*2022 Nautilus Book Award Gold Medal Winner: Ecology & Environment *2022 Nautilus Book Award Special Honors as Best of Anthology *#1 on Bioneers List of 15 World-Changing Books to Gift this Holiday Season! For readers of Braiding Sweetgrass and The Overstory From The Center for Humans and Nature, a collection in five volumes: essays, interviews, poetry, and stories of solidarity that highlight the interdependence that exists between humans and nonhuman beings We live in an astounding world of relations. We share these ties that bind with our fellow humans-and we share these relations with nonhuman beings as well. From the bacterium swimming in your belly to the trees exhaling the breath you breathe, this community of life is our kin-and, for many cultures around the world, being human is based upon this extended sense of kinship. Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations is a lively series that explores our deep interconnections with the living world. More than 70 contributors-including Robin Wall Kimmerer, Richard Powers, David Abram, J. Drew Lanham, and Sharon Blackie-invite readers into cosmologies, narratives, and everyday interactions that embrace a more-than-human world as worthy of our response and responsibility. These diverse voices render a wide range of possibilities for becoming better kin. Contents: Planet: What are the sources of our deepest evolutionary and planetary connections, and of our profound longing for kinship? Place: To what extent does crafting a deeper connection with the Earth's bioregions reinvigorate a sense of kinship with the place-based beings, systems, and communities that mutually shape one another? Partners: How do relations between and among different species foster a sense of responsibility and belonging in us? Persons: Which experiences expand our understanding of being human in relation to other-than-human beings? Practice: What are the practical, everyday, and lifelong ways we become kin? From the recognition of nonhumans as persons to the care of our kinfolk through language and action, Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations is a guide and companion into the ways we can deepen our care and respect for the family of plants, rivers, mountains, animals, and others who live with us in this exuberant, life-generating, planetary tangle of relations. Proceeds from sales of Kinship benefit the nonprofit, non-partisan Center for Humans and Nature, which partners with some of the brightest minds to explore human responsibilities to each other and the more-than-human world. The Center brings together philosophers, ecologists, artists, political scientists, anthropologists, poets and economists, among others, to think creatively about a resilient future for the whole community of life.

This authoritative but highly accessible book presents the reader with a powerful framework for understanding the critical role of the energy return on investment (EROI) in the survival and well-being of individuals, ecosystems, businesses, economies and nations. Growth and development are fundamental and ubiquitous processes at all scales, from individuals to food crops to national economies. While we are all familiar with the concepts of economic growth and living standards as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), we often take for granted the energy use that underpins GDP and our expectations for year-on-year growth. In this book, you will learn how these measures of "progress" are completely dependent on the balance that can be achieved between energy costs (inputs) and gains. Nothing is made or moved without an energy surplus, and it is the EROI of available energy sources more than any other single factor that determines the shape of civilization. Nearly all politics and economics assume that policy and market forces are the levers upon which future outcomes will hinge. However, this book presents many examples of historical and current events that can be explained much more clearly from an energetic perspective. In addition, a future scenario is developed that gives a central place to EROI in assessing the potential of governmental and private initiatives to substitute so-called renewable energy sources for diminishing stocks of fossil fuels. When cheap fossil fuels are no longer available in the abundance needed to mask economic problems and power business as usual, it will be EROI more than the plethora of "green" technologies that creates the boundary conditions for a sustainable future.

This book explores three interrelated roots of scholarly work that have a supportive and elaborative affinity to authentic and engaging classroom inquiry: ecological consciousness, Buddhist epistemologies, philosophies and practices, and interpretive inquiry or "hermeneutics". Although these three roots originate outside of and extend far beyond most educational literature, understanding them can be of immense practical importance to the conduct of rich, rigorous, practicable, sustainable, and adventurous classroom work for students and teachers alike. The authors collectively bring to these reflections decades of classroom experience in grades K-12 and the experience of supervising hundreds of student teachers in such settings as well as working regularly with schools and classroom teachers in their day-to-day work. The authors demonstrate, through several classroom examples, how ecology, Buddhism, and hermeneutics provide ways to re-invigorate the often-moribund discourse of education and bring a sense of beauty and rigorous joy to classroom life for teachers and students alike.

With contributions from an impressive group of Argentinean and German oceanographers, this book examines classical ecological issues relating to marine ecosystems in the context of climate change. It paints a picture of marine ecology at the crossroads of global warming. The book examines the fundamentals of marine ecology: ecosystem stability, water quality, and biodiversity in the context of the changes taking place globally. It then reviews the major marine ecosystems in the same context, from the primary producers to the big marine mammals. The chapters cover primary consumers level, benthic communities, seaweeds assemblages and wetlands ecology, fisheries, and seabirds.

The book presents a collection of large-scale network-modeling studies on coastal systems in Latin America. It includes a novel description of the functioning of coastal complex ecosystems and also predicts how natural and human-made disturbances percolate through the networks. Coastal areas belong to the most populated ecosystems around the globe, and are massively influenced by human impacts such as shipping, mining, fisheries, tourism, pollution and human settlements. Even though many of these activities have facilitated socio-economic development, they have also caused a significant deterioration in natural populations, communities and ecosystems worldwide. Covering coastal marine ecosystems of Latin America such as the NE and SE Pacific, NW Atlantic and Caribbean areas, it discusses the construction of quantitative (Ecopath-Ecosim-Ecospace and Centrality of Node Sets) and semi-quantitative (Loop Analysis) multispecies trophic-network models to describe and assess the impacts of natural and human interventions like pelagic and benthic fishing as well as natural events such as El Nino, and La Nina. The book also features steady state (and/or near moving equilibrium) and dynamical models to support the management of exploited organisms, and applies and quantifies macroscopic indices, based on Ascendency (Ulanowicz) and Local Stability (Levins Loop Analysis). Further, it discusses the determination of the Keystone Species Complex Index, which is a holistic extension of the classical concept of Keystone Species (Paine), offering novel strategies for conservation monitoring and management.

Butterflyfishes (family Chaetodontidae) are a highly conspicuous component of fish fauna on coral reefs throughout the world. In light of their strong dependence on coral, they are often regarded as the epitome of coral reef fishes. This volume examines the ecology and conservation of coral reef butterflyfishes. It provides important insights on their evolution and key events and adaptations that have led to their proliferation within coral reef ecosystems. Key to the longevity of butterflyfishes is the evolution of coral-feeding-a central focus of the ecological chapters in this volume. The book also highlights key threats and challenges related to the conservation of butterflyfishes and ends with an overview of current and future research directions.

This book presents the results of studies that determine the most effective ways for human development, ensuring a decent life, and preserving natural resources within the framework of the defined issues. Russia is a participant of the United Nations Global Agreement on implementing sustainable development, adopted in 2015. Russia is a large country, both in terms of population and territory, that can significantly influence the achievement of sustainable development goals. Russia is actively promoting social responsibility practices and sustainable development among scientists, specialists, and students. The presented articles highlight the main problems in ecology, economy, education, and law; and analyses the opportunities and prospects in achieving sustainable development goals in the context of modern conditions.

Tree based production systems abound especially in the tropics. Despite the pervasiveness of such multipurpose trees-outside-forest resources, they have not attracted adequate attention in the development paradigms of many nation states. These multispecies production systems impact the ecosystem processes favourably. Yet, our understanding of the diversity attributes and carbon dynamics under agroforestry is not adequate. This book focuses on the role of multispecies production systems involving tree and crop species as a means for carbon sequestration and thereby reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Sixteen chapters organized into three broad sections titled: Measurement and Estimation, Agrobiodiversity and Tree Management, and Policy and Socioeconomic Aspects represent a cross section of the opportunities and challenges in current research and emerging issues in harnessing carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems. "

This fully revised and expanded edition of "Sea Urchins" provides a wide-ranging understanding of the biology and ecology of this key component of the world's oceans. Coverage includes reproduction, metabolism, endocrinology, larval ecology, growth, digestion, carotenoids, disease and nutrition. Other chapters consider the ecology of individual species that are of major importance ecologically and economically, including species from Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa. In addition, six new contributions in areas such as immunology, digestive systems and community ecology inform readers on key recent developments and insights from the literature.

Sea urchins are ecologically important and often greatly affect marine communities. Because they have an excellent fossil record, they are also of interest to paleontologists. Research on sea urchins has increased in recent years, stimulated first by recognition of their ecological importance and subsequently their economic importance. Scientists around the world are actively investigating their potential for aquaculture and fisheries, and their value as model systems for investigations in developmental biology continues to increase.
Continues the series "Developments in Aquaculture and Fisheries Science" with a newly revised volume

Collects and synthesizes the state of knowledge of sea urchin biology and ecologyExpanded from previous edition to include non-edible species, providing the needed basis for broader evolutionary understanding of sea urchins

This book explores how individuals and communities perceive and understand climate change using their observations of change in the world around them. Because processes of climatic change operate at spatial and temporal scales that differ from those of everyday practice, the phenomenon can be difficult to understand. However, flora and fauna, which are important natural and cultural resources for human communities, do respond to the pressures of environmental change. Humans, in turn, observe and adapt to those responses, even when they may not understand their causes. Much of the discussion about human experiences of our changing climate centers on disasters and extreme events, but we argue that a focus on the everyday, on the microexperiences of change, has the advantage of revealing how people see, feel, and make sense of climate change in their own lives. The chapters of this book are drawn from Asia, Europe, Africa, and South and North America. They use ethnographic inquiry to understand local knowledge and perceptions of climate change and the social and ecological changes inextricably intertwined with it. Together, they illustrate the complex process of coming to know climate change, show some of the many ways that climate change and our responses to it inflict violence, and point to promising avenues for moving toward just and authentic collaborative responses.

Among the deep-sea marine invertebrates, pycnogonids and crustaceans represent ecologically important and most diverse groups of species. Yet both are still poorly understood. Sampling and exploring operations off the west and east coast of the Americas has significantly increased in the last two decades. However such operations are very costly and limited in number and frequency. In countries like Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, the United States of America, and El Salvador a large effort has been made to explore the deep-sea resources and the rich diversity of the communities, resulting in a better understanding of the natural ecosystems on both coasts of America. Pycnogonids and many groups of deep-sea crustaceans have been intensively studied, from the smallest animals, like the mostly unknown benthic copepods to the largest decapods. This book presents new and updated information on various groups of deep-sea pycnogonids and crustaceans occurring off the American continent. Offering a valuable reference resource for scientists interested in this fascinating fauna, it includes review papers and new data on the deep-sea communities occurring off the USA, Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Argentina, as well as in larger areas in both the East Pacific and the West Atlantic. As such it covers most of the current deep-water research in Latin America.

This book explores a collection of natural surfaces, their scientific characteristics and their unique engineering potential - demonstrating that engineering applications can be found in unexpected places. The surfaces covered range from botanical ones, like rice and lotus leaves, to insect surfaces, like butterfly and dragonfly wings. The variety of surfaces and numerous engineering potentials described show how biomimicry can be utilized to solve countless real-world problems.

One of the last undammed perennial rivers in the desert Southwest, the San Pedro River in southeastern Arizona illustrates important processes common to many desert riparian ecosystems. Although historic land uses and climatic extremes have led to aquifer depletion, river entrenchment, and other changes, the river still sustains a rich and varied selection of life. Resilient to many factors, portions of the San Pedro have become increasingly threatened by groundwater pumping and other impacts of population growth.
This book provides an extensive knowledge base on all aspects of the San Pedro, from flora and fauna to hydrology and human use to preservation. It describes the ecological patterns and processes of this aridland river and explores both the ongoing science-driven efforts by nonprofit groups and government agencies to sustain and restore its riparian ecosystems and the science that supports these management decisions.
An interdisciplinary team of fifty-seven contributors--biologists, ecologists, geomorphologists, historians, hydrologists, lawyers, political scientists--weave together threads from their diverse perspectives to reveal the processes that shape the past, present, and future of the San Pedro's riparian and aquatic ecosystems. They review the biological communities of the San Pedro and the stream hydrology and geomorphology that affect its riparian biota. They then look at conservation and management challenges along three sections of the San Pedro, from its headwaters in Mexico to its confluence with the Gila River, describing legal and policy issues and their interface with science; activities related to mitigation, conservation, and restoration; and a prognosis of the potential for sustaining the basin's riparian system.
These chapters demonstrate the complexity of the San Pedro's ecological and hydrological conditions, showing that there are no easy answers to the problems--and that existing laws are inadequate to fully address them. Collectively, they offer students, professionals, and environmental advocates a better grasp of the San Pedro's status as well as important lessons for restoring physical processes and biotic communities to rivers in arid and semiarid regions.

After two successful meetings on the ecological implications of GM-crop cultivation in 2008 and 2010, the authors felt encouraged to carry out a follow-up conference in 2012. GMLS III highlights recent scientific developments in the analysis of risks in the agricultural use of genetically modified plants. While in some countries a GM-based agriculture has been largely established, other regions of the world continue cultivation of conventional varieties only. This acknowledges a persistent reservation of the public towards GMO products. The overall need of an emphasis in independent studies becomes continuously more obvious. Experts from Europe, United States, Ghana and Argentina report their scientific results and experience with ecological, socio-economical and administrative implications.

Nanoscience and nanotechnologies are leading to a major point to our understanding of nature. Nanotechnology can be generally defined as creation and use of nano-sized systems, devices, and structures which have special functions or properties because of their small size. This volume on Nanotechnology Applications in Health and Environmental Sciences focuses on biotechnological and environmental applications of nanomaterials. It covers popular and various nanomedical topics such as oncology, genetics, and reconstructive medicine. Additionally, many chapters give leading-edge information on nano-sensor applications and usage in specific disciplines. Also, two chapters on novel subjects have been included on Lantibiotics and microbiota. This book should be useful for nanotechnologists, microbiologists, and researchers interested in nanomedicine and nano-biotechnology, as well as environmental nanotechnology.

Quantitative Ecotoxicology, Second Edition explores models and methods of quantitative ecotoxicology at progressively higher biological scales using worked examples and common software packages. It complements the author's previous books, Fundamentals of Ecotoxicology, Third Edition and Ecotoxicology: A Comprehensive Treatment. Encouraging a more rigorous inferential approach to research, the book examines the quantitative features of the science of ecotoxicology. The first chapters lay the foundation by introducing fundamental concepts and definitions. The author traces the historical perspective, rationale, and characteristics of scientific ecotoxicology as well as the general measurement process. He also considers methodologies for defining and controlling variance, which could otherwise exclude valid conclusions from ecotoxicological endeavors. The book then discusses ecotoxicological concepts at increasing levels of ecological organization and outlines quantitative methods used to measure toxicant accumulation and effects. Reflecting the importance of establishing type I and type II error rates, it highlights design issues, particularly sample size and power estimation. The final chapter summarizes the book with a brief discussion of ecotoxicology from a nonregulatory perspective. Extensively updated, this second edition has been expanded to include terrestrial as well as aquatic ecotoxicology. Requiring only a basic knowledge of statistics, this highly readable book is suitable for graduate students and researchers as well as practicing environmental scientists and engineers. It guides readers to better understand the fate and effects of toxicants in the biosphere-and helps them frame this understanding in quantitative terms. What's New in This Edition More than 40 new figures and 20 new worked examples Updated measurement quality methods and software Expanded coverage of synecological models and methods More integration of Bayesian concepts Appendices for power analysis and basic matrix methods Additional mixture toxicity and up-and-down methods Greatly expanded discussion of significance testing Expanded discussion of metapopulations Matrix tools for population demography Light isotope-based models for trophic transfer of toxicants Inclusion of metacommunity and SHE analysis techniques R script examples by Eduard Szoecs (University Koblenz-Landau) available at http://edild.github.io/blog/categories/quantitative-ecotoxicology-with-r/

Fundamentals of Ecosystem Science provides a compact and comprehensive introduction to modern ecosystem science. This book covers major concepts of ecosystem science, biogeochemistry, and energetics. It addresses, contrasts, and compares both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It combines general lessons, concepts, frameworks, and challenges in highly accessible synthesis chapters. It presents firsthand case studies, written by leaders in the field, offering personal insights into how adopting an ecosystem approach led to innovations, new understanding, management changes, and policy solutions. This book is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students who have had a general biology course, but not further training in ecosystems as well as researchers and professionals in ecology and environmental sciences.

Summarizes a complex geological, geographical and ecological history Reviews how the San Diego Bay has changed and will likely change in the future Examines the different roles a various drivers of Bay ecosystem function Includes the role of humans - both first people and modern populations - on the Bay Explores San Diego Bay as an example of general bay ecological and environmental issues

Discover, through informative text and 120 vivid images, the interrelationships between commercial fishing, expanding gray seal populations, and great white sharks along the beaches of Cape Cod and the northeast coast. This Gray Curtain has come about as a result of geologic and environmental changes, as well as animal migrations and population increases that have impacted the area. There are great transformations taking place in the region, and both fishermen and scientists have played a role in these dynamic coastal changes, though they don't always agree on why the changes have occurred. In the minds of many commercial fishermen, the return of the now-protected gray seal has played a major part, causing a new charismatic, apex predator to enter the picture: the Great White Shark. This enlightening and colorful book brings together the main factors that have created the phenomenon of The Gray Curtain.

This set of exercises has been created expressly for students and teachers of conservation biology and wildlife management who want to have an impact beyond the classroom. The book presents a set of 32 exercises that are primarily new and greatly revised versions from the book's successful first edition. These exercises span a wide range of conservation issues: genetic analysis, population biology and management, taxonomy, ecosystem management, land use planning, the public policy process and more. All exercises discuss how to take what has been learned and apply it to practical, real-world issues. Accompanied by a detailed instructor's manual and a student website with software and support materials, the book is ideal for use in the field, lab, or classroom. Also available: Fundamentals of Conservation Biology, 3rd edition (2007) by Malcolm L Hunter Jr and James Gibbs, ISBN 9781405135450 Saving the Earth as a Career: Advice on Becoming a Conservation Professional (2007) by Malcolm L Hunter Jr, David B Lindenmayer and Aram JK Calhoun, ISBN 9781405167611

Global warming and human-driven impacts are changing the World's ecological zones. This book applies the principles described in Bailey's Ecosystem Geography: From Ecoregions to Sites, 2nd ed. (Springer 2009, 1st ed. 1996) to describe and characterize the major terrestrial and aquatic ecological zones of the Earth. Bailey's system for classifying these zones has been adopted by major organizations such as the U.S. Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy and this book is a significant contribution to a long tradition of classifying and studying the world's ecological regions or ecoregions. It includes two color maps that show the major ecoregions of the continents and oceans. Also included are: - 106 illustrations with 55 in full color - A new chapter on mountains is included. - There are new sections that address concerns about how eco regions are changing under the relentless influence of humans and climate change - Another new feature is the discussion of using eco regional patterns to transfer research results and select sites for detecting climate change effects on ecosystem distribution - Use of ecoregional patterns to design monitoring networks and sustainable landscapes - Fire regimes in different regional ecosystems and their management implications.

This book reviews the current state of knowledge on, recent advances in, and future prospects of Montenegrin river basins in the context of anthropogenic activities. Edited by three respected experts in the field, the book begins with an introduction to the specific hydrogeological conditions in Montenegro and critical reflections on the impact of hydropower projects. It then reviews the vulnerability of river ecosystems, exploring potential genotoxic effects and water quality, and explaining typology and monitoring of these aspects, and particularly highlighting mollusk assemblages and monitoring of intermittent rivers. The closing chapters focus on the impact of river flooding and discuss controversial projects aiming to find an approach mutually acceptable to all stakeholders. Given its scope, the book is an indispensable resource for scientists in academia and the water industry, as well as for decision-makers in the field investigating the interactions between land and water, limnology and biota, and natural and cultural resources.

There is a growing recognition that the diversity of life comprises both biological and cultural diversity. But this division is not universal and, in many cases, has been deepened by the common disciplinary divide between the natural and social sciences and our apparent need to manage and control nature. This book goes beyond divisive definitions and investigates the bridges linking biological and cultural diversity. The international team of authors explore the common drivers of loss, and argue that policy responses should target both forms of diversity in a novel integrative approach to conservation, thus reducing the gap between science, policy and practice. While conserving nature alongside human cultures presents unique challenges, this book forcefully shows that any hope for saving biological diversity is predicated on a concomitant effort to appreciate and protect cultural diversity.

This is awide-ranging and persuasive book written by an undisputed expert. Beginning with a broad history of the Universe, Earth, Life, and Man, it considers the origins and rise of science and technology, before moving on to discuss the present state of the world and its/our possible futures." Humans on Earth" then addresses the main challenges for social and economic development in the 21st century in the context of global change. It presents a detailed but non-technical analysis of questions relating to climate change, our dependence on fossil fuels, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, desertification, and air, water, soil, and ocean pollution, as well as problems related to overpopulation, poverty, social and economic inequalities, and conflict potential. The three main, but largely mutually exclusive, discourses on human development and the environment are described and discussed. The main emphasis is on the risks and uncertainties of the short-term future - the next 50 to 100 years - with regard to environmental degradation and the sustainability of our growth paradigm.

..". a sweeping, thoughtful view of the role of humans in shaping our modern world."
Paul Epstein, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School"