The Fauna of Australia's Tropical Savanna Biome: Biodiversity, Biogeography, and Conservation

Description:

This book is the first comprehensive account of the fauna of any tropical savanna biome. At two million square kilometres, Australia's tropical savanna biome is the world's most intact ecologically, with only a tiny fraction cleared and a large proportion managed for its conservation values, including on its extensive Indigenous estates. This book considers the full range of vegetation types and freshwater systems that occur within the dominant savanna matrix in Australia's monsoonal tropics. Edited by renowned experts of tropical ecology, this book provides descriptions of diversity, taxonomic and functional composition and endemism, and ecological and biogeographical questions of wide interest. Chapters explore how diversity and composition vary among different habitats in a savanna landscape and along the savanna rainfall gradient. The book also considers how distinctive the savanna fauna is within Australia and how it compares with tropical savannas elsewhere in the world. The Fauna of Australia's Tropical Savanna Biome considers the unique biogeographic and evolutionary history of this highly diverse and distinctive biome. It builds on a rich foundation of knowledge accruing from decades of research on many aspects of the region's biodiversity, conservation values, and challenges. This is an indispensable resource for students and researchers studying tropical biodiversity, as well as conservationists and land managers of Australia's tropical savanna biome and those found across the globe.

* Considers the fauna of all vegetation types and freshwater systems that occur within the dominant savanna matrix

* Identifies centres of diversity and endemism across faunal groups

* Describes conservation threats and management responses