The Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands PDF Author: Charles Darwin
Publisher: Penguin Group
ISBN: 9780146001444
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description

The Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands PDF Author: Charles Darwin
Publisher: Penguin Group
ISBN: 9780146001444
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 68

Get Book Here

Book Description


On the Backs of Tortoises

On the Backs of Tortoises PDF Author: Elizabeth Hennessy
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300249152
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
An insightful exploration of the iconic Galápagos tortoises, and how their fate is inextricably linked to our own in a rapidly changing world. Finalist for the 2020 E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, sponsored by PEN America Literary Awards 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 relief the paradoxical, and impossible, goal of conserving species by trying to restore a past state of prehistoric evolution. The tortoises, Elizabeth Hennessy demonstrates, are not prehistoric, but rather microcosms whose stories show how deeply human and nonhuman life are entangled. In a world where evolution is thoroughly shaped by global history, Hennessy puts forward a vision for conservation based on reckoning with the past, rather than trying to erase it. “Fresh, insightful . . . Hennessy’s melding of human and natural history makes for thought-provoking reading.” —Booklist (starred review) “Gripping . . . well-researched and thought-provoking . . . whether you’re well-versed in the intricacies of conservation or have only just begun to long for a look at the tortoises yourself. On the Backs of Tortoises is a natural history that asks important questions, and challenges us to think about how best to answer them.” —Genevieve Valentine, NPR “Wonderfully interesting, informative, and engaging, as well as scholarly.” —Janet Browne, author of Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place

Galapagos, World's End

Galapagos, World's End PDF Author: William Beebe
Publisher: Wm. Tyrrell & Company
ISBN:
Category : Galapagos Islands
Languages : en
Pages : 614

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Book Description
In 1835, Charles Darwin observed variations among the Galapagos Islands' species that inspired him to formulate the theory of natural selection. Eighty-eight years later, in 1923, a scientific expedition sponsored by the New York Zoological Society followed in Darwin's wake. Led by the author, a biologist and explorer, the scientists visited the the islands to study and obtain specimens of indigenous plants and animals. This is his personal account of that expedition. He recounts the expedition's productive results, including specimens of 60 species previously unknown to science, and an unparalleled accumulation of data that stimulated many scientific papers and new avenues of naturalistic inquiry.

Galapagos

Galapagos PDF Author: Pete Oxford
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Galapagos Islands
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description


Galapagos at the Crossroads

Galapagos at the Crossroads PDF Author: Carol Ann Bassett
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 9781426204029
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Natural History.

The Galapagos

The Galapagos PDF Author: Henry Nicholls
Publisher: Profile Books
ISBN: 1847658962
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
Formed of dramatic volcanic scenery and home to marvellous beasts, it is little wonder that the first name for the Galápagos archipelago was Las Encantadas: the enchanted islands. In this captivating natural history, Henry Nicholls builds up the ecology of these famous islands, from their explosive origins to the arrival of the archipelago's celebrated reptiles and ultimately humans. It's a story of change, as the islands are transformed from lava-strewn wilderness into a vital scientific resource and a sought-after destination for eco-enthusiasts. Charles Darwin's five-week visit to the Galápagos in 1835 played a pivotal role in this transformation. At the time, he was more interested in rocks than finches, took the opportunity to ride on the backs of tortoises and fling iguanas into the sea. Yet the Galápagos experience can be an inspiration and it certainly was for Darwin, pointing him towards one of the most important and influential ideas in the history of humankind: evolution by natural selection. And with the Darwin connection, the Galápagos found itself propelled onto a global stage. But worldwide fame has brought with it nearly 200,000 tourists a year and a human population now estimated at around 30,000. If Darwin learned from the Galápagos, so we must too. For what happens here in years to come foreshadows the fate of threatened ecosystems everywhere on earth.

Darwin in Galápagos

Darwin in Galápagos PDF Author: K. Thalia Grant
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691142106
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
Recreates the scientist's historic visit to the Galapagos Islands using his original notebooks and logs, the latest findings by scholars and researchers, and the authors' first-hand knowledge of the archipelago.

Flowering Plants of the Galápagos

Flowering Plants of the Galápagos PDF Author: Conley K. McMullen
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501728768
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
The Galápagos are home to a wide-ranging assortment of unusual plants and animals. The islands became famous as the site of Charles Darwin's research leading to his theory of evolution by natural selection, and their magnificent flora and fauna continue to draw visitors from around the world. Based on the author's 16 years of fieldwork and featuring his exceptional photography, Flowering Plants of the Galápagos is the first accessible, in-depth yet compact guide to the plant life of the area. An invaluable resource for tourists, natural history enthusiasts, and professionals, the book: • Introduces the botanical history of the islands and their varied ecological zones • Allows easy identification of 436 flowering plants (77 families, 192 genera, and 390 species) • Covers endemic plants found exclusively on the islands; native plants, which grow on the Galápagos and elsewhere; and exotic plants present as a result of human actions • Offers thorough accounts of the plants which give the scientific, common, and family names; range; islands inhabited; habitat; description; and additional notes of interest • Is richly illustrated with 266 color photographs of flowering plants and 117 of plant pollinators, vegetation zones, non-flowering plants, and the islands themselves • Organizes species by form, leaf arrangement, and flower color and includes descriptive plant drawings to aid in identification • Provides a map of the Galápagos and a list of plants likely to be seen at popular tourist sites

Historical Ecology and Archaeology in the Galápagos Islands

Historical Ecology and Archaeology in the Galápagos Islands PDF Author: Peter W. Stahl
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780813066271
Category : SOCIAL SCIENCE
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Galápagos Islands are one of the world's premiere nature attractions, home to unique ecosystems widely thought to be untouched and pristine. This volume reveals that the archipelago is not as isolated as many imagine, examining how centuries of human occupation have transformed its landscape.

Science and Conservation in the Galapagos Islands

Science and Conservation in the Galapagos Islands PDF Author: Stephen J. Walsh
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461457947
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
In this launch of the Galapagos series, this book provides a broad “framing” assessment of the current status of social and ecological systems in the Galapagos Islands, and the feedback that explicitly links people to the environment. It also highlights the challenges to conservation imposed by tourism in the Galapagos Islands and the attendant migration of people from mainland Ecuador to service the burgeoning tourism industry. Further, there is an emphasize on the status of the terrestrial and marine environments that form the very foundation of the deep attraction to the Islands by tourists, residents, scholars, and conservationists.