Sarapiqui Chronicle: A Naturalist in Costa Rica.

Abstract

ITIS OFfEN DIFFICULT for the casual observer to understand why biologists are so enthusiastic about studying the tropical flora and fauna. On any brief excursion into a tropical forest, at first glance the vegetation seems very similar to a temperate forest, except perhaps for the presence of palm trees. After several hours of trying to get a glimpse of tropical animals, the visitor will probably go away disappointed, especially in the New World tropics where the large ungulates are hard to find or absent and much of the animal biomass is in the form of birds and insects. So, what is it that excites so many biologists about working in the New World tropics? The clearest answer is that the more one knows about the complex interactions among the plants and animals, the more fascinating it becomes, and no habitat appears as complex as a tropical forest. I know of no recent book that documents both the biological complexities and the attendent excitement of discovery in the tropics as Sarapiqui Chronicle: A Naturalist in Costa Rica by Allen M. Young. Written in the narrative style of the nineteenth-century naturalists against a backdrop of late twentieth-century research, Young delves into such mysteries as chemical marking by orchid bees and the territorial clustering of zebra butterflies. The book is written in chronological order of experiences in Costa Rica. However, because a sequential series of research projects was also taking place, the reader is led through a developing range of chapters, each with a different theme. These themes include; the iridescent blue morpho butterflies, resting clusters of heliconiine butterflies, the cicadas and their subterranean life histories, host-plant selection of Parides butterflies, and the interactions of orchid bees with plants, including orchid pollination. All of this biological activity is overlain on a background of the Sarapiqui River Valley and the people who live there. These and other themes give the reader a wealth of detail to appreciate better the observations made in tropical forests. Rather than being a brief glimpse of another forest dweller, these moments conjure up whole concepts and complex interactions. This reader could find only one instance of what appears to be factual error. The chinchona tree, from whose bark quinine was extracted, actually is native to Peru rather than China, as stated in the book. For anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time working in tropical forests, many comments and impressions in this book conjure up memories of other places and other experiences, so universal are the sights, sounds, and smells described. Thus, for anyone wanting to go to the tropics for the first time, this is an insightful look at what lies ahead. At the first glimpse of an orchid bee or a shiny blue morpho butterfly, an association of facts should take place that heightens the experience. For the seasoned tropical biologist, this is a delightful book full of memories. Many of the same, or similar, plants and animals are found from Bolivia to Chiapas, and seeing a cluster of heliconiine butterflies at the mouth of the Amazon brings out the same images as those seen by Allen M. Young in Costa Rica. This is not a drab book filled with facts and figures, but rather a celebration of an inquisitive mind marveling at the challenges and discoveries of observation in our natural world at one of its most complex points-the mountains of Costa Rica.