Subantartic Macquarie Island. Environment and Biology. 2008. (Studies in Polar Research). 299 p. gr8vo. Paper bd.

Macquarie Island, a speck of land rising from the Southern Ocean about 1,000 km south-east of Tasmania, is a wild and beautiful place. Declared a nature reserve in 1933, the islandis of immense scientific interest, providing scientists with an opportunity to study unique geological features and to examine the special characteristics of a southern island ecosystem. A brief description of the island and its setting and the history of its discovery and subsequent human occupation precedes more detailed accounts of the geomorphology and quaternary history of the island, its vegetation, avifauna, mammals, microbiology and marine and freshwater environments. In the concluding chapter the authors discuss past mismanagement and future management strategies, with a view to conserving the islands unique environment and biology. Content: List of figures; List of tables; Preface; 1. Introduction;2. Discovery and human occupation; 3. The island and its setting; 4. The islands origin and geology; 5. Geomorphology and quaternary history; 6. The islands vegetation; 7. Lakes; 8. The islands birds; 9. Mammals - indigenous and introduced;10. Microbiology, parasitology and terrestrial arthropods; 11. The nearshore environment; 12. Human effects: from mis-management to management strategies; Appendices; References; Index.