latest taxonomic treatments and many changes to names (common and scientific) and other features that have been accepted in the 14 years that have passed since the publication of the Third Edition.




Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Australian Birds


Book Description

This is the first climate change adaptation plan produced for a national faunal group anywhere in the world. It outlines the nature of threats related to climate change for the Australian bird taxa most likely to be affected by climate change, and provides recommendations on what might be done to assist them and approximate costs of doing so. It also features an analysis of how climate change will affect all Australian birds, explains why some species are likely to be more exposed or sensitive to it than others, and explores the theory and practice of conservation management under the realities of a changing climate. Species profiles include maps showing current core habitat and modelled climatic suitability based on historical records, as well as maps showing projected climatic suitability in 2085 in relation to current core habitat. Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Australian Birds is an important reference for policy makers, conservation scientists, land managers, climate change adaptation biologists, as well as bird watchers and advocacy groups.




Pigeons and Doves in Australia


Book Description

Possibly the most successful urban birds, pigeons and doves in the Order Columbiformes are one of the most easily recognised groups. They are an ancient and very successful group with an almost worldwide distribution and are most strongly represented in tropical and subtropical regions, including Australia. In most species simple plumage patterns feature mainly grey and brown with black, white or dull reddish markings, but the highly colourful fruit-doves include some of the most beautiful of all birds. From dense rainforests of north Queensland, where brilliantly plumaged Superb Fruit-Doves Ptilinopus superbus are heard more easily than seen, to cold, windswept heathlands of Tasmania, where Brush Bronzewings Phaps elegans are locally common, most regions of Australia are frequented by one or more species. For more than a century after arrival of the First Fleet, interest in these birds focused on the eating qualities of larger species. In addition to contributing to declines of local populations in some parts of Australia, excessive hunting brought about the extinction of two species on Lord Howe Island and another species on Norfolk Island. In Pigeons and Doves in Australia, Joseph Forshaw and William Cooper have summarised our current knowledge of all species, including those occurring on Christmas, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands, and with superb artwork have given readers a visual appreciation of the birds in their natural habitats. Historical accounts of extinct species are also included. Detailed information on management practices for all species is presented, ensuring that Pigeons and Doves in Australia will become the standard reference work on these birds for ornithologists and aviculturists.