Search results for ""author leeanne e. alonso""

This report contains the findings from a rapid biological assessment of the Grensgebergte and Kasikasima mountains of southeastern Suriname. Suriname is one of the last places on Earth where an opportunity still exists to conserve huge tracts of pristine, diverse tropical forests. This volume is part of a series of surveys in Suriname designed to support the protection of biodiversity and freshwater and other ecosystem services through collection of baseline biological and socioeconomic data. The researchers in southeastern Suriname investigated plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, insects, and water quality. Over one hundred new species were discovered, including fish, beetles, and katydids.

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Over the past half century, slash-and-burn rice farming on Madagascar has slowly expanded from the coastal lowlands into the dense tropical forests of the island's central plateau - many of which are officially protected reserves. This rapid assessment focuses on the Reserve Naturelle Integrale of d'Ankarafantsika, in the northern portion of the island. The area is filled with diverse endemic species but is increasingly threatened by local agricultural methods, and this assessment is critical to the process of evaluating risks and developing sound conservation policies for the future.

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This report contains the findings from a rapid biological assessment of the Kwamalasamutu region of southwestern Suriname. Focusing on the plant and animal species important to the indigenous Trio people, this survey establishes baseline information on the region's biodiversity and ecosystem health in order to better inform ecotourism and monitoring efforts. The RAP team found the Kwamalasamutu region to harbor rich biodiversity, with few signs of ecosystem degradation, and at least forty-six of the species identified in this volume are new to science. Further conservation and management recommendations are provided.

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This volume reports the findings of the 2002 Rapid Assessment Program survey in the dense lowland forests of Haute Dodo and Cavally. The survey revealed a large number of plant species that are found only in these forests, as are nearly half the forest's amphibians. The survey also documents twenty-six other endangered animal species in the region, making this area one of the most important for biodiversity conservation in West Africa.

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