The most abundant carcasses were those of coatis,
agoutis, peccaries, howler monkeys, opossums,
armadillos, and porcupines; there were only
occasional dead two- toed sloths, three- toed sloths,
white- faced monkeys and pacas. At times it was
difficult to avoid the stench: neither the turkey
vultures nor the black vultures seemed able to keep
up with the abundance of carcasses.The Impact of Hurricanes
A large portion of the Neotropics north of the equator
occurs within what is termed the hurricane belt.
Storms, sometimes massive, form during the summer
months in the Atlantic off the coast of western Africa
and typically intensify as they slowly drift westward,
toward the Neotropics. Hurricanes are generated by the
heat rising from the ocean and thus may (and usually
do) intensify as they move over the warm tropical seas.
In the Northern Hemisphere these immense systems
spin in a counter- clockwise rotation, easily seen in
satellite photos. In the Southern Hemisphere they spin
in a clockwise direction. Hurricane season begins in
June and lasts until mid- November, but most major
hurricanes tend to occur from August through October.
Beginning as a tropical depression and intensifying toa tropical storm and then to a hurricane, these storms
exert significant impacts on the ecology of the region.
The word hurricane is derived from a Spanish word
that is, in itself, taken from a Mayan word. Thus the
word references a cyclonic storm in the New World.
However, the actual storm is, for all intents and
purposes, the same kind of storm that in much of the
tropical Pacific region is called a typhoon.
Hurricanes are evaluated on the Saffir- Simpson scale,
on which they are given a ranking between one and
five in order of wind intensity. A category 1 hurricane
has winds of between 119 and 153 km/h (74– 95 mph),
while a category 5 hurricane has wind speeds of 252
km/h (157 mph) and above. Any hurricane, no matter
what its category, is likely to damage landscapes.
In the Neotropics, hurricanes typically move over
the Bahamas and the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and
often continue up the eastern coast of North America.
But many hurricanes do not follow that course; some
enter the Gulf of Mexico, while others continue directly
westward across the Caribbean Sea, making landfall in
eastern Central America. When this occurs large tracts
of tropical forest, especially near coastal areas, are
affected. Trees may be leveled over a large area. Thus
hurricanes act as major disturbance factors that open
large areas of forest to intensive sunlight, changing the
characteristics of the ecosystem (chapter 7).Global Climate Change Discovered on a Tropical Mountaintop
The reality of global climate change has been well established, both historically, as it has occurred repeatedly over
Earth’s long history, and as it is occurring in the present century. Climatologists study ice cores taken from glaciers to
search for chemical and other signals that demonstrate temporal climatic oscillations and variation.Dr. Lonnie Thompson from Ohio State University has collected ice core samples from the Quelccaya ice cap, a glacier
in the Andes Mountains of Peru. The ice cap, which sits at an elevation of about 5,486 m (18,000 ft), ranks as the
largest area of alpine glacier within the tropics.
The ice record from Quelccaya extends back in time for about 1,500 years and demonstrates that climate change in
equatorial areas (such as dry periods and wet periods) has been a common occurrence. What is important about the
Quelccaya ice cap today is its rate of melting, which has significantly accelerated in the present century. This high
rate of glacial retreat is happening not only with Quelccaya but also elsewhere around the world. The work of Dr.
Thompson and colleagues on Quelccaya ranks among the first studies to clearly demonstrate that Earth has entered
a period of rapid climate change.chapter 2 why it is hot, humid, and rainy in the tropics 37