Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

List of Contributors

Prologue

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 The Amazon
1.2 The Western Amazon
1.3 About this book
Acknowledgements
References

Chapter 2: A Floristic Assessment of Ecuador's Amazon Tree Flora

2.1 Introduction
2.2 Methods
2.3 Study area
2.4 Herbarium collections
2.5 Floristic inventories
2.6 Data analysis
2.7 Results
2.8 Aguarico-Putumayo watershed
2.9 Napo-Curaray basin
2.10 Pastaza basin region
2.11 Cordillera del Cóndor lowlands
2.12 What factors drive gradients in alpha and beta diversity in Ecuador's Amazon forests?
2.13 The role of geomorphology and soils in patterns of floristic change in Ecuadorian Amazonia
2.14 Potential evolutionary processes determining differences in tree alpha and beta diversity in Ecuadorian Amazonia
2.15 Future directions
References

Chapter 3: Geographical Context of Western Amazonian Forest Use

3.1 Introduction
3.2 Conditions set by the physical geography
3.3 Pre-Colonial human development
3.4 Colonial era
3.5 Liberation and forming of nations
3.6 World market integration and changing political regimes
3.7 Characteristics of the present forest use
3.8 Present population and regional integration
References

Chapter 4: Forest Structure, Fruit Production and Frugivore Communities in Terra firme and Várzea Forests of the Médio Juruá

4.1 Introduction
4.2 Methods
4.3 Results and discussion
4.4 Conclusion
References

Chapter 5: Palm Diversity and Abundance in the Colombian Amazon

5.1 Introduction
5.2 Study area
5.3 Methods
5.4 Results
5.5 Discussion
Acknowledgements
References

Chapter 6: Why Rivers Make the Difference: A Review on the Phytogeography of Forested Floodplains in the Amazon Basin

6.1 Introduction
6.2 The geological history of flood-pulsing wetlands in the Amazon Basin
6.3 Floodplain environments: why rivers make the difference
6.4 Conclusions
References

Chapter 7: A Diversity of Biogeographies in an Extreme Amazonian Wetland Habitat

7.1 Introduction
7.2 Methods
7.3 Construction of a biogeographic framework
7.4 Results
7.5 Discussion
Acknowledgements
References

Chapter 8: Forest Composition and Spatial Patterns across a Western Amazonian River Basin: The Influence of Plant–Animal Interactions

8.1 Introduction
8.2 Methods
8.3 Analysis
8.4 Results
8.5 Discussion
References

Chapter 9: Bird Assemblages in the Terra Firme Forest at Yasuní National Park

9.1 Introduction
9.2 Methods
9.3 Results and discussion
References

Chapter 10: Conclusions, Synthesis and Future Directions

10.1 Conclusions
10.2 Synthesis
10.3 Future directions
References

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1: Introduction

Figure 1.1 Photograph of the Amazon river near where it “officially” begins in Iquitos, Peru.
Figure 1.2 Map of the Amazon river and some of the other rivers that drain into it, including the Japurá river, with an outline of the Amazon Basin.

Chapter 2: A Floristic Assessment of Ecuador's Amazon Tree Flora

Figure 2.1 Map of the tree plot network established in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Figure 2.2 Patterns of diversity at the family level in the tree flora of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Figure 2.3 Species area curve and the estimated number of tree species expected for Ecuadorian Amazonia. Gray shaded area represents the 95% upper and lower bounds for the expected number of species with respect to area sampled. Data are based on a plot network of 70 one-hectare plots established across Ecuadorian Amazonia.
Figure 2.5 Tree alpha diversity (measured as Fisher's α) as a function of (a) longitude and (b) latitude. Loess regression is fitted to the data. The highest values of tree alpha diversity are found in the YNP region close to the Andean foothills and are probably related to climate and soil conditions. The gray bars highlight the Yasuni Park area.
Figure 2.4 Non Metric Multidimensional ordination based on the species-level compositional dissimilarity matrix for 70 1-h plots in terra firme forests of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Ellipses represent the 95% confidence interval in grouping plots as part of a particular cluster of similar floristic units. Four floristically distinct regions are defined: triangle ellipse = forests in the lowlands of the Cordillera del Cóndor region; black ellipse = forests in the Aguarico-Putumayo watershed; square ellipse = forests in the hyperdiverse Napo-Curaray watershed; and diamond ellipse = forests in the Pastaza watershed.
Figure 2.6 Floristic changes are correlated with shifts in climate along a longitudinal gradient in Ecuadorian Amazon forests. (a) Scores of DCA axis 1 against longitude. (b) Climatic distance against longitude; climatic differences were measured as score values of a PCA (principal component analysis) on the basis of monthly mean precipitation values and maximum, minimum and mean temperature values (see Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador 2013b). (c) Change in tree species composition as a function of climatic distance. (d) Spatial variation in precipitation across Ecuador. Interpolation of precipitation values was done using the kriging method on the basis of monthly mean precipitation values at 1 km² resolution. (e) Spatial variation in temperature across Ecuador. Interpolation of precipitation values were done using the kriging method on the basis of mean, maximum and mean temperature values at 1 km² resolution. A longitudinal gradient for temperature and precipitation at landscape scales is clear for (d) and (e).

Chapter 3: Geographical Context of Western Amazonian Forest Use

Figure 3.1 Large-scale geographical patterns in Western Amazonia. (a) Physiography. (b) Climate – variations in mean monthly temperature and precipitation (based on: http://www.worldclimate.com/worldclimate/index.htm). (c) Geological formations and dynamics (after Räsänen et al. 1987). (d) Vegetation.
Figure 3.2 A general outline of the civil and economic histories in northwest South America with special reference to the Western Amazon Region.
Figure 3.3 Political boundaries in northern South America. (a) The early colonial period ca. 1650. (b) The late colonial period ca. 1800. (c) After the liberation ca. 1830 (drawn according to Lombardi et al. 1983).
Figure 3.4 The dissolution of independent Gran Colombia in 1830 (based on Lombardi et al. 1983).
Figure 3.5 (a) Boundary disputes between Colombia, Ecuador and Peru (1830–1942). (b) Brazilian territorial expansion (based on Lombardi et al. 1983).
Figure 3.6 Development in Ecuadorian Amazonia in the second half of the 20th century (Eastwood and Pollard 1992).
Figure 3.7 (a) Deforestation in Western Amazonia (courtesy of http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?208511/Keeping-an-eye-on-deforestation). (b) Aerial view showing deforestation patterns near Iquitos, Peru (numbers explained in the text) [(b) image from http://www.esri.com/landing-pages/software/landsat/unlock-earthssecrets].
Figure 3.8 Territorial reservations in Western Amazonia. (a) Indigenous territories. (b) Nature protection areas. (c) Hydrocarbon production areas in different stages of accomplishment (dark grey: leased; light grey: not yet leased) (data from https://raisg.socioambiental.org/).
Figure 3.9 Population in Western Amazonia. (a) Major population centers (with >10 000 inhabitants) in the Amazonian departments/states/provinces (see Table 3.2). (b) Population density in the Amazonian departments.
Figure 3.10 Major transport geographical settings in Western Amazonia. (a) Major river corridors providing fluvial interconnectivity. (b) Roads (source: http://raisg.socioambiental.org/mapa. (c) Airports and connections from Western Amazonian cities (source: http://www.flightconnections.com/).

Chapter 4: Forest Structure, Fruit Production and Frugivore Communities in Terra firme and Várzea Forests of the Médio Juruá

Figure 4.1 Map of the Médio Juruá region of western Brazilian Amazonia, showing the distribution of forest types within the two study reserves. Colors indicate terrain elevation, which corresponds approximately with the boundary between terra firme and várzea forests more clearly shown by the dashed lines.
Figure 4.2 Comparative views of terra firme and várzea forests in the Médio Juruá region of western Brazilian Amazonia, and corresponding field methods in each forest type.

Chapter 5: Palm Diversity and Abundance in the Colombian Amazon

Figure 5.1 Study area in the eastern Colombian Amazon where 71 transects were placed along Río Guaviare (between the town of Inírida and the upstream settlement of Baranco Picure, 200 km to the west), Río Caquetá (from 42 km west to 11 km east of the village/military camp of La Pedrera), Medio Caqutá (225 km west of La Pedrera) and Río Amazonas (at Puerto Nariño, 68 km northwest of Leticia).
Figure 5.2 Some common canopy (a, b, c) and understory (d, e, f) palm species in the terra firme forest of eastern Colombian Amazon. (a) Astrocaryum chambira. (b) O. bataua. (c) I. deltoidea. (d) I. setigera. (e) Geonoma maxima var maxima. (f) Bactris simplicifrons.
Figure 5.3 Abundances (ind./ha) of the 15 most abundant palm species in eastern Colombian Amazon, recorded in 71 transects (17.25 ha) in terra firme and floodplain forest.
Figure 5.4 Numbers of species of palms in eastern Colombian Amazon in each growth form, as defined in Balslev et al. (2011) and in each habitat (terra firme/floodplain and terraces).
Figure 5.5 Numbers of species of palms in eastern Colombian Amazon in each architectural form and in each habitat (terra firme/floodplain and terraces).
Figure 5.6 Some common canopy (a, b, c, d) and understory (e, f, g) palm species from the floodplain and terrace forests of eastern Colombian Amazon. (a) Mauriatia flexuosa. (b) Astrocaryum jauri. (c) A. butyracea. (d) E. precatoria. (e) Bactris major var major. (f) Desmoncus polyacanthos. (g) Manicaria saccifera.
Figure 5.7 Rarefaction curve for palm species richness in 71 transects in eastern Colombian Amazon, total and divided by habitat (terra firme/floodplain) and for the three groups of transects made at the Guaviare, Caquetá and Amazonas rivers.

Chapter 7: A Diversity of Biogeographies in an Extreme Amazonian Wetland Habitat

Figure 7.1 The distribution of sampled wetlands along a 250-km stretch of the Madre de Dios river, Peru. The inset shows the locations of the sampled wetlands in relation to the distribution of the Gentry plot network used to assess distributional patterns of families and genera along the elevation gradient. The Gentry sites are classified into two groups differentiated by site elevation, where upwards and downwards pointing triangles correspond to sites at greater than and less than 1,000 m a.s.l., respectively.
Figure 7.2 A comparison of the variability of biogeographic relations among co-occurring individuals (FD_Q) between the sampled wetland sites and 6 Gentry sites representative of lowland (<500 m a.s.l.) tropical forests. Sites are distributed along a horizontal axis of richness based on a random sub-sample of 365 individual stems (the least number of stems at a single site). Dashed horizontal and vertical lines indicate group means along both axes. While extreme wetland assemblies tend to be less species rich, their constituent taxa are highly variable in regards to their biogeographic patterns.
Figure 7.3 Scatterplots showing the change in biogeographic variability (FD_Q) in local plant assemblies along the main physiognomic gradient sampled in wetlands (a) and the taxa with the highest relative influence on our measure of biogeographic variability (b).

Chapter 8: Forest Composition and Spatial Patterns across a Western Amazonian River Basin: The Influence of Plant–Animal Interactions

Figure 8.1 Map of MDDB, Peru, showing locations of four long-term forest dynamics plots used in this study and their faunal status. Original base map created by Nelson Gutiérrez, Amazon Conservation Association (2007).
Figure 8.2 Layout and design of each of four study sites, showing 4-ha (200 m × 200 m) forest dynamics plot and centrally located seed fall monitoring grid (104 m × 104 m) and 1-ha (100 m × 100 m) recruitment monitoring area.
Figure 8.3 Mean percentage of all stems comprised by the 10 most abundant families of trees (stems ≥10 cm diameter) in four 4-ha forest dynamics plots spread across the MDDB, Peru: pooled across sites (±SD), and within each site for first 9 families.
Figure 8.4 Mean percentage of all stems comprised by the 10 most abundant species of trees (stems ≥10 cm diameter) in four 4-ha forest dynamics plots spread across the MDDB, Peru: pooled across sites (±SD), and within each site for first 9 species
Figure 8.5 Mean percentage of all stems comprised by the 10 most abundant families of understory woody taxa (stems ≥1 m height, <10 cm diameter) in the central hectare of 4 forest dynamics plots spread across the MDDB, Peru: pooled across sites (±SD), and within each site for first 9 families.
Figure 8.6 Mean percentage of all stems comprised by the 10 most abundant species of understory woody taxa (stems ≥1 m height, <10 cm diameter) in the central hectare of 4 forest dynamics plots spread across the MDDB, Peru: pooled across sites (±SD), and within each site for first 9 species.
Figure 8.7 Median NND (nearest neighbor distance, m), i.e. distance between a stem and its nearest conspecific neighbor within a cohort, averaged across species for three distinct size-age stem cohorts at each of four long-term forest dynamics plots spread across the MDDB, Peru, and pooled across sites.
Figure 8.8 Proportions of species whose observed median NND (nearest neighbor distance of conspecific stems) confirmed to a “clumped”, “random”, or “dissociated” intra-cohort spatial pattern based on its percentile rank compared to 1,000 iterations of randomly sampled heterospecific stems of the same cohort. Results shown separately for each cohort and pooled across cohorts, in each case pooled across all four sites.
Figure 8.9 Median recruitment distance (RD, m), i.e. distance between a focal sapling and its nearest conspecific adult tree, averaged across species at each of four long-term forest dynamics plots spread across the MDDB, Peru, and pooled across sites.
Figure 8.10 Proportions of species whose observed median recruitment distance confirmed to a “clumped”, “random” or “dissociated” inter-cohort spatial pattern based on its percentile rank compared to 1,000 iterations of randomly sampled sapling and adult tree stems. Results shown separately for each site and pooled across all four sites.

Chapter 9: Bird Assemblages in the Terra Firme Forest at Yasuní National Park

Figure 9.1 Study area with the location of the canopy MSFs studied.
Figure 9.2 Composition of each canopy MSF (Family).
Figure 9.3 Territory size of canopy and understory mixed species flocks. Comparison between six studies. Blue circle: canopy flocks; Green: understory flocks. MSF canopy Yasuní: data presented in this study. MSF canopy Cocha-Cashu: data of Munn (1985) in Manu, Peru. MSF understory Yasuní PE: data from English (1998). MSF understory Yasuní MT/LB: data from Baquero (2003) and Tobar (2006). MSF understory GB: data from Buitrón–Jurado (2005) in Yasuní. MSF understory Cocha Cashu: data from Terborgh et al. (1990) in Manu, Peru.

Chapter 10: Conclusions, Synthesis and Future Directions

Figure 10.1 La cantina “The Amazons” on the corner of SW 59th Street and south May Avenue in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (photo courtesy of Nicole Bankert).
Figure 10.2 A plant-centered view of ecosystems illustrating how important ecosystem components, such as Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K), move in and out of the total plant phyto-mass.

List of Tables

Chapter 2: A Floristic Assessment of Ecuador's Amazon Tree Flora

Table 2.1 Estimates of tree species diversity, total number of trees and levels of endemism in Ecuador's Amazonian tree communities. Both values for Fisher's alpha and Chao's 2 metrics are shown
Table 2.2 Generalized Least Squares analysis (GLS) comparing monthly mean precipitation values, maximum, minimum and mean temperature values condensed in the axis 1 of a Principal Components analysis (PC1), with respect Fisher's alpha values, Longitude and Latitude. Model selection to obtain the best model possible was performed applying a backward selection and a likelihood ratio test. Significance of the variables interactions for each model is coded as: * = significant at the 5% level; ** = significant at the 1% level
Table 2.3 Generalized Additive Model analysis (GAM) comparing climatic variables condensed in the axis 1 values of a Principal Components analysis (PC1), with Fisher's alpha values, Longitude and Latitude, to detect patterns of tree diversity in Ecuadorian Amazon forests. Significance of the variables interactions for each model is coded as: * = significant at the 5% level; ** = significant at the 1% level

Chapter 3: Geographical Context of Western Amazonian Forest Use

Table 3.1 Primary wood product trade export statistics in 1999 and 2013 at country level. (source: ITTO Annual review statistics database http://www.itto.int/annual_review_output/?mode=searchdata)
Table 3.2 Administrative units and population in Western Amazonia

Chapter 5: Palm Diversity and Abundance in the Colombian Amazon

Annex 5.1 Localities for the 71 transects in which palms were inventoried. Transect number were given in the field and used in the transect database kept at Aarhus University. Habitat is given as FP = floodplain or TF = terra firme. Alt is elevation above sea level. X and Y are geographic coordinates recorded with GPS in the field at the beginning of each transect
Table 5.1 Diversity and abundance of palms in eastern Colombian Amazon, studied in 71 transects along the Guaviare, Caquetá and Amazonas rivers
Table 5.2 Number of palm species in 71 transects in the eastern Colombian Amazon with pinnate, palmate, and costapalmate leaves, respectively
Table 5.3 Growth forms of American palms defined by overall size of stems and leaves, whether caulescent or acaulescent, and whether climbers or not (Table based on Balslev et al. 2011)
Annex 5.2 Palm species found in 61 transects of 5 × 500 m (15.25 ha) and 10 transects of 4 × 500 m (2 ha) in eastern Colombian Amazon arranged according to their total abundance in this study (column 3; Total ind. all transects). Vouchers were collected in the number series of Rodrigo Bernal (RB) and are deposited in the herbarium (COL) of Instituto de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Columns 4 and 5 give the total number of individuals collected in terra firme and floodplain forest transects, respectively. Palm architecture refers to whether the palms were solitary (sol), cespitose (ces) or colonial (col). Growth form follows the classification proposed by Balslev et al. 2011 (1 = Large Tall-Stemmed Palms, 2 = Large-Leaved Medium-short Stemmed Palms, 3 = Medium-sized Palms, 4 = Medium/Small Palms with Stout Stems, 5 = Small Palms, 6 = Large Acaullescent Palms, 7 = Small Acaulescent Palms, and 8 = Climbing Palms). Leaf shape is given as pinnate (pin), palmate (pal) or costa-palmate cos (cop)

Chapter 7: A Diversity of Biogeographies in an Extreme Amazonian Wetland Habitat

Table 7.1 Loadings of the 8 physiognomic variables recorded in sample wetlands on the primary PCA axis. This axis describes a transition from taller forested sites with reduced herbaceous layers (shady understory) to shrubby sites with increasing density of smaller-stemmed, low-statured individuals and a well-developed herbaceous layer dominated by light-loving Cyperaceae and Poaceae

Chapter 8: Forest Composition and Spatial Patterns across a Western Amazonian River Basin: The Influence of Plant–Animal Interactions

Table 8.1 Summary data of four forest dynamics plots used in this study

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Title: Forest structure, function and dynamics in Western Amazonia / edited by Randall W. Myster.

Description: Chichester, West Sussex : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2017. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016042844| ISBN 9781119090663 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119090694 (epub).

Subjects: LCSH: Rain forests – Amazon River Region. | Rain forest ecology – Amazon River Region. Biodiversity – Amazon River Region. Geography – Amazon River Region. | Plants – Amazon River Region. | Amazon River Region.

Classification: LCC SD160. F67 2017 | DDC 577.340985/44 – dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016042844.

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List of Contributors

Balslev, H.
Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Bioscience
Aarhus University
Aarhus, Denmark
Email: henrik.balslev@bios.au.dk

Bernal, R.
Instituto de Ciencias Naturales
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia
Email: rgbernalg@unal.edu.co

Berrio, J. C.
Department of Geography
University of Leicester
Leicester, UK
Email: jcb34@leicester.ac.uk

Ceron, C.
Universidad Central
Escuela de Biología Herbario Alfredo Paredes
Quito, Ecuador
Email: carlosceron57@hotmail.com

Copete, J. C.
Programa de Biología Con Énfasis En Recursos Naturales
Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó
Colombia
Email: juancarloscopete2010@gmail.com

de Vries, T.
Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas
Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
Quito, Ecuador
Email: tdevries@puce.edu.ec

Duque, A.
Departamento de Ciencias Forestales
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Email: ajduque09@gmail.com

Galean, G.
Instituto de Ciencias Naturales
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia
Email: gagaleanog@unal.edu.co

Guevara, J. E.
Department of Integrative Biology
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA. USA
Email: jeguevara@berkeley.edu

Hawes, J. E.
Animal & Environmental Research Group
Department of Life Sciences
Anglia Ruskin University
Cambridge, UK
Email: joseph.hawes@anglia.ac.uk

Householder, E.
Department of Wetland Ecology
Institute for Geography and Geoecology
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Josefstr. 1, Rastatt, Germany
Email: jehouseholder@gmail.com

Iglesias-Balarezo, A.
Rither
Bolivia, Quito
Email: aiglesias9@yahoo.com

Janovec, J.
Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales
Universidad Cientifica del Sur
Lima, Peru
Email: John.Janovec@gmail.com

Kalliola, R.
Department of Geography and Geology
University of Turku
Turku, Finland
Email: risto.kalliola@utu.fi

Mäki, S.
Department of Geography and Geology
University of Turku
Turku, Finland
Email: sanna.maki@utu.fi

Mogollon, H.
Endangered Species Coalition
Silver Springs, CO, USA
Email: hmogollon@stopextinction.org

Myster, R. W.
Biology Department
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Email: myster@okstate.edu

Neill, D. A.
Universidad Técnica del Norte
Herbario Nacional del Ecuador
Quito, Ecuador
Email: davidneill53@gmail.com

Palacios, W. A.
Universidad Estatal Amazónica
Puyo, Ecuador
Email: walterpalacios326@yahoo.com

Pedersen, D.
Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Bioscience
Aarhus, Denmark
Email: dennis.pedersen@bios.au.dk

Peres, C. A.
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
Norwich, UK
Email: c.peres@uea.a.cuk

Pitman, N. C. A.
Keller Science Action Center
The Field Museum
Chicago, IL, USA
Email: npitman@fieldmuseum.org

Sanchéz, M.
Departamento de Ciencias Forestales
Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Email: ajduque09@gmail.com

Swamy, V.
San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research
Escondido, California, USA
Email: varunswamy@gmail.com

Tobler, M. W.
San Diego Zoo Global Institute for Conservation Research
Escondido, California USA
Email: mtobler@sandiegozoo.org

Toscano-Montero, G.
Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas
Faculta de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
Quito, Ecuador

Wittmann, F.
Department of Wetland Ecology
Institute of Geography and Geoecology
Karlsruhe Institute for Technology
Josefstr. 1, Rastatt, Germany
Email: florian.wittmann@kit.edu
f-wittmann@web.de

Prologue

My first experience in the Amazon occurred in 1995 when I went on a “canned” ecotourism trip to the Rio Napo in eastern Ecuador. Although we saw Anaconda, various monkey species, and a troop of Coatimundi, it was what happened during our return that has stayed with me the longest. Because our plane was departing quite early, we had to leave at four in the morning. We piled into the boat and all was well until we got stuck on a sandbar. At that point, all the men were ordered to disrobe and get into the dark water to push. As I was jumping in, I remembered all the movies and documentaries I had ever seen about the Amazon. I wondered: Would I be attacked from below by a mysterious species unknown to Science, Would the bottom be littered with the corpses of “Indians” murdered by the Conquistadors? or, Would I be swept away, my body melting into a mystical union with the Amazon for all eternity?

I survived to tell the tale and as I worked in the Amazon over the next two decades she dazzled in her beauty, complexity and raw wildness, but not always in the most pleasant way. Perhaps my worst experience was an infected insect bite that landed me in the hospital for two weeks on an IV. During my stay I was told that my leg might have to come off! – but luckily the infection had not reached the bone. Alternatively, I can relate the sense of wonder I felt when, on a clear night, I gazed into the southern sky and saw those stars for the first time, or when I looked into the Yoda-like face of a Uakari monkey from only a few feet away, and waited for it to speak.

And so, the Amazon has been both cruel and deeply satisfying. I have learned to give myself over to her, like riding a horse high in the mountains; trusting her, to take me where I want to go.

R.W.M.