Hurricanes are common throughout the Caribbean (Alaka 1976; Vega and Binkley 1993), and they often cause extensive disturbance to forests (Walker et al. 1991; Yih et al. 1991; Smith et al. 1994; Zimmerman et al. 1994; Bellingham, Tanner, and Healley 1995; Bellingham et al. 1996; Foster, Fluet, and Bosse 1999; Stoddart 1963). Within the Caribbean, the Maya zone (southeastern Mexico, Belize, and ...