In this book, Steve Trewick and Mary Morgan-Richards of Massey University explore the biology of New Zealand from the perspective of evolutionary ecology. The unconventional style of Wild Life New Zealand informs in an accessible way about New Zealand species, their interactions and their origins. Recognisable focal plants and animals form the starting point in each chapter highlighting a different type of creature and different biological processes. Aspects of New Zealand’s evolutionary environment considered in the book range from plate tectonics to species diversity to sexual selection to predator avoidance. The narrative weaves through twelve chapters details of the universal mechanisms of nature in the setting of Aotearoa, with a common thread of change, which is a feature of life on Earth. The last chapter considers recent changes that humanity has made on the natural environment.
