Costa Rican Ecosystems
Chapter 16 The Caribbean Lowland Evergreen Moist and Wet Forests Deedra McClearn1,*, J. Pablo Arroyo- Mora2, Enrique Castro3, Ronald C. Coleman4, Javier F. Espeleta5, Carlos García- Robledo6, Alex Gilman3, José González3, Armond T. Joyce7, Erin Kuprewicz8, John T. Longino9, Nicole L. Michel10, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez11, Andrea Romero12, Carlomagno Soto3, Orlando Vargas3, Amanda Wendt13, Steven Whitfield14, Robert M. Timm15 Introduction Rica’s border with Nicaragua) (Fig. 16.1). For this map, we define the upper altitudinal limit of the area as 300 m, The saying “geography is destiny” has been used by histori- although some sections of this chapter will use slightly dif- ans and economists to explain large- scale phenomena such ferent elevations, depending on the standards of a particular as human trading routes, migration patterns, technological innovation, spread of disease, and the motivation for and 1 Organization for Tropical Studies, Box 90630, Durham, NC 27708, USA 2 McGill University, Department of Geography, 805 Sherbrooke Street outcomes of wars. In the context of Costa Rican ecosystems, West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2K6, Canada one might also invoke the expression to frame more than 3 La Selva Biological Station, Organization for Tropical Studies, Apartado five million years of the history of Costa Rica’s Caribbean 676- 2050, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Costa Rica 4 Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Sacra- lowlands. We do not imply that events have been or will be mento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento,
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