Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field BiologyForest canopies have been characterized as one of the last biotic frontiers on Earth: tree crowns have been difficult to study scientifically because access to them has been so challenging. During the past two decades, however, methods for canopy access have greatly improved. In this book a pioneer canopy scientist describes the mysteries of the treetops--their inhabitants, flowers and fruits, growth and mortality, patterns of diversity, and plant and animal interactions. Margaret Lowman writes about different canopy access techniques in conjunction with the scientific hypotheses she was addressing while using each one. She also portrays the life of a field biologist from a woman's perspective: what it was like to juggle a demanding career with marriage, housewifery, motherhood, and single parenthood. The chapters are organized chronologically, starting with Lowman's early days with ropes in Australia and progressing to the use of a cherry picker to access the canopies of eucalypt trees while she was pregnant, research by hot-air balloon in Africa, and building treetop walkways in the temperate forests of Massachusetts and in the tropical rain forests of Belize. The book also includes a lovely array of line drawings and halftones. |
Contents
Foreword | ix |
Timeline | xii |
Preface | xv |
Introduction | 1 |
The RainForest Canopies of Australia | 8 |
Life in the Outback | 36 |
Canopies near the Ground | 62 |
Research and Motherhood | 80 |
On the Rooftop of the World | 129 |
Construction Cranes in the Canopy | 156 |
Our Treehouse in Belize | 172 |
Canopy Research from the Bottom Up | 193 |
Out on a Limb | 203 |
Appendix | 209 |
Glossary | 211 |
| 215 | |
Other editions - View all
Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology Margaret Lowman No preview available - 1999 |
Common terms and phrases
Africa American Antarctic beech ants Australian rain-forest baby Barbara Harrison Barro Colorado Island beetle Belize biologist birds Blue Creek Bob Ballard boys branches bush Cameroon camp canopy access canopy crane canopy research career caterpillars cauliflory cays challenge climbing complex coral defoliation Despite dieback diversity Earthwatch ecological ecosystems Eddie and James epiphytes eucalypt field biology fieldwork flowers foliage forest canopies forest floor germination giant stinging tree growth hammock herbivores Illustration by Barbara insect Jason Project jungle koalas larvae leaf leaves live measured moth Myrtaceae never night observations outback Panama Panama City parent patches percent perhaps plants Queensland rain-forest canopy reef remote Robin ropes rural Australia sampling scientific scientists sea snakes seedlings seeds sheep shrubs stinging trees Swain Reefs Sydney tree canopies tree crowns tree species treetops tropical forests tropical rain forest understory vines women wonderful wool
References to this book
The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in Science Elga Wasserman No preview available - 2000 |
The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in Science Elga Wasserman No preview available - 2000 |