This engaging memoir presents one man's lifelong love of the ocean and gives a highly personal, behind-the-scenes look at California's magnificent and innovative aquariums. David Powell, for many years curator of the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, tells the story of his life as a pioneering aquarist. From handling great white sharks to transporting delicate fish on bumpy airplanes to night diving for fish in the Indian Ocean, "A Fascination for Fish" describes many of the mind-boggling challenges that make modern aquariums possible and offers an intriguing glimpse beneath the ocean's surface. Powell's career in diving and aquarium development goes back to the beginning of modern methods in both areas. From the early techniques he devised to get fish into aquariums alive and healthy to his later exploratory dive to a depth of eleven hundred feet in a two-person submarine, Powell's action-packed narrative inspires laughter, wonder, and philosophical reflection. A "Fascination for Fish" also includes many stories about Powell's diving adventures on the California coast, in the Sea of Cortez, and in many remote and exotic locations around the world.

"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

Within this guide are tools to identify and appreciate the 27 species of whales and dolphins that make this region home. From easily recognised humpback and killer whales to the elusive pygmy sperm whale, and from acrobatic white-sided dolphins to gregarious belugas, you will learn about each of their characteristics, feeding and behaviour, and habitat. Population status and threats to each species are also explored.

Seahorses are instantly recognisable and have been a part of our culture for millennia, yet we still know very little about these enigmatic creatures. Steve Trewhella and Julie Hatcher have spent hundreds of hours in British waters observing native seahorses, witnessing at first hand how they behave in the wild, and how they interact with the other plants and animals in their underwater realm. With stunning photography, In the Company of Seahorses paints a rich picture of a mysterious world amongst swaying seagrass and colourful seaweeds. The accompanying text is packed with personal anecdotes describing the authors' journey of discovery, illustrating for the first time the secretive lives of these elusive animals in British waters. By sharing one couple's passion for an entrancing ocean icon, this book aims to inspire, inform and create a better understanding of the seahorse and its often vulnerable habitats around the British coastline.

Seven-Tenths is James Hamilton-Paterson's classic exploration of the sea. A beautifully-written blend of literature and science, it is here brought back into print in a revised and updated edition which includes the acclaimed essay Sea Burial.

Come for a journey along the Jersey shore with naturalist and ecologist Joanna Burger In these deeply felt, closely observed personal essays, Burger invokes the intertwined lives of naturalist and wild creatures at the ever-changing edge of ocean and land. Discover with her the delicate mating dances of fiddler crabs, the dangers to piping plovers, the swarming of fish communities into the bays and estuaries, the trilling notes of Fowler's toads, and the subtle green-grays of salt marshes.Joanna Burger knows the shore through all its seasons--the first moment of spring when the herring gulls arrive on ice-gouged salt marshes, the end of spring when the great flocks of shorebirds come to feed on horseshoe crab eggs at Cape May, the summer when the peregrine hunts its prey, the fall when the migrations of hawks and monarch butterflies attract watchers from around the world, and the depths of winter when a lone snowy owl sweeps across snow-covered dunes and frozen bay.
This is a book that anyone who loves the Jersey shore will cherish And because so many of these wonderful creatures live all along the Atlantic coast, it will be of equal interest to beach-lovers, naturalists, bird-watchers, fishermen, and coastal and marine scientists from North Carolina to Maine.

In 1948, just weeks before his best friend, marine biologist Ed Ricketts died, John Steinbeck wrote of Ricketts process of discovery, noting that "a young, inquisitive, and original man might one morning find a fissure in the traditional technique of thinking. Through this fissure he might look out and find a new external world about him." A Tidal Odyssey a conversation about that "young, inquisitive, and original man" who found "a new external world about him" and so captivated the imagination of scientists and lay readers alike as he transformed our understanding of the seashore. This is a book about that remarkable man and his pathbreaking book about marine life on the Pacific Coast of North America. With his friend Jack Calvin, Ricketts authored his magnum opus, Between Pacific Tides (1939), a guide to the seashore invertebrates in one of the most prolific life zones in the world. He and Calvin describe the key field characteristics of the species, and then place them in their ecological context, by habitat, in a natural history-based narrative. At a time when almost all studies of life in the intertidal zones were taxonomic, Ricketts and Calvin revolutionized the field and helped to lay the groundwork for studies of the impact of environmental change on the natural world. By happenstance, Ed Ricketts is best known as a character in John Steinbeck's fiction. But the real man is obscured by Steinbeck's authorial license. Steinbeck's Doc is the quirky young man who reads Li Po and drinks beer milkshakes. He was also a serious marine biologist who conducted pioneering studies of life in the intertidal zones. He was a true renaissance man -- conversant in music and philosophy, poetry and mythology. Friendly with such notables as mythologist Joseph Campbell, experimental composer John Cage, and novelist Henry Miller, as well as with Steinbeck and many of the most eminent biologists of his time, he was a man for all seasons. This, then, is a book for readers who are interested in the world of Ed Ricketts as well as marine biology, intertidal ecology, and the manner in which ecological studies underpin our understanding of the impact of environmental change on the well being of our planet.

Conchas rotas es una coleccion unica de fotografias de conchas rotas junto con inspiradoras palabras de sabiduria.

Sea turtle populations around the world are endangered, and in recent years tourism has been a critical element in worldwide efforts to save them. More travelers seek meaningful experiences that bring them close to nature and wildlife, and opportunities to interact with and help sea turtles now exist at locations around the globe, from remote beaches to urban labs. In "A Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles, "a scientist, a conservationist, and a journalist have come together to provide a guide to the places where people can view sea turtles and participate in authentic conservation projects. Covering five continents and including the South Pacific and Caribbean, the authors direct readers to the parks, reserves, and research sites where they can responsibly observe turtles in the wild, especially nesting beaches where people can see female sea turtles lay eggs and hatchlings make their harrowing journey from nest to sea. Options for on-site lodging and other amenities are included, if available, as well as details of other nearby attractions that travelers may wish to include in their itineraries.

In this warm, lively account of living on and by the sea, Sarah Drummond writes of life as an apprentice fisherwoman. Through her firsthand experience with small-scale commercial fishing in the Great Southern, Drummond documents a way of life--fishing--that is slowly dying as waters become politicized and fished out. She writes of fishing, of feuds, and of all the fish that got away. "Salt Story" is a tribute to sea-dogs, fisherwomen, oystermen, and storytellers everywhere.

About 50 species of shorebirds breed in the Arctic, where they constitute the most characteristic component of the tundra avifauna. Here, we review the impact of weather and climate on the breeding cycle of shorebirds based on extensive studies conducted across the Arctic. Conditions for breeding shorebirds are highly variable among species, sites and regions, both within and between continents. Weather effects on breeding are most moderate in the Low Arctic of northern Europe and most extreme in the Siberian High Arctic. The decision of whether or not to breed upon arrival on the breeding grounds, the timing of egg-laying and the chick-growth period are most affected by annual variation in weather. In large parts of the Arctic, clutch initiation dates are highly correlated with snowmelt dates and in regions and years where extensive snowmelt occurs before or soon after the arrival of shorebirds, the decision to breed and on the breeding ecology of clutch initiation dates appear to be a function of food availability for laying females. Once incubation is initiated, adult shorebirds appear fairly resilient to variations in temperature with nest abandonment primarily occurring in case of severe weather with new snow covering the ground. Feeding conditions for chicks, a factor highly influenced by weather, affects juvenile production in most regions. Predation has a very strong impact on breeding productivity throughout the Arctic and subarctic, with lemming Dicrostonyx spp. and Lemmus spp. fluctuations strongly influencing predation rates, particularly in the Siberian Arctic. The fate of Arctic shorebirds under projected future climate scenarios is uncertain, but High Arctic species and populations appear particularly at risk. Climatic amelioration may benefit Arctic shorebirds in the short term by increasing both survival and productivity, whereas in the long term habitat changes both on the breeding grounds and on the temperate and tropical non-breeding areas may put them under considerable pressure and may bring some of them near to extinction. Their relatively low genetic diversity, which is thought to be a consequence of survival through past climatically-driven population bottlenecks, may also put them more at risk to anthropogenic-induced climate variation than other avian taxa.

This book summarises the findings of Seabird 2000, a major national initiative to census all the breeding seabirds in Britain and Ireland which incorporates the work of over 400 individuals counting seabird numbers at coastal and inland sites over 15 years. There is an account for each breeding species, with text by a specialist author discussing distributional characteristics and changes. There are 2 maps per species - one pinpointing each breeding colony, and another expressing expansion, decline, extinction and new colonisation. The British Isles are of global importance for breeding seabirds - over 4 million pairs from 25 species breed here, including almost all of the world's Manx Shearwaters and Northern Gannets. This is a readable and comprehensive distillation of the most exhaustive and detailed survey of seabird numbers in Britain ever conducted. It will be a fascinating read for all birders and an essential resource for everyone involved in the conservation of the marine environment.