Beaches of the Tasmanian Coast and Islands covers the beaches of the Tasmanian coast, together with those on Maria, Bruny, King, Robbins, Walker and Flinders islands - in all, 1,617 beaches spread along 3,030 km of coast. This book has two aims. First, to provide the public with general information on the origin and nature of all Tasmania's beaches, including the contribution of geology, oceanography, climate and biota to the beaches, and information on beach hazards and safety. Second, to provide a description of each beach, including its name(s), location, access, facilities, dimensions and the character of the beach and surf zone. The book comments on the suitability of the beach for bathing, surfing and fishing, with special emphasis on the natural hazards. Based on the physical hazards, all beaches are rated in terms of public safety and scaled from 1 (least hazardous) to 10 (most hazardous).

Islands have captured the imagination of scientists and the public for centuries—unique and rare environments, their isolation makes them natural laboratories for ecology and evolution. This authoritative, alphabetically arranged reference, featuring more than 200 succinct articles by leading scientists from around the world, provides broad coverage of all the island sciences. But what exactly is an island? The volume editors define it here as any discrete habitat isolated from other habitats by inhospitable surroundings. The Encyclopedia of Islands examines many such insular settings—oceanic and continental islands as well as places such as caves, mountaintops, and whale falls at the bottom of the ocean. This essential, one-stop resource, extensively illustrated with color photographs, clear maps, and graphics will introduce island science to a wide audience and spur further research on some of the planet's most fascinating habitats.

In this, the first collection of ecocritical essays devoted to Australian contexts and their writers, Australian and USA scholars (settlers, invaders, temporary visa holders) comment on the transliteration of sea, land and interior through the works of major and minor authors and through their own experience with the bioregion. The littoral zone is the starting point in this fresh approach to reading literature and is organised around the natural environment - rainforest, desert, mountains, coast, islands, Antarctica. There's the beach where sexual and spiritual crises occur; the Wheatbelt area - the most visible clearance line on the planet; desert literature, camel trekking, and the transformation of a salt flat into an inland island. New Age literature that 'appropriates' Aboriginals and their cultures as the healing poultice for an ailing and dispirited West; a re-examination of pastoralism, and "the feet of millions of sheep . that] have done unspeakable damage to soils"; an inquiry into whether Judith Wright's work can "persuade us to rejoice" in the world; an investigation of the Limestone Plains, home of the bush capital and the bogong moth; of bananas, cane toads and the Great Barrier Reef in tropic Queensland; of national parks and guesthouses where "the mountains meet the sea"; a discursive approach to temperate islands that covers sealing, Soldier Settlement, and sea country pastoral; and finally to Antarctica, where an initial utopian approach gives way to an emphasis on its stark, 'timeless' icescape as a minimalist backdrop for human dramas. The author-terrain is no less grand in its scope: poets, playwrights, novelists, and non-fiction writers are discussed across the broad range of contexts that constitutes the littoral zone known as 'Australia'.

Australia is the custodian of a diverse range of continental and oceanic islands. From Heard and Macquarie in the sub-Antarctic, to temperate Lord Howe and Norfolk, to the tropical Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia’s islands contain some of the nation’s most iconic fauna, flora and ecosystems. They are a refuge for over 35% of Australia’s threatened species and for many others declining on mainland Australia. They also have significant cultural value, especially for Indigenous communities, and economic value as centres for tourism. Australian Island Arks presents a compelling case for restoring and managing islands to conserve our natural heritage. With contributions from island practitioners, researchers and policy-makers, it reviews current island management practices and discusses the need and options for future conservation work. Chapters focus on the management of invasive species, threatened species recovery, conservation planning, Indigenous cultural values and partnerships, tourism enterprises, visitor management, and policy and legislature. Case studies show how island restoration and conservation approaches are working in Australia and what the emerging themes are for the future. Australian Island Arks will help island communities, managers, visitors and decision-makers to understand the current status of Australia’s islands, their management challenges, and the opportunities that exist to make best use of these iconic landscapes.

Distribution and Range . . . 142 The Tasmanian Trout Fishery 153 Population Dynamics of Tench 163 Conservation Notes 167 Bibliography . . . . . . . . 168 VII. Littoral Biogeography by A. J. DARTNALL 171 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 The Maugean Marine Province. . . . . . 175 Distribution Patterns of some Tasmanian Marine Animals 178 Conclusions. . . . 190 Acknowledgements 191 Bibliography . . . 191 VIII. The Zoogeography and Evolution of Tasmanian Oligochaeta by B. G. M. JAMIESON. . 195 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 The Australian Region: A World Perspective 198 Earthworms and Continental Drift. . . . . 206 Tasmanian Earthworms - Relationships with the Australian Fauna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 Tasmanian Megasco1ecid Species and Aspects of their Evolution . 218 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . 226 IX. Oniscoidea (Terrestrial Isopoda) by ALISON J. A. GREEN . . . . . . . 229 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Ecological Distribution. . . . . . . 229 Comments on Ecological Distribution 235 Geographical Distribution of Species Recorded from T- mania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 Geographical Distribution of Genera Recorded from T- mama. . . . . . 239 Acknowledgements 247 Bibliography . . . 247 X. The Amphibia of Tasmania by M. J. LITTLEJOHN and A. A. MARTIN 251 Introduction 251 Taxonomy. 251 Distribution 265 Biology . . 268 Zoogeography . . 272 Evolution . . . . 277 Acknowledgements 282 Bibliography . . . 282 Key 1: Key to Frogs (Adults) . 286 Key 2: Key to Male Mating Calls . 287 Key 3: Key to Eggs. . 288 Key 4: Key to Tadpoles . . . . . 289 XI. Biogeography and Ecology of the Reptiles of Tasmania and the Bass Strait Area by P. A. RAWLINSON. 291 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Cainozoic Climates and Pleistocene Sea Levels. 292 Present Climate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Ecological Requirements of Reptiles. . . . . 299 The Reptile Fauna of Tasmania and the Bass Strait Area - Composition, Ecology and Distribution. . . .

The Encyclopedia of Prehistory represents also defined bya somewhatdifferent set of an attempt to provide basic information sociocultural characteristics than are eth on all archaeologically known cultures, nological cultures. Major traditions are covering the entire globe and the entire defined based on common subsistence prehistory ofhumankind. It is designed as practices, sociopolitical organization, and a tool to assist in doing comparative materialindustries,butlanguage,ideology, research on the peoples of the past. Most and kinship ties play little or no part in of the entries are written by the world's their definition because they are virtually foremost experts on the particular areas unrecoverable from archaeological con and time periods. texts. In contrast, language, ideology, and The Encyclopedia is organized accord kinship ties are central to defining ethno ing to major traditions. A major tradition logical cultures. is defined as a group ofpopulations sharing There are three types ofentries in the similar subsistence practices, technology, Encyclopedia: the major tradition entry, and forms of sociopolitical organization, the regional subtradition entry, and the which are spatially contiguous over a rela site entry. Each contains different types of tively large area and which endure tempo information, and each is intended to be rally for a relatively long period. Minimal used in a different way.

Walker's vision, the text smoothly combines in-depth scholarship with a popular, readable style to preserve and enhance what the Washington Post called a "landmark of zoological literature."