Introduction — Canopy science: time to shape up

Abstract

My first introduction to canopy science was as part of the large multinational Royal Geographical Society expedition to Mt. Mulu in Sarawak, Malaysia in 1977–1978. At that time I was inspired by the fact that the subjects I came to study, gibbons (Hylobates maileri) and other species of primates remained invisible 30–40 m up, inhabiting a world I could only dream of. Thus challenged, I ventured a year later into the canopy world on an assortment of climbing ropes, platforms, and aerial walkways designed by myself and Stephen Sutton and built by teams of the Royal Engineers of the British Army with support from the Scientific Exploration Society. Our walkways were built in the rain forests of Panama, Papua, New Guinea, Sulawesi and Costa Rica and enabled some of the first comparative canopy studies across continents (Mitchell 1986).

This paper is based on Andrew Mitchell’s concluding keynote address to the Conference.