Contents -- Introduction -- References -- ONE: Barro Colorado Island: The Background -- The Study Area -- The History of Barro Colorado's Biota -- Concluding Remarks -- References -- TWO: Dramatis Personae -- Principal Plants of Barro Colorado -- Principal Animals of Barro Colorado -- Concluding Remarks -- References -- THREE: Tropical Climates -- Climate and Vegetation Type -- Rainfall -- Factors Affecting Evapotranspiration -- Evapotranspiration in Montane Forests -- Concluding Remarks -- Appendix 3.1. Estimating Evapotranspiration -- References -- FOUR: Runoff, Erosion, and Soil Formation -- Modes of Runoff -- Runoff and Weathering -- Soil and Vegetation -- Concluding Remarks -- References -- FIVE: Telling the Trees from the Forest: Tree Shapes and Leaf Arrangement -- Different Architectures of Tropical Trees -- Designing Trees: Goals and Constraints -- Comparing Leaf Arrangements, Tree Architectures, and Forest Structure -- Concluding Remarks -- Appendix 5.1: How Tall Can a Tree Be? -- Appendix 5.2: Collecting the Data for Tables 5.10-5.12 -- References -- SIX: Biomass and Productivity of Tropical Forest -- The "Constants of Tropical Forest" -- Leaf Area Index and Leaf Fall in Different Forest Types -- The Gross Production (Total Photosynthesis) of Tropical Forest -- How is a Forest's Energy Allocated? -- Concluding Remarks -- Appendix 6.1: Basal Area and Litterfall in Different Forests -- References -- SEVEN: The Seasonal Rhythms of Fruiting and Leaf Flush and the Regulation of Animal Populations -- The Seasonal Rhythm of the Forest's Food Production -- The Timing of Leaf Flush, Flowering, and Fruiting -- What the Forest Makes and Who Eats It -- Regulation of Populations of Vertebrate Folivores and Frugivores -- Insects of Tree Crowns -- Concluding Remarks.

Appendix 7.1: Number of Species of Plants of Different Categories Dropping Fruit Into Traps Each Week on the Central Plateau of Barro Colorado, 1992-1995 -- Appendix 7.2: The Mammals of BCI and Manú -- References -- EIGHT: Tropical Diversity -- Documenting Tree Diversity -- Necessary Conditions for Tropical Diversity -- Explaining the Diversity of Tropical Trees -- Consequences of Tree Diversity -- Concluding Remarks -- Appendix 8.1: Diversity in Different Forest Plots -- Appendix 8.2: The Distribution of Tree Abundances -- References -- NINE: The Role of Mutualism in Tropical Forest -- Mutualism in a Competitive World -- Ecosystems as Commonwealths -- Concluding Remarks -- Appendix 9.1: The Varieties of Group Selection -- References -- TEN: The Rainforest Endangered -- References -- Name Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z -- Subject Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Z.