"In this addition to the Scientists in the Field series, readers join scientists as they tackle something unusual in the world of ecosystems: colonization. Not a colonization by people, but one of cells, seeds, spores, and other life forms that blow in, fly in, float in, and struggle to survive on the beautiful but harsh new island of Surtsey."--

Describes what islands are and what they look like, and explains how people and animals interact with islands.

An island is a habitat for land-living organisms as well as creatures that visit from their ocean homes. Peel back the corners of the island to discover the incredible organisms that live in this ecosystem, from lizards and birds to possums and bats.

"A poetic introduction to a distinctive island ecosystem that is home to many species found nowhere else on Earth"--

An artist and her daughter explore a North Carolina barrier island and tell of all they observe during the course of a September day.

The Galápagos archipelago is often viewed as a last foothold of pristine nature. For sixty years, conservationists have worked to restore this evolutionary Eden after centuries of exploitation at the hands of pirates, whalers, and island settlers. This book tells the story of the islands' namesakes--the giant tortoises--as coveted food sources, objects of natural history, and famous icons of conservation and tourism. By doing so, it brings into stark...