Galapagos

A Natural History

John Kricher

250 pages, parution le 19/04/2006

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Résumé

The Galápagos Islands are a paradise for birders, botanists, geologists, and snorkelers, with many islands still devoid of human habitation. Since they lie more than 600 miles west of South America and were never connected to the mainland, almost all plant and animal life arrived here by chance. As Charles Darwin discovered, the evolution of plants and animals is more visible here than anywhere else on earth.

John Kricher, a renowned ecologist and Galápagos ecotour guide, presents a detailed natural history of this spectacular archipelago. He looks at the amazing diversity of life found here, from iguanas to penguins, and explains the fascinating geology of these remote islands. Throughout his narrative, Kricher weaves the intriguing history of evolutionary biology that is intimately connected with the islands, and describes Darwin's adventures and observations while he was visiting in 1835.

Indeed, Kricher takes his chapter titles from comments scattered throughout Darwin's account of his expedition around the world, The Voyage of the Beagle. Kricher closes his book by assessing the conservation efforts to preserve the Galápagos--and the challenges these efforts have met. Of special interest is the book's richly detailed island-by-island guide. For both the ecotraveler and the nature enthusiast, Galápagos is essential reading.

L'auteur - John Kricher

John Kricher is Meneely Professor of Biology at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. He has led ecotours to many places around the world, including the Galápagos Islands, coastal New England, the Pacific Northwest, Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, Trinidad, and Ecuador. He is the author of A Neotropical Companion [Princeton].

Sommaire

Nothing Could Be Less Inviting
First by Bucaniers, and Latterly by Whalers
This Archipelago
Eminently Curious: Charles Darwin and the Galapagos
At Least Two Thousand Craters
These Great Monsters
Hideous-Looking Creatures
All the Birds Were So Tame
One Small, Intimately Related Group of Birds
Several Huge Whales
Galapagos 3000?
The Islands

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Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Princeton University Press
Auteur(s)	John Kricher
Parution	19/04/2006
Nb. de pages	250
Format	15 x 23
Couverture	Broché
Poids	360g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780691126333
ISBN13	978-0-691-12633-3