Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology (Yale Nota Bene S) - Softcover

Lowman, Margaret D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300084641 ISBN 13: 9780300084641

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2000

Synopsis

Forest 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.

About this title

About the Author:

Margaret D. Lowman is director of research and conservation at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, where she also holds the Jessie B. Cox Chair in Tropical Botany. Robert Ballard is discoverer of the Titanic and director of The Jason Project.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0300084641
• ISBN 13: 9780300084641
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240