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  • Cuba: Peninsula de Zapata. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 07, and: Cuba: Camagüey, Sierra de Cubitas. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 08, and: Cuba: Pico Mogote. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 09, and: Cuba: Siboney-Jutucí. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 10, and: Cuba: Siboney-Jutucí. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 13, and: Cuba: Parque Nacional “Alejandro de Humboldt.” Rapid Biological Inventories Report 14
  • Joseph L. Scarpaci
Cuba: Peninsula de Zapata. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 07. Kirkconnell, P.A. Stotz, D.F. and Shopland, J.M. Editors. Chicago: The Field Museum, 2005. 150 pp., maps, diagrs., photos, notes, and appendices. no price, paper (ISBN 0-914868-61-6).
Cuba: Camagüey, Sierra de Cubitas. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 08. Diaz, L.M. Alverson, W.S. Barreto, V. and Wachter, T. Editors. Chicago: The Field Museum, 2006. 180 pp., maps, diagrs., photos, notes, and appendices. no price, paper (ISBN 0-91468-60-8).
Cuba: Pico Mogote. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 09. Maceira, F.D. Fong G. A. and Alverson, W.S. Editors. Chicago: The Field Museum, 2006. 191 pp., maps, diagrs., photos, notes, and appendices. no price, paper (ISBN 0-914868-59-4).
Cuba: Siboney-Jutucí. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 10. Fong G A. Maceira, F. Alverson, W.S. and Shopland, J.M. Editors. Chicago: The Field Museum, 2005. 210 pp., maps, diagrs., photos, notes, and appendices. no price, paper (ISBN 0-914868-58-6).
Cuba: Siboney-Jutucí. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 13. Maceira, F. Fong, A. Alverson, W.S. and Wachter, T. Editors. Chicago: The Field Museum, 2005. 210 pp., maps, diagrs., photos, notes, and appendices. no price, paper (ISBN 0-914868-62-4).
Cuba: Parque Nacional “Alejandro de Humboldt.” Rapid Biological Inventories Report 14. Fong G. Maceira, F.D. Alverson, W.S. and Wachter, T. Editors. Chicago: The Field Museum, 2006. xi and 465 pp., maps, diagrs., photos, notes, and appendices. no price, paper (ISBN 0-914868-63-2).

Scholars from many natural- and social-science disciplines as well as outdoor enthusiasts have been blessed with the multi-institutional efforts of United States and Cuban public and private institutions that have contributed to the Rapid Biological Inventories (RBIs) spearheaded by The Field Museum (1400 S. Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, Telephone 312.922.9410, http://fm2.fieldmuseum.org/rbi/rbiteam.asp). At a time when it appears that dialogue between the two nations is at a standstill, these six publications dispel all doubts about whether collaboration has ended. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation financed the RBIs, with island support from BIOECO (Centro Oriental de Ecosistemas y Biodiversidad, RBI #09, 10, 14), Unidad de Servicios Ambientales "Alejandro de Humboldt" in Cuba (RBI #14), Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Cuba, Museo de Historia Natural "Tomás Romay" (RBI #9, 10, 13), Centro de Investigaciones de Medio Ambiente de Camagüey (RBI #8), Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente, and Ciénaga de Zapata (RBI #07), and mainland sponsorship from The Field Museum and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Rapid biological inventories allow "scientific teams [to] focus primarily on groups of organisms that indicate habitat type and condition … that can be surveyed quickly and accurately. These inventories do not attempt to produce an exhaustive list of species or taxa. Rather, the rapid surveys (1) identify the important biological communities in the site or region of interest and (2) determine whether these communities are of outstanding quality and significance in a regional or global context."

These bilingual reports enlist a standardized format for assessing the environmental and biological profiles of selected sites in Cuba. The headings include team participants (including institutional affiliations and e-mail addresses), institutional profiles, acknowledgements, mission and approach, Report at a Glance, site selection rationale, conservation features in each locale, and the technical report itself. The latter consists of the sites visited, physical and geographical characteristics, vegetation, liverworts, mosses, ferns, seed plants, terrestrial mollusks, spiders, other arachnids, dipterans, hymenopterans, amphibians and reptiles, birds, and mammals, knowledge and use of the fauna, and human communities, with some minor variation.

Readers gain a synopsis of each study through well-written executive summaries. High-resolution color plates, maps, and remotely sensed images grace each publication. Although...

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