A Natural History of Australia (Natural World) - Hardcover

Berra, Tim M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0120931559 ISBN 13: 9780120931552

Publisher: Academic Press, 1998

Synopsis

A Natural History of Australia is for anyone interested in this long-isolated continent. It presents the many wonders of Australia, including geography, geology, the Aborigines, the Great Barrier Reef, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. It also covers the history, life style, and language of Australia. From rock art to giant earthworms, this book is a well-written and beautifully illustrated narrative.

Key Features
* Contains color illustrations, diagrams, and photographs throughout
* Covers the geological history of Australia as well as the biological history
* Reviews Aboriginal cultures
* Demonstrates the complexity of the Great Barrier Reef
* Includes valuable appendices for the traveler covering political, social, economic, idiomatic, and practical matters

About this title

About the Author

Tim M. Berra received his B.S. in biology from St. Louis University, Missouri. He earned a M.S. and Ph.D. in biology from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was awarded a Fulbright Post-doctoral Fellowship to the Australian National University in Canberra in 1969-1970; in 1971 he joined the faculty of the University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby. He joined the Department of Zoology at Ohio State University reaching the rank of Full Professor in 1985. Berra received a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship to Monash University in 1979, and he has returned to Australia in 1986 and 1988-1989 as Research Associate at the Western Australian Museum in Perth. He has also done field work in Chile and New Zealand. Berra is the author of more than 50 papers in scientific journals and three books. He is the ichthyological book review editor of Copeia, the journal of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and is former Editor-in-Chief of The Ohio Journal of Science. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Columbus Zoo and the zoo's Conservation and Collection Management Committee. In July 1995, Berra took early retirement from the Ohio State University where he is now Professor Emeritus in order to devote full time to research, writing, and photography.

From the Back Cover

As the title says, A Natural History of Australia takes a comprehensive look at the sometimes bizarre, oftentimes spectacular, and always fascinating natural history of the island continent. It describes in words, illustrations, tables and charts, and with some truly inspiring photographs Australia's geography and geology, its Aboriginal people, the Great Barrier Reef, and its fauna and flora. It also deals with the country's colorful history, its laidback lifestyle and the quirky and entertaining brand of English that Australians speak.
A Natural History of Australia is a serious but accessible book that describes how isolation and aridity have shaped Australia's fauna and flora. The book explains the principles of Australia's biogeography and the complexity of its Great Barrier Reef. It compares the reproductive system of Australia's unique monotremes (egg-laying mammals) with those of its well-known marsupials and with placental mammals, and it reviews the latest discoveries in paleoanthropology. These are but a few of the topics discussed in A Natural History of Australia.
A Natural History of Australia, will appeal to all lovers of natural history, travelers and tourists, professional zoologists and anyone interested in Australia and its wildlife.

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0120931559
• ISBN 13: 9780120931552
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256