Since its inception, publishing has been one important way the Survey pursues its mission. Here are books published by the Survey. All are still available for purchase, albeit some in limited quantities, by contacting the main office.
Illustrated Key to the Seaweeds of New England (1st & 2nd editions). Martine Villalard -Bohnsack. Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 1995 (1st ed.) & 2003 (2nd ed.). 147 pp., 8.5” x 11”, spiral bound. 2nd ed. ISBN 1-887771-07-1.
Written by a marine biology professor at Roger Williams University, in Bristol, RI, this guide is designed to make identification of algal specimens as easy and enjoyable as possible for undergraduate students of phycology and related fields, or for anyone with an interest in marine biology. The 2nd edition includes 213 species, subspecies, and nongeneric entities. In addition to a dichotomous key, with over 100 black and white photographs and line drawings, the book includes a glossary, bibliography, and index.
The 2nd edition of the Illustrated Key is out of print. The Survey is preparing a significantly revised 3rd edition for publication in late 2025 with phycologists Lindsay Green-Gavrielidis of Salve Regina University and Brian Wysor of Roger Williams University. Watch here for more information as it becomes available.
Rhode Island Geology for the Non-Geologist. Alonzo W. Quinn. Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 1997. (Originally published in 1976 by Rhode Island Department of Natural Resources.) 63 pp., 6” x 9”, saddle stapled. No ISBN.
The author was an instructor and later professor of geology at Brown University from 1929 to 1968. This work is written to give the reader a general knowledge of the geology of Rhode Island and to describe some of the interesting geological features and relationships that can be observed around the state. There are 29 black and white photographs and line drawings.
Vascular Flora of Rhode Island. Lisa L. Gould, Richard W. Enser, Richard E. Champlin, and Irene H. Stuckey. Biota of Rhode Island, Vol. 1. Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 1998. 268 pp., 8.5” x 11”, softcover. ISBN 1-887771-01-8.
This book is the product of the collation of Rhode Island plant records by the authors over a period of years. The body of the book is an annotated, synonymized checklist of 1,980 vascular plants deemed at the time to be native or naturalized in the state. It includes the essay, “Rhode Island Phytogeography,” by Richard W. Enser as well as a thorough index.
Rhode Island Wildflowers, 3rd ed. Irene H. Stuckey. Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 2000. (Originally published in 1967 by the University of Tennessee Press; republished in 1988 by the University of Rhode Island.) 61 pp., 5.25” x 8”, softcover. ISBN 1-887771-04-02.
The author intended this book to address the lack of a suitable non-technical guide to help Rhode Islanders satisfy their interest in native wildflowers. It contains color photographs and short descriptions of 83 conspicuous , common plants arranged in roughly chronological order of bloom time. Stuckey was a professor of plant physiology attached to the University of Rhode Island’s Agricultural Field Station.
A Six Decade Perspective: The Birds of the Kickemuit River and Surrounding Environs in Warren, Rhode Island. Richard Bowen and Steven E. Reinert. Occasional Paper #1 of the Biota of Rhode Island. Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 2001. 47 pp., 8.5” x 11”, saddle stapled. ISBN 1-887771-03-4.
This volume presents data and analysis of bird counts made by Richard Bowen annually between 1938 and 1995 along the Kickemuit River, a tidal river that runs along the eastern side of Warren, RI. Includes charts and tables.
Vertebrates of Rhode Island. Peter V. August, Richard W. Enser, and Lisa L. Gould. Biota of Rhode Island, Vol. 2. Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 2001. 85 pp., 8.5” x 11”, softcover. ISBN 1-887771-02-6.
The volume includes checklists and short bibliographies of the five major vertebrate groups in Rhode Island: freshwater fish (compiled by William H. Krueger), saltwater fish (by J. Christopher Powell), amphibians and reptiles (by Christopher J. Raithel), birds (with help from Richard Ferren and David L. Emerson), and mammals (with help from Robert D. Kenney and Thomas P. Husband). Species are included based on the criterion that, when practical, a bona fide specimen was collected in Rhode Island, and is accessed in a curated natural history collection.
The Ecology of Block Island: Proceedings of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey Conference, October 28, 2000. Peter W. Paton, Lisa L. Gould, Peter V. August, and Alexander O. Frost, editors. Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 2002. 235 pp., 8.5” x 11”, softcover. ISBN 1-887771-06-9.
The results of a conference on the ecology of Block Island held in Kingston, RI, this volume contains 16 contributed papers covering ecological geography, quaternary geology, flora. terrestrial and shallow water natural communities, freshwater fish, aquatic invertebrates, insects, birds, mammals, and conservation. There is a bibliography of scientific work concerned with Block Island.
The book was accompanied by a CD containing photographs and other supplementary information for the papers. Download the Ecology of Block Island Accompanying CD as a zipped folder, it’s free. Unzip the folder and open “Start.html” with your favorite browser, or browse the files with a file explorer.
The Beetle Fauna of Rhode Island: An Annotated Checklist. Derek S. Sikes. Biota of Rhode Island, Vol. 3. Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 2004. 296 pp., 8.5” x 11”, softcover. ISBN 1-887771-05-0.
This book was the result of a multiyear, statewide survey by the author to update the checklist of Rhode Island beetles published by C. Abbott Davis in 1904. The checklist includes records for 2,209 species gathered from review of literature and historic collections as well as new fieldwork, with synonyms, short notes on habitat, life cycle, and ecology, bibliographic citations, and an estimated abundance ranking. The introduction covers conservation issues. There is a comprehensive index.
The Mycota of Rhode Island: A Checklist of the Fungi Recorded in Rhode Island (Including Lichens and Myxomycetes). R. D. Goos. Biota of Rhode Island, Vol. 4. Kingston, RI: Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 2010. 222 pp., 8.5” x 11”, hardcover. ISBN 1-887771-09-3.
Mycologist Roger Goos was a professor at the University of Rhode Island from 1970 to 1995. This book originated with a list of fungi he recorded from Rhode Island during his career at URI and records from important collections, publications, and forays were added for a total of approximately 1,700 annotated, synonymized entries. Each entry includes at least one citation to an evidentiary source. There is an introductory essay covering the history of mycology in Rhode Island, an alphabetical listing of teleomorphic and related anamorphic forms, an index of hosts and substrates, and a comprehensive index. The classification scheme used is that of the 8th edition of Ainsworth and Bisby’s Dictionary of the Fungi.