Life in the Cape York Rainforest

Life in the Cape York Rainforest PDF

Author: Robert Heinsohn

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2008-11-03

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 0643102671

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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.

Life in the Cape York Rainforest

Life in the Cape York Rainforest PDF

Author: Robert Heinsohn

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 0643095012

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- 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.

Australian Rainforest Woods

Australian Rainforest Woods PDF

Author: Morris Lake

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2015-05-25

Total Pages: 525

ISBN-13: 1486301819

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Australian Rainforest Woods describes 141 of the most significant Australian rainforest trees and their wood. The introductory sections draw the reader into an understanding of the botanical, evolutionary, environmental, historical and international significance of this beautiful but finite Australian resource. The main section examines the species and their wood with photographs, botanical descriptions and a summary of the characteristics of the wood. A section on wood identification includes fundamental information on tree growth and wood structure, as well as images of the basic characteristics. With more than 900 colour images, this is the most comprehensive guide ever written on Australian rainforest woods, both for the amateur and the professional wood enthusiast. It is the first time that macrophotographs of the wood have been shown in association with a physical description of wood characteristics, which will aid identification. This technique was developed by Jean-Claude Cerre, France, and his macrophotographs are included in the book.

Where Song Began

Where Song Began PDF

Author: Tim Low

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2016-09-27

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 0300226802

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An authoritative and entertaining exploration of Australia’s distinctive birds and their unheralded role in global evolution Renowned for its gallery of unusual mammals, Australia is also a land of extraordinary birds. But unlike the mammals, the birds of Australia flew beyond the continent’s boundaries and around the globe many millions of years ago. This eye-opening book tells the dynamic but little-known story of how Australia provided the world with songbirds and parrots, among other bird groups, why Australian birds wield surprising ecological power, how Australia became a major evolutionary center, and why scientific biases have hindered recognition of these discoveries. From violent, swooping magpies to tool-making cockatoos, Australia’s birds are strikingly different from birds of other lands—often more intelligent and aggressive, often larger and longer-lived. Tim Low, a renowned biologist with a rare storytelling gift, here presents the amazing evolutionary history of Australia’s birds. The story of the birds, it turns out, is inseparable from the story of the continent itself and also the people who inhabit it.

Life in the Rainforest

Life in the Rainforest PDF

Author: John Erbacher

Publisher:

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 63

ISBN-13: 9780521432382

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Describes the delicately balanced life found in the Australian tropical rainforests and focuses on such issues as rainforest destruction, introduced species, and land use by indigenous people.

Bird Minds

Bird Minds PDF

Author: Gisela Kaplan

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2015-08-03

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 1486300197

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In her comprehensive and carefully crafted book, Gisela Kaplan demonstrates how intelligent and emotional Australian birds can be. She describes complex behaviours such as grieving, deception, problem solving and the use of tools. Many Australian birds cooperate and defend each other, and exceptional ones go fishing by throwing breadcrumbs in the water, extract poisonous parts from prey and use tools to crack open eggshells and mussels. The author brings together evidence of many such cognitive abilities, suggesting plausible reasons for their appearance in Australian birds. Bird Minds is the first attempt to shine a critical and scientific light on the cognitive behaviour of Australian land birds. In this fascinating volume, the author also presents recent changes in our understanding of the avian brain and links these to life histories and longevity. Following on from Gisela’s well-received books on the Australian Magpie and the Tawny Frogmouth, as well as two earlier titles on birds, Bird Minds contends that the unique and often difficult conditions of Australia's environment have been crucial for the evolution of unusual complexities in avian cognition and behaviour.

Queensland's Threatened Animals

Queensland's Threatened Animals PDF

Author: Lee K. Curtis

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 467

ISBN-13: 0643096140

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Queensland is home to 70% of Australia's native mammals (226 species), over 70% of native birds (630 species), just over half of the nation's native reptiles (485) and native frogs (127), and more than 11,000 native plant species. Hundreds of these have a threatened status. In order for Queensland to maintain and recover a healthy biodiversity, Australians must address the serious problems faced by their natural environment - habitat loss, inappropriate land management, change in fire regimes, pollution of natural resources, proliferation of invasive species and climate change. This comprehensive and practical guide to Queensland's threatened animals features up-to-date distribution data, photos and maps for most of Queensland's threatened animals. KEY FEATURES * Includes up-to-date distribution data, photos and maps * Includes a comprehensive list of resources, with key state, national and international organizations involved in the recovery of threatened species * Complemented by an open access website that will be updated on a regular basis