Product Description
A complete guide to the common flora and fauna of Isle Royale in one easy to use volume. Each species is described in detail and illustrated with a color photo or drawing…. More >>
Island Life: An Isle Royale Nature Guide
Written by admin on May 31st, 2010 in Outdoors & Nature.
Tags: Guide, Island, Isle, Life, Nature, Royale
This book provides exactly what its subtitle promises, a guide to the nature of Isle Royale. Other guides on my shelf are incomplete, emphasizing either fauna or wildflowers, so this new book will replace those others in my backpack.
The book starts with a few pages on the geography of the island, broad habitat types, and their distribution. This section could be more thorough, and more importantly, the book would be better if the habitat types were more strongly cross-referenced to the identifications later in the book.
The book provides color pictures for everything except fish, ferns, and trees. Even shrubs have pictures. Most wildflowers have only a single picture, but a few have insets showing berries or seasonal variations in color.
The book is complete, if not quite exhaustive. It has every species in my other books, and then some – - but all these books make reference to some accidental appearances of birds that aren’t necessarily included. In addition, not every species of insect is covered, as they are represented by group. This reflects practical concerns – - the authors claim 222 species of mayfly, 220 species of damselflies, and most depressingly, 64 species of mosquito.
If you’re backpacking on Isle Royale, weight and space are at a premium. This book is small and lightweight, but has everything you need in a nature guide. Gostomski and Marr have earned a valuable place in your pack.
Rating: 5 / 5