Islands have captured the imagination of scientists and the public for centuries - rare environments, their isolation makes them natural laboratories for ecology and evolution. This book 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.

"An exceptionally concise and well-organized compilation of lucid accounts of the historical background and current research into all aspects of island science. Anyone with a serious interest in islands needs this tome close at hand."—Alex McBirney, author of Volcanology and Igneous Petrology

"Scientific research on islands has greatly expanded our knowledge not only of insular biology, but also of the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape biodiversity throughout the world. This beautifully illustrated volume is a comprehensive compendium of all topics related to islands and the science conducted on them. It will be an invaluable resource not only to ecologists and evolutionary biologists, but also to anthropologists, historians, geologists, conservationists, and anyone else interested in the wonderful diversity of islands and their inhabitants."—Jonathan Losos, author of Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree: Ecology and Adaptive Radiation of Anoles

"Encyclopedia of Islands is an excellent reference guide. I wish I'd had it onboard my vessel, the Sorcerer II, during our circumnavigation."—J. Craig Venter, President, J. Craig Venter Institute, and former Founder and Chair, The Institute for Genomic Research