Broken Shells is a unique collection of photographs of broken shells along with inspirational words of wisdom.

Sally the sea turtle, Allen the albatross, and Pat the pelican are sea animals looking for food. How do sea animals know what to eat? What happens when animals eat plastic instead of food? Discover the dangers of "pesky plastic" in our oceans. Learn what you can do to help Sally, Allen, Pat and all the sea animals survive "pesky plastic." This ecology-centered story is a wonderful way to begin conversations with children about how each person's actions directly affect the environment. This book includes activities, and information about sea animals, recycling, and community activism. Age appropriate for grades K-3.

An account of the author's August 2007 solitary one-week stay in one of Provincetown's historic dune shacks with a discussion of the shacks' history. Delightful photographs by the author and others.

Coursing through the Atlantic Ocean is a powerful current with a force 300 times that of the mighty Amazon. Ulanski explores the fascinating science and history of this sea highway known as the Gulf Stream, a watery wilderness that stretches from the Caribbean to the North Atlantic. Spanning both distance and time, Ulanski's investigation reveals how the Gulf Stream affects and is affected by every living thing that encounters it--from tiny planktonic organisms to giant bluefin tuna, from ancient mariners to big-game anglers. He examines the scientific discovery of ocean circulation, the role of ocean currents in the settlement of the New World, and the biological life teeming in the stream.

The ocean is in danger. Someone has stolen the massive diamond that gives King Neptune his power to protect the oceans. Now, he has to assemble a team of sea creatures to recover the diamond before the seas go dark forever and the planet slowly dies. The Ocean Protectors soon discover that the future of the earth and ALL living things hinges on more than just returning the diamond. The crew will have to test their own unique skills at every turn to reverse the damage being done to the seas. And Duckey has to set aside his typewriter and face his greatest fear WATER When budding journalist Duckey is asked by King Neptune to cover the story of saving the earth s oceans, he ends up doing more than reporting the details. Duckey becomes an important member of the Ocean Protectors themselves. The future of the ocean and the planet is relying on a group of misfits. Duckey and the Ocean Protectors is both a fun-filled adventure and a lesson in discovery as these unlikely heroes each learns about their individual power, worth, and talent.

In this humorous guide to sea shell collecting, the author writes about how to find shells, the best beaches, how to identify shells with illustrations, and other topics of interest to shellers, as well as sharing her adventures in search of perfect shells. She wrote this book because of the many shell lovers who have looked at her collection and exclaimed, "How did you find that?" or "Where?" or "Did you really find all these shells?" This book has all the answers.

From vividly colored underwater photographs of Australia's Great Barrier Reef to life-size dioramas re-creating coral reefs and the bounty of life they sustained, the work of early twentieth-century explorers and photographers fed the public's fascination with reefs. In the 1920s John Ernest Williamson in the Bahamas and Frank Hurley in Australia produced mass-circulated and often highly staged photographs and films that cast corals as industrious, colonizing creatures, and the undersea as a virgin, unexplored, and fantastical territory. In Coral Empire Ann Elias traces the visual and social history of Williamson and Hurley and how their modern media spectacles yoked the tropics and coral reefs to colonialism, racism, and the human domination of nature. Using the labor and knowledge of indigenous peoples while exoticizing and racializing them as inferior Others, Williamson and Hurley sustained colonial fantasies about people of color and the environment as endless resources to be plundered. As Elias demonstrates, their reckless treatment of the sea prefigured attitudes that caused the environmental crises that the oceans and reefs now face.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

The largest creatures to inhabit the Earth, whales have long inspired awe in human beings. Because they spend almost 95 percent of their time beneath the ocean surface, however, little has been known about their lives--until recently. With advances in technology and more intense study, fresh facts are coming to light about these magnificent mammals, and to be a whale watcher now, says acclaimed author and wildlife biologist Douglas Chadwick, is to have a front-row seat to stunning discoveries.
Chadwick has followed and reported on whales for more than a decade, and in "The Grandest of Lives" he offers a fascinating insider's view of modern-day scientific whale observation--from data gathering to spirited scientific debate to expedition storytelling. In detailed portraits of five whale species that represent a cross-section of the forms and lifestyles of cetaceans worldwide--the humpback, northern bottlenose, blue whale, minke whale, and orca--Chadwick moves deftly from natural history to more personal observations, clearly communicating his fondness and admiration for these mammoth masters of the sea, as well as the sheer joy of being among them.

On a hot summer's day there could be no quicker transport to the seaside than Trevor Norton's cool and entrancing account of a lifetime's adventures under or near the water. Norton's eye for the bizarre, amazing, and beautiful inhabitants of the oceans, and the eccentric characters who work, study, and live by the shore make his book a wonder-filled experience. An intrepid diver and distinguished scientist, Norton's writing is self-deprecating, very funny, and full of wry and intriguing anecdotes; he is an unfailingly delightful companion. Whether his setting is a bed of jewel anemones in an Irish lough, a giant California cavern shared with sea lions, a mildewed research station, or the glittering coral gardens of Sharm el Sheikh, his captivating prose always finds the mark. Sometimes following the shoreline with earlier beachcombers such as Darwin, John Steinbeck, and George Orwell, Norton also takes the reader to depths where the shapes of creatures living without sunlight defy imagination. Admirers of the gorgeous detail of Rachel Carson's "The Sea Around Us" will revel in Norton's writing, his observations, and irreverent wit.

The waters around Australia, the world s smallest continent, are home to the greatest diversity of sharks and rays on Earth. Fully 100 of these sea creatures (along with their little-known relatives, the chimaerids) have been named or described since the first edition of this book the biggest revision of the Class Chondrichthyes since the time of Linneaus. This second edition of "Sharks and Rays of Australia" brings more than 300 of these species to life in newly commissioned, full-color illustrations.

Here, in precisely painted detail, are the weird silvery ghost shark and the remarkably camouflaged ornate wobbegong; spurdogs and swell sharks; the primitive frilled shark and the blacktip, a fast swimmer capable of leaping out of the water like a dolphin. Peter Last and John Stevens review the major shake-ups in the elasmobranch family tree sorting out, for instance, dogfishes and skates and include updated family keys, the latest information about species ranges, and new distribution maps. Extensively revised species descriptions reflect additional fisheries and newly gleaned life history and biological information all essential to conservation efforts as sharks die in commercial bycatches and end up on restaurant menus. An essential tool for conservation biologists trying to save threatened sharks, now under siege worldwide, this marvelous volume will also appeal to fish biologists, divers, naturalists, commercial and recreational fishermen, and anyone with an appreciation for these ancient evolutionary survivors.

This handy illustrated guide covers the ninety-one species of sharks, skates, and rays found in waters along the coasts of North Carolina and South Carolina. It will be an essential reference for shark enthusiasts, coastal residents, tourists, aquarium visitors, scientists, and anyone interested in these fascinating fish. In his introduction, Frank J. Schwartz provides a general explanation of the physical features of sharks, skates, and rays. He also discusses matters such as the possible causes of shark attacks, conservation concerns surrounding sport and commercial shark fishing, breeding habits, and shark fossils. Each species of shark, skate, and ray is shown in a clear illustration, accompanied by a concise description and notes on its color, size, distribution, and occurrence. A series of keys based on physical characteristics will aid readers in accurately identifying each species.

One population of a truly fascinating species; The Dolphins of Hilton Head introduces readers to the unique population of bottlenose dolphins that inhabit the warm water and brackish salt marshes of South Carolina's inland coastal waterways. Drawing on years of research in Hilton Head and the latest discoveries of scientists throughout the world, Cara Gubbins describes this atypical habitat and explains how the distinctive behaviors of Hilton Head dolphins distinguish them from other populations. She identifies their particular behavior patterns, vocalizations, behavioral ecology, and local traditions. Gubbins also offers practical suggestions on how best to view and understand these animals while visiting the island. Framing her study with a general overview of dolphins and their habits, Gubbins explores the natural history, ecology, and evolution of free-ranging Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in South Carolina. She compares this population with others throughout the world to reveal the South Carolina dolphins' innovative foraging techniques, novel social system, and unconventional habitat use patterns. Gubbins debunks widely held myths about the animals, addresses conservation issues that will affect their future in South Carolina waters, and discusses environmental problems that threaten them worldwide. While Gubbins looks specifically at the dolphins of Hilton Head, her guide helps readers understand these animals throughout the world. She offers advice not only for spotting dolphins but also for interpreting such specific behaviors as feeding, socializing, resting, traveling, and communication.

Pulitzer Prize winner William J. Broad takes us on an adventure to the planet's last and most exotic frontier -- the depths of the sea. The Universe Below examines how we are illuminating its dark recesses as a wave of advanced technology quietly opens the Earth's largest and most mysterious environment.

Broad takes us on breathtaking dives and expeditions -- to the Azores, to the Titanic, to hot springs teeming with bizarre life, to icy fissures aswarm with gulper eels, vampire squids, and gelatinous beasts longer than a city bus. We meet legendary explorers and researchers and go with them as they probe the ancient mysteries of a universe that encompasses the vast majority of the Earth's habitable space and holds millions of humanity's lost artworks and treasures.

The Universe Below is an unforgettable trip to our last great unexplored frontier.

The first-ever book published on the shells of the Sydney metropolitan area, this book covers 484 species which were collected during a period of four years. For each species, there is at least one detailed black-and-white line drawing, a description which covers features of the shell, the distribution and the habitat. Also included are a glossary of terms and an extensive list of references.

Of all the mammals on earth, none has inspired our affection as much as the dolphin. Fascinated by these creatures of myth, magic, and history, we have longed to penetrate the mystery that surrounds them and thrilled to the possibility of communicating with a species other than our own. In 1988 a group of researchers began a revolutionary experiment: they "borrowed" a pair of wild dolphins from the sea, studied them in captivity, and then set them free to continue studying the animals in their home waters. This is the extraordinary story of that project, an ongoing adventure shared by a daring team of humans and two very special dolphins that has built a bridge between disparate worlds and very different creatures. Now, Carol J. Howard, a researcher and primary member of the team invites you along on the coast-to-coast odyssey that began when two Atlantic bottlenose dolphins were captured in Tampa Bay, Florida, and transported to Long Marine Laboratory in Santa Cruz, California. Touching, enlightening, and ultimately inspiring, it's a story filled with drama, humor, and heartbreak - one that offers breathtaking possibilities and poses crucial questions for anyone who cares about the future of the dolphins ... and of the planet itself.

In "Listening to Whales, Alexandra Morton shares spellbinding stories about her career in whale and dolphin research and what she has learned from and about these magnificent mammals. In the late 1970s, while working at Marineland in California, Alexandra pioneered the recording of orca sounds by dropping a hydrophone into the tank of two killer whales. She recorded the varied language of mating, childbirth, and even grief after the birth of a stillborn calf. At the same time she made the startling observation that the whales were inventing wonderful synchronized movements, a behavior that was soon recognized as a defining characteristic of orca society.
In 1984, Alexandra moved to a remote bay in British Columbia to continue her research with wild orcas. Her recordings of the whales have led her to a deeper understanding of the mystery of whale echolocation, the vocal communication that enables the mammals to find their way in the dark sea. A fascinating study of the profound communion between humans and whales, this book will open your eyes anew to the wonders of the natural world.

The idea of the Arctic Ocean as a mediterranean sea is a shock to those of us-and that includes most of us-who cannot shake ourselves free of the Mercatorean vision. Yet this theme is repeated by many of the eminent ocntributors to this volume: as Michael Marsden states, "IT is difficult to impress upon the public and industry at large that the most essential quality of the Arctic is not cold, or gold, or polar bears, but a central position in the world community." This book, then, is about the North as a frontier, and about Canada's relations with the world beyond that frontier. It is about the Arctic community of which Canada is one of the major members, along with the Soviet Union, the United States, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway. It is also an exercise in perspective. Canadians have long been aware of the significance of their Atlantic and Pacific frontiers and of the implications of their Southern frontier. This volume points out that Canada is not a three-sided country. While it does not neglect the military importance of the Arctic, it endeavours to widen the scope of interest. But it does not present the familiar arguments about the surpassing importance of the Arctic. It deflates as well as inflates. Its purpose is to assess as precisely as possible the implications of the Arctic frontier, not to induce either visions or nightmares. It is intended not only for Canadians but for all those who are interested in the polar regions or in the shape of the world at large. The papers in this volume were assembled in collaboration by the Canadian Institute of International Affairs and the Arctic Institute of North America.

Jellyfish are, like the mythical Medusa, both beautiful and potentially dangerous. Found from pole to tropic, these mesmeric creatures form an important part of the sea's plankton and vary in size from the gigantic to the minute. Perceived as alien creatures and seen as best avoided, jellyfish nevertheless have the power to fascinate: with the sheer beauty of their translucent bells and long, trailing tentacles; with a mouth that doubles as an anus; and without a head or brain. Drawing upon myth and historical sources as well as modern scientific advances, this book examines our ambiguous relationship with these ancient and yet ill-understood animals, describing their surprisingly complex anatomy, weaponry and habits, and their vital contribution to the ocean's ecosystem.

"Ebert has herein assembled an enormous body of knowledge about California's 43 shark species ranging from shark and human behavior to taxonomic minutiae, along with up-to-date explanations of their ecology, status and fisheries. More importantly, his Herculean effort includes the often-overlooked 25 species of skates, rays and chimaeras. That, along with the fine illustrations of Mat Squillante, should answer any question that a student, diver, natural history buff, or recreational or commercial fisher might ask."--John E. McCosker, coauthor of "Great White Shark

"The timing of this publication is ideal given the status of some of California's elasmobranch populations and the need for a deeper understanding of their biology, ecology, and fishery management. The book is a comprehensive treatment--if one wants to find out the latest information on any species of shark or ray off California, this is the place to go. An outstanding work!"--Gregor M. Cailliet, Professor, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and Director, Pacific Shark Research Center