St Helena and Ascension Island: a natural history; Contents

	ST HELENA AND ASCENSION ISLAND: ORIGINS, EVOLUTION AND NATURAL HISTORY by Philip and Myrtle Ashmole CONTENTS
HOME		<<BACK
	DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS GLOSSARY AND CONVENTIONS PREFACE
PART I	VOLCANOES IN THE SEA
1.	The islands come to life
	From the depths of the ocean Early arrivals Ocean currents Colonisation by flowering plants Colonisation by animals Getting established
PART II	ST HELENA
2.	The island and its people
	Discovery and early visitors The colony and its history The "Saints" today
3.	The physical environment
	Landforms and geology: The volcano and the island The rocks of St Helena Dykes and sills Erosion and weathering soils Sea leval changes and the size of St Helena Sand and 'limestone' Caves Earthquakes Climate Winds Temperature Cloud and rain Hydrology Surrounding Sea
4.	The native plants and their discovery
	Discovery of the St Helena flora Origin and Evolution of the native plants Group 1. Relict endemic genera Group 2. Old endemic species Group 3. Young endemic species Group 4. Indigenous but not endemic species A reconstruction of the pristine vegetation Fossils from the distant past - a detective story
5.	The animals: discovery, evolution and extinction
	Discovery and evolution of invertebrates The St Helena Green Turtle population Marine mammals Native birds in historical times Introduced birds Ancient bird communities
6.	The major habitats on land today
	Stacks and islands Shore Cliffs Semi-desert Prosperous Bay Plain - a unique habitat Scrub zone Lantana dominated scrub Tungy dominated scrub Scrub with Wild Coffee, Poison Peach and Black Olive Animals of the scrub zone Rupert's Valley Jamestown and the Heart Shape Waterfall Creeper Waste Arable land, pasture and New Zealand Flax Woodland The Central Ridge Fresh water Caves and underground spaces
7.	St. Helena - an ecological history
	The devastation of the native vegetation The vanishing Great Wood - a case Study The rise of alien plants
8.	Caring for the wildlife of the island
	Conservation of the endemic plants Conservation of dolphins, turtles and birds Conservation of insects and other invertebrates Broader issues
	PART III. ASCENSION ISLAND
9.	The island and people
	Location and administration Discovery and occupation Human activity in the 20th century
10.	The physical environment Geological map
	Landforms and Geology The volcano and the island The rocks of Ascension Other geological features Changes in sea level Caves Climate Surrounding sea
11.	The anmals and plants: a historical view
	Animals on the pristine island Native vegetation and the impact of goats The arrival of rats and mice Seabird decline and the feral cats The other introduced animals Plant introductions and transformation of the vegetation
12.	Turtle migration, bird biology and animals of the clinker
	Turtle migration and molecular biology Seabird biology The search for subfossil bird bones Animals of clinker and caves: colonisation, ecology and evolution on a young volcanic island
13.	The major habitats on land
	The coast and coastal pools Boatswainbird Island Stacks and coastal cliffs The lava desert The middle levels Green Mountain
14.	Conservation and ecological restoration
	Protection of volcanic landscapes Conservation of endemic plants Conservation of invertebrates Conservation of turtles Restoration of seabird populations and the eradication of feral cats and rats
PART IV.	ANIMALS AND PLANTS OF ST HELENA AND ASCENSION ISLAND
15.	Animals
	Mammals Reptiles Amphibians and freshwater fish Birds Invertebrates other than insects Insects
16.	Plants
	Conifers and Flowering plants Ferns Bryophytes
	BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX
	ENDPAPERS Map of St Helena Map of Ascension Island FRONTISPIECE Birth of an oceanic island MAPS, LINE ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS Atlantic Ocean Hot spots and plate boundaries in the Atlantic Ocean Surface circulation in the South Atlantic St Helena volcano St Helena: phases in volcanism St Helena: exposed rock types Worldwide sea level changes in the last 250,000 years St Helena and its wave-cut platform Productivity in the South Atlantic Modern and fossil pollen grains Giant Earwig Lablidura herculeana Giant Beetle Aplothorax burchelli John Charles Melliss Peter Mundy’s ‘strange creature’ Fossil bones of extinct St Helena Rail Atlantisia podarces Fossil bones of extinct St Helena Hoopoe Upupa antaios Bridled Dolphin Stenella attenuata Iais aquilei caring for its young Extract from ‘St Helena Records’ 1709 Map of the Great Wood 1716 Burchell’s drawing of the Great Wood 1809 Ascension Island geology Peter Mundy’s Rail Waterloo Plain (the airfield) photographed in the 1920s Turtle migration from Ascension Island Timing of breeding of Ascension seabirds 1957-59 Section through the ‘fumaroles’ Skull and leg bone of extinct Ascension Rail The giant pseudoscorpion and a smaller relative Anchialine shrimps in a coral pool
	Home <<Back