For centuries, the southernmost region of the Florida peninsula was seen by outsiders as wild and inaccessible, one of the last frontiers in the quest to understand and reveal the natural history of the continent. Seeking the American Tropics tells the stories of the explorers and adventurers who—for better and for worse—helped open the unique environment of South Florida to the world.Beginning with the arrival of Juan Ponce de León in 1513, James Kushlan describes how mos...

Biscayne National Park protects the larger portion of south Florida's Biscayne Bay, a uniquely tropical lagoon harboring crocodiles, manatees, dolphins, and Caribbean fish. Tropical trees cover its islands, while the world's fourth-longest coral reef sits offshore. Native Americans lived here thousands of years ago; the Spanish held it for 200 years. Hundreds of ships foundered on the reef, fueling a lucrative wrecking industry. In the late 1800s, hardy homesteaders created an agricultural...

Isolated 70 miles west of Key West, the islands of Dry Tortugas National Park appear to arise as if by magic, floating atop the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Discovered by Juan Ponce de León over 500 years ago, Tortugas is North America's second-oldest persistent place name. The adjacent Florida Strait provided essential passageway for navies, ships of commerce, pirates, and privateers. Its reefs claimed hundreds of ships over the centuries. The nation's largest masonry fort, Fort Jefferso...

*Best Nonfiction Book about Florida Award for 2015 from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association*Key Biscayne is an island paradise umbilically connected to Miami by a three-and-a-half-mile-long causeway. Its recorded history is one of the longest in North America, starting five centuries ago with Juan Ponce de Le�n�s arrival, the second official landing of Europeans in North America after Columbus. For centuries, Key Biscayne was an important landmark for Gulf Stream mariners, and t...

Everything you ever wanted to know about the world's herons.This book on herons and bitterns is an authoritative summary of what is currently known about this diverse and fascinating worldwide family of wading birds. It is the result of extensive studies carried out over many years by its distinguished authors on both sides of the Atlantic.The plumages, feeding and breeding behaviour, and ecology of each of the recognised species is illustrated in full-colo...

Everything you ever wanted to know about storks, ibises and spoonbills.Some of the world's largest and most spectacular birds are to be found among this group of wading birds. Tragically, they also include many of the world's most endangered species, as changes in land use erode their wetland habitats.Some like the White Stork have lived alongside humans for hundreds of years and are well known from numerous studies. Others, like the Storm's stork and ibise...

The Caribbean is a global biodiversity hotspot; half its resident bird species are found nowhere else, yet, a quarter are threatened with extinction. Nearly all its native amphibians and reptiles and thousands of plants also are endemic. Yet, less than 1% of the landscape can be considered natural; and apart from reserves, most land is privately owned. Despite the challenges of such habitat fragmentation, the Caribbean’s distinctive fauna and flora can be preserved through planning and man...