The Elizabeth River courses through the heart of Virginia. The Jamestown colonists recognized the river's strategic importance and explored its watershed almost immediately after the 1607 founding. The Elizabeth River traces four centuries of this historic stream's path through the geography and culture of Virginia.

European explorers were captivated by the seemingly endless bounty of natural resources on Cape Cod Bay. One Englishman declared that the codfish were so thick one "could" walk on their backs. Early settlers quickly learned how to harness the bay's resources and excelled at shore whaling, shipping and salt making. But as these new industries flourished, the native Wampanoag, who helped the fledgling colony to take root, nearly vanished. Author Theresa Mitchell Barbo's skillful narrative weaves together the natural and cultural histories of the bay, highlighting some of the region's diverse milestones- from the drafting of the Mayflower Compact in 1620 to the establishment of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant 350 years later. "Cape Cod Bay: A History of Salt & Sea" inspires new appreciation for this storied and stunning seascape, and underscores the importance of new efforts to preserve the bay's unique ecosystem.

A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian A "remarkable" (Los Angeles Times), "seductive" (The Wall Street Journal) debut from the new cohost of Radiolab, Why Fish Don't Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and--possibly--even murder. "At one point, Miller dives into the ocean into a school of fish...comes up for air, and realizes she's in love. That's how I felt: Her book took me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten." --The New York Times Book Review David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist, a man possessed with bringing order to the natural world. In time, he would be credited with discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known to humans in his day. But the more of the hidden blueprint of life he uncovered, the harder the universe seemed to try to thwart him. His specimen collections were demolished by lightning, by fire, and eventually by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake--which sent more than a thousand discoveries, housed in fragile glass jars, plummeting to the floor. In an instant, his life's work was shattered. Many might have given up, given in to despair. But Jordan? He surveyed the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish that he recognized, and confidently began to rebuild his collection. And this time, he introduced one clever innovation that he believed would at last protect his work against the chaos of the world. When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote in passing, she took Jordan for a fool--a cautionary tale in hubris, or denial. But as her own life slowly unraveled, she began to wonder about him. Perhaps instead he was a model for how to go on when all seemed lost. What she would unearth about his life would transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet. Part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure, Why Fish Don't Exist is a wondrous fable about how to persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail.

A riveting new exploration of the octopus from a world-leading expert, marine biologist David Scheel.

The octopus is a highly intelligent and deeply mysterious creature. It can change colour as quickly as it can move, 'think' with its tentacles and communicate in sophisticated ways.

Marine biologist David Scheel's lifelong preoccupation with these animals has led to a career of groundbreaking research, from finding previously unknown species to the discovery of signaling communication. In Many Things Under a Rock, Scheel shares his deep scientific understanding of octopuses and recounts his intrepid adventures with these mysterious, charismatic creatures.

He investigates four major mysteries about octopuses: what can we know about such elusive and camouflaged creatures? Why are they so extraordinarily resilient? How do their bodies work? And what kind of relationships do they have? In unravelling these mysteries, Dr Scheel shows octopuses to be complex emotional beings and reveals what they can teach us about ourselves.

A book of evocative and atmospheric photographs taken by Dick Hawkes to create a representative record of this precious and ecologically unique habitat - before much of it is lost to the many threats it faces. Chalk streams have been described as England's "rainforest". Around 85% of the world's chalk streams are in England. They are beautiful, biologically distinct and amazingly rich in wildlife, but are under threat from man-made issues of abstraction, pollution from chemicals and effluent, development for housing, and climate change. Included in the book are images of typical habitats and species of wildlife found in chalk streams and water meadows, highlighting those that are rare or most under threat.

Dive deep into the world of sharks, the most fascinating and misunderstood marine animals on the planet, in this stunning new edition of The Shark Handbook, written by Shark Week expert, Dr. Greg Skomal. Did you know that a whale shark's spots are as unique as a fingerprint? Or that sharks can go into a trance when flipped upside down? Or that the Megallodon's mouth was 6 feet across? With The Shark Handbook, jump into brand new facts about these fierce sea creatures! Explore all of the orders of sharks, such as: - Ground sharks - Great white sharks - Mackerel sharks - Carpet sharks - and more! Learn about over 400 profiles of every shark in existence, from the first sharks living about 445 million years ago to the ones lurking in the ocean deep today. Starring spectacular, full-color photography that makes these jaw-dropping sharks come to life, this is the perfect gift for the shark enthusiast in your life. Dr. Greg Skomal, PhD is an experienced aquarist and Marine Fisheries Biologist at Martha's Vineyard Fisheries, Division of Marine Fisheries, Massachusetts. He's been keeping saltwater aquariums since childhood and has shared his extensive knowledge with viewers of National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, NBC's Today, and other media.

This Poem book takes you on an underwater adventure to meet all sorts of characters under the sea! Swimming around and hvaing fun with new friends, one thing become clear.... There's too much plastic in our oceans! Something needs to be done.

Norfolk's Fragile Coast is a photographic journey from the unstable and spectacular cliffs of Sidestrand to the fossil rich beaches of East and West Runton, to bird reserves, marshes, expanses of sand, through the sailing and vacation areas of the Burnhams to the bleakness of Snettisham on the Wash. Claire Davies has captured this diversity, zooming in on the tiniest bird and out to the wild and spectacular expanses of coastline. This photographic project - mostly carried out through the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 - not only captures a constantly changing landscape with beautiful imagery - spectacular cliffs, fossil rich beaches, marshes, seascapes, birds, flora and fauna, parkland and countryside - but along with the accompanying narrative and diary notes, establishes an important record of a coast in all its variety at a moment of exceptional and unique timing.

The Arctic Charr is a fish of wild places. It is the fish that is capable of thriving in the harsh conditions found in the fresh waters of the far north where no other fish can. Its toughness in these extreme environments, its stunning beautiful colours (more usually associated with tropical fish) and the speed with which it is known to adapt to new environments, ensure that "charismatic" is used in any description of this species. Although widespread and often abundant, surprisingly little is known about Arctic Charr in 21st century Scotland. In this volume, two ecologists with a life-long passion for this species, distil what is known, and just as importantly what is not, about Scottich Arctic Charr.

The deep sea is the last, vast wilderness on the planet. For centuries, myth-makers and storytellers have concocted imaginary monsters of the deep, and now scientists are looking there to find bizarre, unknown species, chemicals to make new medicines, and to gain a greater understanding of how this world of ours works. With an average depth of 12,000 feet and chasms that plunge much deeper, it forms a frontier for new discoveries. The Brilliant Abyss tells the story of our relationship with the deep sea - how we imagine, explore and exploit it. It captures the golden age of discovery we are currently in and looks back at the history of how we got here, while also looking forward to the unfolding new environmental disasters that are taking place miles beneath the waves, far beyond the public gaze. Throughout history, there have been two distinct groups of deep-sea explorers. Both have sought knowledge but with different and often conflicting ambitions in mind. Some people want to quench their curiosity; many more have been lured by the possibilities of commerce and profit. The tension between these two opposing sides is the theme that runs throughout the book, while readers are taken on a chronological journey through humanity's developing relationship with the deep sea. The Brilliant Abyss ends by looking forwards to humanity's advancing impacts on the deep, including mining and pollution and what we can do about them.

LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2022 'A remarkable and powerful book, the rarest of things ... Nicolson is unique as a writer ... I loved it' EDMUND DE WAAL Few places are as familiar as the shore - and few as full of mystery and surprise. How do sandhoppers inherit an inbuilt compass from their parents? How do crabs understand the tides? How can the death of one winkle guarantee the lives of its companions? What does a prawn know? In Life Between the Tides, Adam Nicolson explores the natural wonders of the shoreline, from the extraordinary biology of its curious animals to the flow of our human history. This is an invitation to the water, where marvellous things wait an inch below the surface. Previously published as The Sea is Not Made of Water

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

In November 2005, Washington's iconic killer whales, known as Southern Resident orcas, were placed on the endangered species list. It was a victory long overdue for a fragile population of fewer than one hundred whales. Author and certified marine naturalist Sandra Pollard traces the story and destinies of the many Southern Resident orcas captured for commercial purposes in or near the Puget Sound between 1964 and 1976. During this time, these highly intelligent members of the dolphin family lost nearly one-third of their population. Drawing on original archive material, this important volume outlines the history of orca captivity while also recounting the harrowing struggle--and ultimate triumph--for the Puget Sound orcas' freedom.