Tracking the Golden Isles : University of Georgia Press : 9780820356969 : 0820356964 : 30 May 2020 : "With this collection of essays, Anthony J. Martin invites us to investigate animal and human traces on the Georgia coast and the remarkable stories these traces, both modern and fossil, tell us. Readers will learn how these traces enabled geologists to discover that the remains of ancient barrier islands still exist on the lower coastal plain of Georgia, showing the recession of oceans millions of years ago. First, Martin details a solid but approachable overview of Georgia barrier island ecosystems-maritime forests, salt marshes, dunes, beaches-and how these ecosystems are as much a product of plant and animal behavior as they are of geology. Martin then describes animal tracks, burrows, nests, and other traces and what they tell us about their makers.He also explains how trace fossils can document the behaviors of animals from millions of years ago, including those no longer extant.