Flora by Ecozone - Neotropic Flora, Flora and Fauna in Bermuda, Abarema, AA, Abuta, Abolboda, Drimys, Abatia, Gustavia, Couroupita Nicaraguensis (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Neotropic Flora, Flora and Fauna in Bermuda, Abarema, Aa, Abuta, Abolboda, Drimys, Abatia, Gustavia, Couroupita Nicaraguensis, Aiphanes Hirsuta, Couratari Guianensis, Acanthella, Cavanillesia Platanifolia, Cariniana Pyriformis, Machaerium Cirrhiferum, Cojoba Rufescens, Anomospermum. Excerpt: The flora and fauna of Bermuda forms part of a unique ecosystem thanks to Bermuda's isolation from the mainland of North America. There are a wide range of endemic species and the islands form a distinct ecoregion. Bermuda's wildlife is limited to those species which were able to fly to the island or were carried by winds and currents. This has resulted in some groups such as mammals being poorly represented. Once on the island, organisms had to adapt to local conditions such as the climate, lack of fresh water, frequent storms and salt spray. The islands shrank as water levels rose at the end of the Pleistocene epoch and fewer species were able to survive in the reduced land-area. Today the variety of species on Bermuda has been greatly increased by introductions, both deliberate and accidental. Many of these introduced species now pose a threat to the native flora and fauna. Bermuda PalmettoOver 1000 species of vascular plant are found on the islands, the majority of which are introduced. Of the 165 native species, 15 are endemic. At the time of the first human settlement, Bermuda was dominated by forests of Bermuda Cedar. By the 1830s, the shipbuilding industry had denuded the landscape, but the forest was able to recover. In the 1940s the cedar forests were devastated by introduced scale insects which killed roughly 8 million trees. Replanting using resistant trees has taken place since then but the area covered by cedar is still only 10% of what it... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=2147062