The current interest in ecology and the environment has blurred the identity of biogeography, the value of which lies in the fact that it approaches both the natural and the man-made environment from a spatial perspective. This book is devoted to the biogeography of the British Isles and the surrounding shelf seas. The text traces the development of the subject over the last two centuries, examining key topics in their context of plant and animal distribution. Modern day distributions, both in the countryside and urban areas, are described against the backcloth of man's disruptive activities. The book should be of benefit for students of geography, environmental science, ecology, botany and zoology.