Aquatic animals possess amazing defensive and offensive specialisations. Many, like the shark, are beautiful to behold in their native environment. In over 470 colourful photographs, this book captures the beauty of these creatures and offers a rich source of facts about them. There are sections dealing with their identifying features, biology, and habitat, as well as a section on prevention, first aid, and emergency procedures. There are also 11 colour maps, a glossary, and suggested readings. Included are: sharks, rays, and other wound-producing animals; aquatic animals that sting; invertebrates and vertebrates poisonous to eat; electric fishes and human parasitic catfish.

The British beach is full of creatures that we think we know - from crabs to clams, starfish to anemones. But, in fact, we barely understand how many survive or thrive. In Rock Pool the delights of childhood paddling are elevated to oceanic discoveries, as the fragile beauty and drama of intertidal existence is illustrated through the incredible lives of twenty-four individual creatures. Rock Pool is the eye-opening account of a life-long passion by a talented writer and naturalist.

The quiet manatee has long been a flash point of frequent environmental debates. It is Florida's most famous endangered species, as well as its most controversial. Manatees appear on hundreds of license plates, attract hordes of tourists, and expose the uneasy relationships between science and the law and between freedom and responsibility like no other animal. As passions have flared and resentments have grown, the battle over manatee protection has evolved into a war, and no reporter has followed the story more closely than Craig Pittman, the first environmental writer to explore the complex history, culture, and science of the controversies and concerns surrounding this remarkable creature. With an abiding interest in the uncertain fate of this unique species, Manatee Insanity provides the first in-depth history of the attempts to provide legal protection for the manatee. Pittman follows Florida's gentle giants through time and space, detailing interactions with a variety of human actors, from Jacques-Yves Cousteau to Jeb Bush to Jimmy Buffett, from a popular children's book author to a federal lawman who dressed in a gorilla suit for the ultimate undercover assignment.

From beer labels to literary classics like A River Runs Through It, trout fishing is a beloved feature of the iconography of the American West. But as Jen Brown demonstrates in Trout Culture: How Fly Fishing Forever Changed the Rocky Mountain West, the popular conception of Rocky Mountain trout fishing as a quintessential experience of communion with nature belies the sport's long history of environmental manipulation, engineering, and, ultimately, transformation. A fly-fishing enthusiast herself, Brown places the rise of recreational trout fishing in a local and global context. Globally, she shows how the European sport of fly-fishing came to be a defining, tourist-attracting feature of the expanding 19th-century American West. Locally, she traces the way that the burgeoning fly-fishing tourist industry shaped the environmental, economic, and social development of the Western United States: introducing and stocking favored fish species, eradicating the less favored native "trash fish," changing the courses of waterways, and leading to conflicts with Native Americans' fishing and territorial rights. Through this analysis, Brown demonstrates that the majestic trout streams often considered a timeless feature of the American West are in fact the product of countless human interventions adding up to a profound manipulation of the Rocky Mountain environment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKMwEkKj9jg

Otters by Nicola Chester is an accessible and lively account of an intriguing and much-loved animal that, surprisingly, is still endangered and rarely seen despite a recent resurgence that has seen it expand from the remote countryside into our cities. Nicola's charming, informed text brings this elusive and exciting mammal into sharper focus revealing what an otter is, and how they live, feed, play and breed. Nicola reflects on how otters exist in our imaginations culturally and how that has changed over the years. She also examines the many challenges otters have faced, exposing what brought them to the brink of extinction, and explores the challenges we face in trying to find and watch otters in the wild. Each Spotlight title is carefully designed to introduce readers to the lives and behaviour of our favourite birds and mammals.

Walleye, the holy grail of game fish: on catching them, understanding their biology and history, and ensuring their survival Among the more than 34,000 species of fish, few have the walleye's following-among anglers and diners, states conferring official status on the fish, and towns battling for recognition as the Walleye Capital of the World. And among those passionate fans, few know the walleye as well as Paul J. Radomski does-a fisheries biologist, lake ecology scientist, and old fisherman. In Walleye: A Beautiful Fish of the Dark he unspools the mysteries of this fascinating fish. Radomski looks at walleye from every angle, with something to say to the curious naturalist, committed ecologist, and avid fishing enthusiast. People who view walleye as the "lion of the lakes" might be surprised to learn that rivers are their ancestral habitat. Some might wonder about the name "wall-eye," a nod to an evolutionary adaptation to dark water environments. Others might simply ask: why walleye? What are they, where do they exist, how do they survive, and how have people come to depend on them? Radomski discusses the principles and pitfalls of managing this predator of the twilight (and the history and methods of doing so) and shares his informed perspective on when and where stocking is prudent. Finally, he explores three of the best walleye lakes: Winnebago, the largest inland walleye fishery in Wisconsin, and Mille Lacs and Red Lake in Minnesota. From the simple pleasures of fishing for walleye to the most pressing questions about how this species survives, this book is the best word on this beautiful fish of the dark.

"Cephalopods are often misunderstood creatures. Three biologists set the record straight."--Science News Largely shell-less relatives of clams and snails, the marine mollusks in the class Cephalopoda--Greek for "head-foot"--are colorful creatures of many-armed dexterity, often inky self-defense, and highly evolved cognition. They are capable of learning, of retaining information--and of rapid decision-making to avoid predators and find prey. They have eyes and senses rivaling those of vertebrates like birds and fishes, they morph texture and body shape, and they change color faster than a chameleon. In short, they captivate us. From the long-armed mimic octopus--able to imitate the appearance of swimming flounders and soles--to the aptly named flamboyant cuttlefish, whose undulating waves of color rival the graphic displays of any LCD screen, there are more than seven hundred species of cephalopod. Featuring a selection of species profiles, Octopus, Squid, and Cuttlefish reveals the evolution, anatomy, life history, behaviors, and relationships of these spellbinding animals. Their existence proves that intelligence can develop in very different ways: not only are cephalopods unusually large-brained invertebrates, they also carry two-thirds of their neurons in their arms. A treasure trove of scientific fact and visual explanation, this worldwide illustrated guide to cephalopods offers a comprehensive review of these fascinating and mysterious underwater invertebrates--from the lone hunting of the octopus, to the social squid, and the prismatic skin signaling of the cuttlefish.

For an angler, it's tough to beat the fresh-caught flavor and satisfaction of a delicious fish dinner savored after a successful day on the water. But to get the most from your catch, it must be handled, cleaned, and prepared properly from the moment of capture. In this long-awaited guide, outdoorsman Monte Burch, with the help of step-by-step instructions and detailed illustrations, explains how to handle all types of gamefish caught in both fresh and salt water, including trout, salmon, bass, walleye, perch, catfish, northern pike, bluefish, redfish, striped bass, and many others. This handbook covers the skills needed for gutting, scaling, skinning, steaking, and filleting all popular gamefish, as well as the knives, tools, and other equipment needed, and illustrates basic cooking methods. Burch also describes the best techniques for preserving fish, including freezing, drying, pickling, canning, and smoking. Then he shares many of his favorite recipes for frying, baking, poaching, and broiling your fish. Cleaning and Preparing Gamefish is a book all anglers will want to keep close at hand and refer to often. Its usefulness will last a lifetime.

A tale of obsession and very big fish from Jeremy Wade, the presenter of ITV's RIVER MONSTERS. Over ten feet long, it weighs in at nearly a quarter of a ton. Covering its back are armoured plates made of bone. Five hundred stiletto-sharp teeth line its long crocodilian jaws. It's a prehistoric beast of staggering proportions; a fearsome creature from the time of the dinosaurs. But the Alligator Gar, an air-breathing survivor from the Cretaceous period is still with us today, patrolling inland rivers, hunting in murky waters shared by human communities. And for Jeremy Wade, described as the 'greatest angling explorer of his generation', the Gar and other outlandish freshwater predators have been an obsession for all his adult life. With names like Arapaima, Snakehead, Goonch, Goliath Tigerfish and Electric Eel, many of them have acquired an almost mythical status. In a quest that has taken him from the Amazon to the Congo, and from North America to the mountains of India, Wade has pursued the truth about these little known, often misunderstood animals. Along the way he's survived a plane crash, malaria and a fish-inflicted blow to the chest that, according to a later scan, caused permanent scarring to his heart. In RIVER MONSTERS, Wade delivers a sometimes jaw-dropping blend of adventure, natural history, legend and detective work. It reads like a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster. But it's all true. These are fisherman's tales like you've never heard before. The stories of the ones that didn't get away ...

Humans everywhere have always been fascinated by octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish, known biologically as cephalopods. They evolved hundreds of millions of years ago and are related to molluscs such as mussels and snails. They can grow to an enormous size with eyes as big as footballs, but they still live for only a couple of years. They mate once in their lifetime and die shortly after. They have blue blood and three hearts and they can shoot out jet-black ink. They have a brain and have behaviours that could be interpreted as signs of intelligence, even though more than half of their brain is distributed in their arms. They are colour blind, but they can change the colour of their skin in a flash. They are masters of disguise and are able to alter the texture of their skin and the patterns displayed on it at lighting speed. They can also 'taste' using the suckers on their arms. They can move extremely fast thanks to a jet-propulsion system built into their body cavity. Although they are soft-bodied and look vulnerable, cephalopods are formidable predators. Octopuses have arms that are so strong that they can exert a force equal to hundreds of times their own body weight. Squid and cuttlefish can shoot out a tentacle to capture prey at the speed of a javelin thrown by an expert athlete. Cephalopods are, however, so much more than just fascinating creatures with strange physical characteristics. They are a nutritious, delicious protein source that has found a place for thousands of years in many food cultures around the world. As squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses are native to virtually all parts of the ocean, they are an excellent and available alternative to meat from terrestrial animals. This book is written to promote the overall place of cephalopods in home kitchens and to inspire the uninitiated to add them to their diet. It describes the many facets of their anatomy that play a central role in their potential use as healthy, diverse, and interesting food sources, with a particular emphasis on their taste and texture. By way of an assortment of recipes, the authors hope to dispel the myth that it is difficult to prepare delicious dishes using squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses. In addition, there are contributions to the on-going discussions about how marine resources can be exploited more responsibly in a sustainable manner. Ole G. Mouritsen is a professor of gastrophysics and culinary food innovation at the University of Copenhagen,president of the Danish Gastronomical Academy, and director of the Danish national research and communication centre Taste for Life. Klavs Styrbaek is a chef and leader of the gastronomic enterprise STYRBAEKS, which includes a gourmet restaurant, a cooking school, a catering service, and a product development branch.

Off the coast of California, running from Santa Barbara to La Jolla, lies an archipelago of eight islands known as the California Channel Islands. The northern five were designated as Channel Islands National Park in 1980 to protect and restore the rich habitat of the islands and surrounding waters. In the years since, that mission intensified as scientists discovered the extent of damage to the delicate habitats of these small fragments of land and to the surprisingly threatened sea around them. In Restoring Nature Lary M. Dilsaver and Timothy J. Babalis examine how the National Park Service has attempted to reestablish native wildlife and vegetation to the five islands through restorative ecology and public land management. The Channel Islands staff were innovators of the inventory and monitoring program whereby the resource problems were exposed. This program became a blueprint for management throughout the U.S. park system. Dilsaver and Babalis present an innovative regional and environmental history of a little-known corner of the Pacific West, as well as a larger national narrative about how the Park Service developed its approach to restoration ecology, which became a template for broader Park Service policies that shaped the next generation of environmental conservation.

Nautilus Award Silver Medal Winner, Ecology & Environment In search of a new story for our place on earth Being Salmon, Being Human examines Western culture's tragic alienation from nature by focusing on the relationship between people and salmon-weaving together key narratives about the Norwegian salmon industry as well as wild salmon in indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest. Mueller uses this lens to articulate a comprehensive critique of human exceptionalism, directly challenging the four-hundred-year-old notion that other animals are nothing but complicated machines without rich inner lives and that Earth is a passive backdrop to human experience. Being fully human, he argues, means experiencing the intersection of our horizon of understanding with that of other animals. Salmon are the test case for this. Mueller experiments, in evocative narrative passages, with imagining the world as a salmon might see it, and considering how this enriches our understanding of humanity in the process. Being Salmon, Being Human is both a philosophical and a narrative work, rewarding readers with insightful interpretations of major philosophers-Descartes, Heidegger, Abram, and many more-and reflections on the human-Earth relationship. It stands alongside Abram's Spell of the Sensuous and Becoming Animal, as well as Andreas Weber's The Biology of Wonder and Matter and Desire-heralding a new "Copernican revolution" in the fields of biology, ecology, and philosophy.

Tilapia and other species of fish can be raised in earthen ponds, cement raceways and tanks, cages and enclosures. This focus on construction of ponds, tanks, raceways and cages. It covers the how, what, where and why of every type of water system needed for fish farming. The book explores the latest for building, use of equipment as well as terrain conditions, plus current technologies.