Mercer University Press has published A Natural History of Cumberland Island by Carol Ruckdeschel (available from Wild Cumberland — www.wildcumberland.org). Based on the author’s research and observations gathered since the late 1960s, this compilation of data and historic information presents the most comprehensive picture of the island’s flora, fauna, geology, and ecology to date.
This volume will satisfy a general interest in the ecology of Cumberland and other Georgia barrier islands. New information on individual species is presented, contributing to its value as a reference for the Southeast.
“A guide to the natural history of Cumberland Island could not have been written by a casual visitor, even one who has conducted meticulous research over a period of years,” says C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr., PhD, of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida. “To understand a place, one must live there, as Carol Ruckdeschel has done for more than four decades.
“The information in this book is not based on casual observations, but on a detailed examination of the life history of species encountered, individual by individual, through the years. These results incorporate thousands of hours of field biology and laboratory observations, making the author a true natural historian (a person of nature and history) in the best sense of the discipline.”
“This book is what I wished I had when I began my island tenure,” says Ruckdeschel. “I hope the information strengthens future studies for a better understanding of the Cumberland Island ecology.”
Published Sept. 2017 – Ecology / Natural History / Southeast
ISBN: 9780881466096
Hardback, 432 pages; 6 x 9
References | Index | Illustrations | Tables | Photographs
Price: $35.00
Available from Wild Cumberland.