Collins New Naturalist Library
103
The Isles of Scilly
Rosemary Parslow
SARAH A. CORBET, ScD
PROF. RICHARD WEST, ScD, FRS, FGS
DAVID STREETER, MBE, FIBIOL
JIM FLEGG, OBE, FIHORT
PROF. JONATHAN SILVERTOWN
The aim of this series is to interest the general reader in the wildlife of Britain by recapturing the enquiring spirit of the old naturalists. The editors believe that the natural pride of the British public in the native flora and fauna, to which must be added concern for their conservation, is best fostered by maintaining a high standard of accuracy combined with clarity of exposition in presenting the results of modern scientific research.
Table of Contents
Author’s Foreword and Acknowledgements
CHAPTER 2 Geology and Early History
CHAPTER 3 Later History - People and Their Influence on the Islands
CHAPTER 4 Naturalists and Natural History
CHAPTER 7 The Uninhabited Islands
CHAPTER 8 The Sea and the Marine Environment
CHAPTER 10 Grassland and Heathland
CHAPTER 11 Woodland and Wetland
CHAPTER 12 Cultivated Habitats - Bulb Fields and Arable Plants
CHAPTER 14 Insects and Other Terrestrial Invertebrates
CHAPTER 15 Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians
APPENDIX Vegetation Communities
References and Further Reading
EARLIER VOLUMES OF the New Naturalist library have concerned the natural history of the islands of northern Britain – the Highlands and Islands (1964), Shetland (1980), Orkney (1985) and the Hebrides (1990). Here, in the Isles of Scilly, a group of islands at the extreme southwest of Britain presents a totally different aspect of island natural history.
Any account of the natural history of the Isles of Scilly has to comprehend an unusually wide variety of life and environments. In this striking archipelago of inhabited and uninhabited islands, southwest of Land’s End and on the fringes of the Atlantic, marine and terrestrial natural history are intimately connected. The oceanic climate, with mild summers and winters and stormy weather, exerts a strong influence, resulting in a flora and fauna unique in Britain. Added to this is the effect of thousands of years of human occupation, governed by changing economic conditions and isolation from the mainland, a history which has produced, for example, an extraordinary mix of native, introduced and cultivated plants.
The author, Rosemary Parslow, has an unrivalled knowledge of the natural history of the Isles of Scilly, gained over nearly fifty years of active involvement in observation and survey. Her studies have included the marine life and the life of terrestrial environments, including both fauna and flora. With such a range of practical experience, she is in an excellent position to give a synthesis which covers the variety of natural history of the islands, as well as issues of conservation and future development. Such a synthesis will be welcomed by Scillonians and by the many visitors to the islands, as well as by those with wider interests in the British fauna and flora.
Author’s Foreword and Acknowledgements
HOWEVER OFTEN YOU go to Scilly it is still a magical experience as the islands slowly emerge out of the line of clouds on the horizon, to resolve into a mass of shapes and colours against