Download Free A Natural History Of The Hawaiian Islands Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online A Natural History Of The Hawaiian Islands and write the review.

This volume brings together recent primary source materials on major themes in Hawaiian natural history: the geological processes that have built the Islands; the physical factors that influence the Island's terrestrial ecosystems; the dynamics of the sea that support coral reefs, fish, and mollusks; the peculiarities of animals and plants that have evolved in the Islands and are found nowhere else; and the human impact on the land, plants, and animals.
Not since Willam A. Bryan's 1915 landmark compendium, Hawaiian Natural History, has there been a single-volume work that offers such extensive coverage of this complex but fascinating subject. Illustrated with more than two dozen color plates and a hundred photographs and line drawings, Hawaiian Natural History, Ecology, and Evolution updates both the earlier publication and subsequent works by compiling and synthesizing in a uniform and accessible fashion the widely scattered information now available. Readers can trace the natural history of the Hawaiian Archipelago through the book's twenty-eight chapters or focus on specific topics such as island formation by plate tectonics, plant and animal evolution, flightless birds and their fossil sites, Polynesian migrational history and ecology, the effects of humans and exotic animals on the environment, current conservation efforts, and the contributions of the many naturalists who visited the islands over the centuries and the stories behind their discoveries. An extensive annotated bibliography and a list of audio-visual materials will help readers locate additional sources of information.
The thirty-eight selections in this book, newly edited by Cynthia L. Hunter, provide a fresh and up-to-date synthesis of the rich knowledge that comprises the natural history of the Hawaiian Islands. From sea mounts to sea birds, mauka to makai, the articles here offer insights to the unparalleled geological, biological, and historical processes that make these islands unique and fascinating.
"The isolated islands of Nihoa and Necker (Mokumanamana) are the two most southerly of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and have remained virtually untouched since their discovery by westerners in the late 1700s. Although the first Polynesian settlers to these islands have long since departed, Nihoa and Necker still harbor an impressive variety of wildlife. Today almost 1,200 organisms (excluding viruses and bacteria) can be found on and around these islands, with an overwhelming majority of the species being either endemic (found only in Hawaiʻi) or indigenous (naturally occuring in Hawaiʻi but also found elsewhere)" -- Back cover.
As both individuals and societies, we are making decisions today that will have profound consequences for future generations. From preserving Earth's plants and animals to altering our use of fossil fuels, none of these decisions can be made wisely without a thorough understanding of life's history on our planet through biological evolution. Companion to the best selling title Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science, Evolution in Hawaii examines evolution and the nature of science by looking at a specific part of the world. Tracing the evolutionary pathways in Hawaii, we are able to draw powerful conclusions about evolution's occurrence, mechanisms, and courses. This practical book has been specifically designed to give teachers and their students an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of evolution using exercises with real genetic data to explore and investigate speciation and the probable order in which speciation occurred based on the ages of the Hawaiian Islands. By focusing on one set of islands, this book illuminates the general principles of evolutionary biology and demonstrate how ongoing research will continue to expand our knowledge of the natural world.
"Both educational and inspiring, By Wind, By Wave, chronicles the natural history of the Hawaiian Islands from the time before human contact through Hawaiian and Western settlement. In a scientific but easily understood presentation, author and educator David L. Eyre makes a bold challenge to the reader: preserve the natural beauty and diversity of Hawaiʻi. The stories of seventeen animals -- some native, some exotic, some near extinction, some flourishing -- reveal the complex interrelationships among island, ocean, plants, animals and people. More than 250 archival and contemporary photographs illustrate these interrelationships and offer unusual perspectives -- such as the islands from space, or insects through an electron microscope. Essential reading for everyone concerned about our natural environment, By Wind, By Wave provides facts, expert opinions, calls to action, documentary photos and reflections on the mysteries of nature. This book belongs tin classrooms, on coffee tables, and on library shelves at home and at work. It is both a handbook and a storybook, written with the belief that education is the first step toward finding solutions" -- Cover.