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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > Wild animals > Aquatic creatures
This single-volume resource explores the five major oceans of the
world, addressing current issues such as sea rise and climate
change and explaining the significance of the oceans from
historical, geographic, and cultural perspectives. The World's
Oceans: Geography, History, and Environment is a one-stop resource
that describes in-depth the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and
Southern Oceans and identifies their importance, today and
throughout history. Essays address the subject areas of oceans and
seas in world culture, fishing and shipping industries through
history, ocean exploration, and climate change and oceans. The book
also presents dozens of entries covering a breadth of topics on
human culture, the environment, history, and current issues as they
relate to the oceans and ocean life. Sample entries provide
detailed information on topics such as the Bermuda Triangle, Coral
Reefs, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Ice Melt, Myths and
Legends, Piracy, and Whaling. Contributions to the work come from
top researchers in the fields of history and maritime studies,
including Paul D'Arcy, John Gillis, Tom Hoogervorst, Michael North,
and Lincoln Paine. The volume highlights the numerous ways in which
Earth's oceans have influenced culture and society, from the
earliest seafaring civilizations to the future of the planet.
Introduces readers to the five major oceans of the world and
provides ready-reference entries relating to geography, the
environment, science, history, and culture Entries are engaging and
accessible to all readers from high school to university students
to general readers Includes sidebars of "fun facts" throughout the
text that highlight interesting oceanic subtopics
The story of the USS Indianapolis is well-known. After delivering
crucial components of the atomic bomb that would level Hiroshima in
1945, the Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine in the
South China Sea. Of the nearly 1,200 men aboard, 900 survived the
torpedoing, spilling into the sea. White tip sharks began attacking
the next morning and after four days only 300 sailors were alive to
rescue. Less famous are the many stories of ships sinking in
shark-infested waters with gruesome results. Such as the Cape San
Juan, a US troop transport ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese
submarine in the Pacific Ocean near the Fiji Islands; nearly 700 of
the survivors were killed by sharks. Or the HMS Birkenhead, which
sunk off Danger Point, South Africa, in 1852, resulting in 440
shark-related fatalities. In 1927, the luxury Italian cruise liner
Principessa Maldafa sank ninety miles off the coast of Albrohos
Island while heading to Porto Seguro, Brazil. Nearly 300 who
survived the wreck were killed by sharks. In 1909, the French
steamer La Seyne collided with British India Steamship Co. liner
Onda near Singapore, twenty-six miles from land. One hundred and
one people were eventually killed by sharks. In the water, human
intelligence is no match for a shark's brutal, destructive
instincts. Sharks are born to kill and eat: They detect distress,
smell blood and attack. Marine disasters such as those above result
in humans becoming prey, floating in inner space as shadowy sharks
swim below, ready to attack. Helpless to save yourself floating and
waiting, watching the malevolent creatures circle, knowing what
will happen . . . a sudden swirl of water, a cloud of blood, the
searing pain . . . until there is no more. This is unspeakable
horror
A riveting journey into the bizarre world of the Asian arowana or
"dragon fish" the world's most expensive aquarium fish-reveals a
surprising history with profound implications for the future of
wild animals and human beings alike. The Dragon Behind the Glass
tells the story of a fish like none other: a powerful predator
dating to the age of the dinosaurs. Treasured as a status symbol
believed to bring good luck, the Asian arowana is bred on
high-security farms in Southeast Asia and sold by the hundreds of
thousands each year. In the United States, however, it's protected
by the Endangered Species Act and illegal to bring into the
country-though it remains the object of a thriving black market.
From the South Bronx to Singapore, journalist Emily Voigt follows
the trail of the fish, ultimately embarking on a years-long quest
to find the arowana in the wild, venturing deep into some of the
last remaining tropical wildernesses on earth. In an age when
freshwater fish now comprise one of the most rapidly vanishing
groups of animals on the planet, Voigt unearths a paradoxical truth
behind the dragon fish's rise to fame-one that calls into question
how we protect the world's rarest species. An elegant exploration
of the human conquest of nature, The Dragon Behind the Glass revels
in the sheer wonder of life's diversity and lays bare our deepest
desire-to hold onto what is wild.
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Otters
(Hardcover)
Paul Chanin; Illustrated by Guy Troughton
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R491
Discovery Miles 4 910
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Paul Chanin has substantially updated his original book on otters
for this new volume. He reports on the results of recent research
studies and comments on what is now known about the causes of the
decline and the eventual recovery of this charming - and still very
elusive - mammal.A feature of the book is the beautiful and
accurate line drawings and cartoons by renowned wildlife artist Guy
Troughton. This special edition also features an eight-page gallery
of stunning colour photographs.
Taken from the earlier book "Priceless Florida" (and modified for a
stand-alone book), this volume discusses Florida's wetlands,
including interior wetlands, seepage wetlands, marshes,
flowing-water swamps, beaches and marine marshes, and mangrove
swamps. Introduces readers to the trees and plants, insects,
mammals, reptiles, and other species that live in Florida's unique
wetlands ecosystem, including the Virginia iris, American white
waterlily, cypress, treefrogs, warblers, and the Florida black
bear.
In this intimate portrait of an island lobstering community and
an eccentric band of renegade biologists, journalist Trevor Corson
escorts the reader onto the slippery decks of fishing boats,
through danger-filled scuba dives, and deep into the churning
currents of the Gulf of Maine to learn about the secret undersea
lives of lobsters.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of
insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended
reading, and more.
"Bill Buford's "Heat "meets Phoebe Damrosch's" Service Included "in
this unique blend of personal narrative, food miscellany, and
history
"In March of 2009, Erin Byers Murray ditched her pampered city girl
lifestyle and convinced the rowdy and mostly male crew at Island
Creek Oysters in Duxbury, Massachusetts, to let a completely
unprepared, aquaculture-illiterate food and lifestyle writer work
for them for 12 months to learn the business of oysters. SHUCKED is
part love letter, part memoir and part documentary about the
world's most beloved bivalves. An in-depth look at the work that
goes into getting oysters from farm to table, SHUCKED shows Erin's
full-circle journey through the modern day oyster farming process
and tells a dynamic story about the people who grow our food, and
the cutting-edge community of weathered New England oyster farmers
who are defying convention and looking ahead. The narrative also
interweaves Erin's personal story--the tale of how a
technology-obsessed workaholic learns to slow life down a little
bit and starts to enjoy getting her hands dirty (and cold). This is
a book for oyster lovers everywhere, but also a great read for
locavores and foodies in general.
"Better Trout Habitat" explains the physical, chemical, and
biological needs of trout, and shows how climate, geology,
vegetation, and flowing water all help to create trout habitat.
"A necessary book for anyone truly interested in what we take from
the sea to eat, and how, and why." -Sam Sifton, "The New York Times
Book Review."
Writer and life-long fisherman Paul Greenberg takes us on a
journey, examining the four fish that dominate our menus: salmon,
sea bass, cod, and tuna. Investigating the forces that get fish to
our dinner tables, Greenberg reveals our damaged relationship with
the ocean and its inhabitants. Just three decades ago, nearly
everything we ate from the sea was wild. Today, rampant overfishing
and an unprecedented biotech revolution have brought us to a point
where wild and farmed fish occupy equal parts of a complex
marketplace. "Four Fish" offers a way for us to move toward a
future in which healthy and sustainable seafood is the rule rather
than the exception.
Alba the fish has spent her entire life collecting precious objects
that drift down to the ocean floor. From delicate shells to
brightly coloured coral, each year on her birthday she gathers one
more precious item. But over the years, Alba notices her collection
is losing its sparkle and that the world is changing. What are
these bits of plastic and metal? As the coral reef fades, Alba
decides to leave her home behind. Can an old fish teach the world
how to bring colour back to the ocean? The One-Hundred-Year-Old
Fish gently highlights the issue of pollution. A beautifully
illustrated picture book from exciting new talent Lara Hawthorne.
No single individual did more to promote sea turtle research and
conservation than Archie Carr (1909-1987). So entwined did he
become with these creatures and the fight against their
overexploitation and loss of habitat that the largest wildlife
refuge for loggerhead turtles in the world was named in his honor,
and World Sea Turtle Day is celebrated internationally on his
birthday, June 16. Carr's work with sea turtles began in the 1940s.
His many publications written for general readers, including his
1956 classic The Windward Road,alongside numerous articles for
National Geographic and other publications, brought widespread
attention to the plight of these animals. So Excellent a Fishe,
first published in 1967, combined everything the careful researcher
had learned in more than two decades of fieldwork. This
groundbreaking book answered many then-unresolved questions about
sea turtle behavior, including those about their remarkable
migrations. In large part because of the endearing charm of Carr's
narrative style, it remains a beloved and often-consulted volume in
the field. This new edition captures Carr's gentle humor, his
passionate fascination with sea turtles, and his intense love of
sharing his knowledge with readers. A foreword by Karen Bjorndal,
director of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, brings
the story up to date even as it reveals how prescient Carr was more
than 45 years ago.
Record your fishing successes-for data or for fun!Every great
angler has a story or two, but do you remember all the details?
When did you catch it? Where were you fishing? How big was it . . .
really? Those answers and more can be recorded forever in the
Fishing Journal. Keep track of the "what," where," and "how many,"
and create a personalized keepsake to look back upon year after
year. As an added bonus, this logbook included callouts and
sidebars of information: trivia, famous fishing quotes, and more.
Anglers of all ages will enjoy putting this journal to use.
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