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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > Wild animals > Aquatic creatures > General
Immerse yourself in this beautiful, absorbing guide to the marine world.
Earth owes its identity as the blue planet to the vast oceans of water
that cover almost 70 per cent of its surface. Home to an abundance of
marine life and vital in regulating Earth’s climate, the oceans are
also the backdrop to daring exploits of seafaring and to colourful
mythological tales. Combining arresting photography, rich
illustrations, and engaging, expertly written text, The Ocean Book
showcases the animals and plants, physical geography, and captivating
human stories of the world’s oceans.
Whether you’re interested in blue whales, penguins, coral reefs,
whirlpools, or the golden age of pirates, this is the perfect
exploration of the ocean realm.
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 transporting exploration of the deep sea, and how our planet’s strangest, most ancient and astonishing creatures have urgent relevance to cutting-edge science today.
Hundred-year-old giant clams, coral kingdoms the size and shape of cities, and jellyfish that glow in the dark: ocean invertebrates are among the oldest and most diverse organisms on Earth, seeming to bend the rules of land-based biology. Although sometimes unseen in the deep, these incredible spineless creatures contain 600 million years of adaptation to problems of disease, energy consumption, nutrition, and defence.
Marine ecologist Dr Drew Harvell takes us diving from Hawaii to the Salish Sea, from the Caribbean to Indonesia, to uncover the incredible underwater ‘superpowers’ of spineless creatures: we meet corals many times stronger than steel or concrete, sponges who create potent chemical compounds to fight off disease, and sea stars who garden the coastlines, keeping all the other nearby species in perfect balance. As our planet changes fast, the biomedical, engineering and energy innovations of these wondrous creatures hold ever more important secrets to our own survival.
The Ocean’s Menagerie is a tale of biological marvels, a story of a woman’s passionate connection to an adventurous career in science and a call to arms to protect the world’s most ancient ecosystems.
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.
Take a fascinating trip beneath the waves to see such vast and
fearsome creatures as the giant squid, the giant octopus, the
grotesque coelacanth, and the venomous and tentacled Portuguese
man-of-war, as well as rays, sharks, and whales, all captured in
stunning full-color photographs.
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.
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