Arrivals of Life to the Galápagos


Book Description

In this book, Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C and Avelina Espinosa synthesize the events connecting the accidental discovery of the Galápagos Islands by Tomás de Berlanga in 1535 with Charles Darwin's exploration of the archipelago in 1835, Herman Melville's sketches of The Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles, of 1856, and the geopolitics to control Baltra Island, or "The Rock", where the United States established a military base from 1942 to 1946, during World War II. These themes are intertwined with discussions about the historical cartography of the Galápagos Islands, the geology of the archipelago, the hypotheses about the origins of the Galápagos terrestrial and marine organisms, and comparisons between Galápagos and other archipelagos, particularly Hawai'i. Offering over 250 figures and diagrams, this work will appeal to a broad audience, including professors in academia, college instructors, study-abroad and international field-trip leaders (with destination Galápagos), science writers, and policymakers.




A Lifetime in Galápagos


Book Description

A beautifully illustrated and deeply personal chronicle of De Roy's lifelong connection with these spectacular islands Tui De Roy was a year old in 1955 when her family left Europe, boarding a banana boat bound for the Pacific to lead a different sort of life in Galápagos, one of self-sufficiency and living close to nature. She grew up on the islands and returned to them often over the next five decades. Discovering photography at a young age, she has dedicated her life to recording the islands' natural history in infinite detail. A Lifetime in Galápagos is De Roy's intimate portrait of one of the most spectacular places on Earth, presenting the wildlife and natural wonders of Galápagos as you have never seen them before. Featuring hundreds of breathtaking color photos, this stunning book guides you into labyrinthine mangroves to observe nesting herons, to misty cloud forests to glimpse flycatchers and orchids, high onto erupting volcanoes, and into the ocean to swim with hammerhead sharks. De Roy's lens provides up-close encounters with orca and sperm whales, colonies of iguanas, and the giant tortoises of Alcedo Volcano. She paints unforgettable portraits of her childhood in Galápagos—the islands at night under the stars of the Milky Way, sea lions at play and on the hunt, the diverse birdlife of Galápagos, and much more. Blending striking images with vivid prose, A Lifetime in Galápagos also discusses the threats that global warming and other environmental challenges pose to the archipelago's unique wildlife and fragile habitats.




A Synthesis of the Galápagos


Book Description

There are hundreds of books and thousands of scientific articles about the Galápagos. This volume is distinctive. The authors, Guillermo Paz-y-Miño-C and Avelina Espinosa, synthesize, integrate, and conceptualize the most recent evolutionary-biology research being conducted in the archipelago’s terrestrial and aquatic environments; the conflicts resulting from human interactions with nature, including local population growth and tourism practices in the context of short- and long-term conservation efforts; and make predictions about the destiny of the Galápagos’ unique biodiversity and landscapes under various scenarios of climate-change impacts, urbanization trends, diversification of tourism, and conservation investments. Offering over 260 figures and diagrams, this work will appeal to a broad audience, including professors in academia, college instructors, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and research undergraduates. Another target audience is study-abroad and international field-trip instructors and their students who travel to the Galápagos year-round. Science writers and policymakers will find in this book useful information to discuss and debate about imminent environmental threats to afflict the Galápagos as a consequence of human population growth, tourism practices, and climate change.




The Diversity of Life


Book Description

This classic by the distinguished Harvard entomologist tells how life on earth evolved and became diverse, and now, how diversity and life are endangered by us, truly. While Wilson contributed a great deal to environmental ethics by calling for the preservation of whole ecosystems rather than individual species, his environmentalism appears too anthropocentric: "We should judge every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity." And: "Signals abound that the loss of life's diversity endangers not just the body but the spirit." This reprint of the 1992 Belknap Press publication contains a new foreword. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR




Galápagos


Book Description

Details the natural and human history of the islands and describes Darwin's theory of evolution.




Galápagos


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The Galapagos Islands


Book Description




In the Name of Wild


Book Description

Five continents. Ten countries. Twenty Natural World Heritage sites in five years. In the Name of Wild is the story of what happened when one family set out to learn what wildness means to people around the world. What draws us to seek out wild places? Do they mean the same to everyone? As they embarked on their fieldwork the Vannini family expected pristine landscapes, but romantic ideals soon crashed into reality. Adventurers were there to conquer the wilderness. Conservationists were there to manage it. Tourism operators were there to make a dollar. Part travelogue, part ethnography, In the Name of Wild takes us on a wide-ranging journey, searching for answers from people who call places like Tasmania, Patagonia, and Iceland home. Wildness, they explain, isn’t about remoteness or an absence of people. This brilliantly conceived, beautifully told account reveals that wild is really about connections, kinship, and coexistence with the land.




A Traveler's Guide to the Galapagos Islands


Book Description

The Galapagos Islands, a remote paradise, are as mysterious as ever. But the details of travel to the Galapagos are no longer a mystery. The essentials of a how-to travel adventure to the Land of Darwin are now available in the comprehensive "Traveler's Guide to the Galapagos Islands." From which airlines to choose and why, to a detailed analysis of the Tour Operator network, Barry Boyce describes the rules and tells the reader how to play the adventure travel game. Entire chapters are devoted to topics such as choosing a tour (with descriptions, analyses, and price structures of all the yachts and cruise ships), what to pack and what not to pack, photographic opportunities and equipment on land and underwater, Galapagos history, wildlife and a detailed tour of the islands. First edition reviews: "Boyce's excitement and knowledge mix to produce a comprehensive and responsible guide to touring the Galapagos." -- Brad Hooper, Booklist. "Just on the market and badly needed... Boyce's effort is likely to be a definitive work." -- Zeke Wigglesworth, San Jose Mercury News. To order, call or write Hunter Publishing - 130 Campus Drive, Edison, NJ 08818. Phone 800-255-0343 or 732-225-1900; fax 732-417-1744; www.hunterpublishing.com. E-mail [email protected].




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