Book Description

This fully revised and expanded edition of Fundamentals of Soil Ecology continues its holistic approach to soil biology and ecosystem function.Students and ecosystem researchers will gain a greater understanding of the central roles that soils play in ecosystem development and function.The authors emphasize the increasing importance of soils as the organizing center for all terrestrial ecosystems and provide an overview of theory and practice of soil ecology, both from an ecosystem and evolutionary biology point of view.This volume contains updated and greatly expanded coverage of all belowground biota (roots, microbes and fauna) and methods to identify and determine its distribution and abundance.New chapters are provided on soil biodiversity and its relationship to ecosystem processes, suggested laboratory and field methods to measure biota and their activities in ecosystems..

* Contains over 60% new material and 150 more pages
* Includes new chapters on soil biodiversity and its relationship to ecosystem function
* Outlines suggested laboratory and field methods
* Incorporates new pedagogical features
* Combines theoretical and practical approaches ... Read more

Book Description

Toxic chemicals can exert effects on all levels of the biological hierarchy, from cells to organs to organisms to populations to entire ecosystems. However, most risk assessment models express their results in terms of effects on individual organisms, without corresponding information on how populations, groups of species, or whole ecosystems may respond to chemical stressors. Ecological Modeling in Risk Assessment: Chemical Effects on Populations, Ecosystems, and Landscapes takes a new approach by compiling and evaluating models that can be used in assessing risk at the population, ecosystem, and landscape levels.The authors give an overview of the current process of ecological risk assessment for toxic chemicals and of how modeling of populations, ecosystems, and landscapes could improve the status quo. They present a classification of ecological models and explain the differences between population, ecosystem, landscape, and toxicity-extrapolation models. The authors describe the model evaluation process and define evaluation criteria. Finally, the results of the model evaluations are presented in a concise format with recommendations on modeling approaches to use now and develop further.The authors present and evaluate various models on the basis of their realism and complexity, prediction of relevant assessment endpoints, treatment of uncertainty, regulatory acceptance, resource efficiency, and other criteria. They provide models that will improve the ecological relevance of risk assessments and make data collection more cost-effective. Ecological Modeling in Risk Assessment serves as a reference for selecting and applying the best models when performing a risk assessment. ... Read more

Book Description

Tropical habitats may contain more than a third of the world´s plant and animal species; Costa Rica alone is home to one of the highest levels of biodiversity per unit area in the world, and stands at center stage in worldwide conservation efforts. Within such regions, the use of state-of-the-art digital mapping technologies -sophisticated techniques that are relatively inexpensive and accessible -represents the future of conservation planning and policy. These methods, which employ satellites to obtain visual data on landscapes, allow environmental scientists to monitor encroachment on indigenous territories, trace park boundaries through unmarked wilderness, and identify wildlife habitats in regions where humans have limited access.
Focusing on the rich biodiversity of Costa Rica, the contributors demonstrate the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to enhance conservation efforts. They give an overview of the spatial nature of conservation and management and the current status of digital mapping in Costa Rica; a review of the basic principles behind digital mapping technologies; a series of case studies using these technologies at a variety of scales and for a range of conservation and management activities; and the results of the Costa Rican gap analysis project. GIS Methodologies for Developing Conservation Strategies provides powerful tools for those involved in decision-making about the natural environment, particularly in developing nations like Costa Rica where such technologies have not yet been widely adopted. For specialists in such areas as geography, conservation biology, and wildlife and natural resource management, the combination of conceptual background and case examples make the book a crucial addition to the literature. ... Read more

Book Description

This book examines behavioral adaptations of tropical birds in timing of breeding, life history traits, mating systems and parental care, territoriality, communication, and biotic interactions, and emphasizes the many gaps in our knowledge of tropical birds. We urge students and researchers in temperate and tropical regions alike to realize the potential they have for improving our knowledge of avian adaptations far beyond what is currently accepted as gospel. Time is running out. ... Read more

Book Description

In the 1930s, while the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression sent most of America into the doldrums, a lively intellectual and artistic community formed in the West, revolving around three legendary friends: Ed Ricketts, John Steinbeck, and Joseph Campbell. Steinbeck immortalized Monterey’s bohemian spirit in Cannery Row, but the area’s true lifeblood was his best friend and mentor, Ed Ricketts.

Today he’s usually remembered as "Doc"—the beer-drinking philosopher-scientist who presides over Monterey’s population of "whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons ofbitches" in Cannery Row—but Ricketts was actually a trailblazing ecologist who did seminal work in the emerging field on the Pacific coast. His two books, Between Pacific Tides and Sea of Cortez (coauthored with Steinbeck), are still considered classics. This is a thoughtful and revealing portrait of symbiotic friendship, a suspenseful tale of adventure at sea, and the story of how an unbecoming, outcast scientist became a legend in the annals of American literature.

This book contains over 60 illustrations, including photos, maps, and line drawings. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Almost perfect story of Edward F. Ricketts
This book is a result of considerable research by the author and is very well written. I believe that it is an essential text for anyone interested in the Steinbeck Cannery Row era.

The weakness of the book lies in the author's presentation of Ricketts as the primary contributing influence over Steinbeck and even Joseph Campbell. While there is no doubt about Ricketts' contributing influence, Steinbeck and Campbell were contributing and teaching influences on Ricketts and if alive, I believe he would agree.

Like Ricketts argument regarding individual creature influence on the tide pool, the primary influence on Steinbeck and Ricketts was the "Row" as the meeting place, a considerably more complex human tide pool. Steinbeck (and Campbell) brought as much to Ricketts as he did with them. More importantly the individual elements of the row such as Carol Steinbeck, the bums, market owner Wing Chong, and the whores consciously and unconsciously influenced the row and as a result, each other. This Ricketts-like, more holistic perspective seems to have escaped the author. The book is fascinating reading in any case.

This Doc Rocks
Tamm does an excellent job of separating the fictionalized Doc of "Cannery Row" fame from the flesh and blood self-made scientist/adventurer that was Ed Ricketts. "Beyond the Outer Shores" combines rip-snorting travelogue, narrative biography and gossip into the lives of Ricketts, John Steinbeck and Joseph Campbell. Easily the best Ricketts book out there. Highly recommended for all aficionados of real-life adventure tales, and indespensible for Steinbeck and Campbell fans.

"What's Up, Doc?"
Ed Ricketts "Doc" ever heard of him? Me neither, but after roaring through first time author, Eric Enno Tamm's portrait of the fraternal relationship between America's beloved John Steinbeck and this shadowy almost mythological figure I can't help but feel the loss of his violent and tragic passing more than half a century ago. It's often said that "no man is an island" and nowhere is this more true than in the case of writers. Ed Ricketts was to John Steinbeck (and Joseph Campbell) what Neal Cassidy was to Jack Kerouac. If America's legendary literary tradition is to endure we need not only more great writers and their muses but books like Tamm's "BEYOND THE OUTER SHORES" to memorialize their friendships. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Social Foraging Theory
This is an excellent theoretical study. The mathematics seemed to explain general patters, and offered insights to the field worker. The organization was logical and the extensions of behavioral models to ecological processes suggest new directions for both theoretical and experimental work. A broad range of biological scientists should read this book.

Putting social back into foraging
This is an excellent and timely book, about the behavioral ecology of foraging in animals. This is a field that lacked progress since optimal foraging theories in the 1970's, and the authors make clear why, namely that the social dimension has too often been ignored. The authors remedy this omission and provide a clear and comprehensive overview of contemporary views on foraging theory in a social context.

The art of being complicated
This book is the art of writing complex and no attempt has been made to simplify the (indeed complex) field of behavioral ecology in general and foraging theory in particular. This is a book for the specialist only, certainly not for students, neither for graduates, not even for researchers working aside the very narrow field of foraging theory. The book is not very well organized, and one gets lost rapidly. If mathematics are not your strong point, or your background is weak, you will have a hard time with that book. The writing is somewhat stiff, complicated and argumentation difficult to follow. I certainly do not recommend it unless you are a very specialist of foraging theory, or want to be one.

a synthesis of foraging behavior
This book brings the different components of social foraging behavior into one general comprehensive theory. For instance, this book does a great job at linking the benefits and costs of living in group. It goes through detailed, well explained, models to bring general tendencies and go beyond that in providing predictions to test for the years to come. This book is easy to read and provide the best review of social foraging to date. I recommend it to anyone interested in behavioral and population ecology. ... Read more

Book Description

Insect-related evidence is one of the most powerful, least understood examples of modern forensic science. Entomology and the Law is a detailed roadmap from crime scene to courtroom--for entomologists, law enforcement personnel and lawyers preparing for trial. Part I focuses on carrion flies as forensic indicators, exploring relevant biology clearly and concisely illustrated by real-life cases. Part II is a thorough examination of the law of scientific evidence worldwide, complete with caselaw, applicable code provisions, and legal issues relevant to the admissibility and use of forensic entomology in litigation. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

C.S.I. comes to life!
If you're a fan of the hit television series C.S.I., then this book is for you. It explains in clear, understandable terms exactly how C.S.I. professionals use scientific evidence to solve crimes. It is fascinating to see how insects can actually provide the key to murder mysteries.

Forensic Entomology made understandable!
This is a superb work of immense scope and brilliance. The authors leave no aspect of forensic entomology a mystery. Splendid for experts, both scientists and lawyers alike.

This is what CSI is really about!
Bugs are excellent crime solvers. This terrific book explains how and why, in a way everyone can understand. Great for everyone from experts to novices.

CSI made easy!!!!
This book makes it easy for even a layperson to understand the forensic entomology evidence so often featured on the C.S.I. television series! Kunich and Greenberg take insect-related evidence and make it come alive. What an amazing book!

Comprehensive? Hardly¿
Entomology and the Law by Greenberg and Kunich was promoted to be "the first comprehensive book on forensic entomology." This book certainly does not live up to that description, though it is a decent book in its own rights. At [the price], the book seems a little thin and incomplete.

The first section of the book, written by Dr. Greenberg, deals with the history, biology, identification, and use of forensically important flies. Dr. Greenberg's knowledge of flies is indeed extensive, and he has included keys to species of adults and larvae (pupae are ignored) of carrion flies from many parts of the world. Note that only flies are covered in this book, and all of the other forensically important insects are ignored. Also there is no mention of insect succession on the corpse outside of the preface to the first section of the book. This aspect alone limits the application of this book to the early postmortem interval.

The second section of the book, written by John Kunich, focuses on the legal applications of forensic entomology. This section deals with the laws behind scientific evidence, the admissibility of insect evidence, and how to optimize the use of such evidence. Placing the legal aspects into the prospective of forensic entomology made this section useful to the scientist who is interested in that aspect of the criminal justice system alone.

This book is far from being comprehensive. Nowhere are the details of the collection of entomological evidence presented, successional patterns of insects are largely ignored, and the temperature information included in the book is incomplete. Though lawyers and entomologists with experience in the field of medicocriminal entomology will benefit from this book, the curious lay person or law enforcement official should save their money and purchase either Catts & Haskell or Byrd & Castner. ... Read more

Book Description

During the past twenty years, multitudes of exciting discoveries in the field of anaerobic bacteria have been made. BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF ANAEROBIC BACTERIA explores the full range of these microorganisms.

Many anaerobes have been found to have the uniquely fascinating quality of being able to survive, indeed even thrive, in extreme environments. Anaerobic bacteria often do not require oxygen, can survive extremes in temperature, and can withstand the presence of toxins and heavy metals. In addition, these organisms have very different metabolic processes than "conventional" microorganisms. The wide diversity of metabolism in anaerobes is only part of the story. They have distinct energies, cytochromes, electron transport proteins, hydrogenases and dohydrogenases. Their molecular biology, physiology, and ability to use many types of electron receptors (CO2, sulfur, nitrogen and metal oxides) are also extraordinary.

With practical applications ranging from wastewater treatment to food storage issues, clinical diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of medical conditions to decontamination of heavy metal exposures BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF ANAEROBIC BACTERIA will prove indispensable to researchers and students alike. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

THE SKY "MIGHT" BE FALLING!
Being the first reviewer of this title verifies the specificity of the subject matter. Trying to be a skeptic among both extremes of environmental thought can be a tough act, especially after reading such explosive "documentation" of what Catton blatantly subtitles "The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change". His research is thick and juicy; his claims believeable. Written in 1980, the concerns maintain an ever-increasing credibility of the much earlier "Tragedy of the commons" analogy, in that, limited resources and unlimited consumption will eventually come to a head. This book shines a giant flashlight on what many don't what to look at. I'm still on the fence, but looking into the other yard now. Highly recommend this for those in the light though it is written for those in the dark. Could be one of the most important books in this lifetime if not the next. ... Read more

Book Description

There is much more to black flies than you can learn in the woods on a warm spring day. This book compiles the authors’ previously unpublished research and nearly all of the published information on North American black flies. All aspects of black flies are treated within the context of a worldwide perspective, including natural history and ecology, cytology and morphology, phylogeny and classification, economic impact, pest management, natural enemies, history of research, study methods, and identification.

Each of the 254 species known from the continent north of Mexico, including 43 new species, is treated in detail. Each species account summarizes all pertinent information on taxonomy, morphology, cytology, physiology, molecular systematics, and bionomics. The book is copiously illustrated with more than 1,100 figures, including color drawings of larvae and adult thoraxes, by some of the world’s foremost scientific illustrators. Additional figures and photographs show chromosomal and morphological features, portraits of important researchers, control efforts, natural enemies, oviposition behavior, and cladograms. Detailed distribution maps show the range of each species.

A Comstock Book published in Association with the Royal Ontario Museum ... Read more

Book Description

Nominated for the Winship/PEN New England Award

In Water: A Natural History,&nbsp Alice Outwater takes us on a journey that begins500 years ago, back to the wardrobe records of the kings of France and the diaries of the first Western explorers, to recover a lost knowledge -- how the land cleans its water.Water&nbsp moves from the reservoir to the toilet, from the grasslands of the Midwest to the Everglades of Florida, through the guts of a wastewater treatment plant and out to the waterways again.Step by step, we come to learn what should have been done from the beginning: A complex ecological system long kept American water remarkably clean but as we have randomly removed necessary components from it, we have simplified the system to the point where it can no longer do its job.While engineering can depollute water, only these ecologically interacting systems can create healthy waterways.Water&nbsp is the unforgettable story of the symbiosis that existed between the country's water, the land from which it springs and the life the two support together.It is a story that none of us who hope to live on this planet can afford to miss. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Clarity about the reason why our water is not yet clear/pure
Many of the books on the increasingly common water shortages spend a great deal of their time listing mind numbing statistics. This author is authoritative but has the sense to pick a few key reasons why our entire US water infrastructure needs the help of nature. Beavers and prairie dogs may be what we need, at least in this country, to improve the percolating powers of the earth to clean what science alone cannot remove from our water. This is one of the few books in this area that is readable by anyone over mid-teens. I highly recommend this book for a history of why the Clean Water Act is not enough.

If Aldo Leopold was alive today he would recommend this book
This wonderful book is not about the molecule or its chemistry. It is the natural history of life's most basic building material as it has been used and abused on the North American continent over the past five hundred years or so. It would be reasonable to call this engaging book a short history of the ecology of America's water only, as vital as it is, water is not alive. The author traces the interactions of living systems with the natural water cycle to support the thesis that nature had water quality and quantity problems well sorted out before we humans came on the scene. She indicates that restoration of natural systems of porus grasslands, free-flowing streams,fresh-water mussels, beaver ponds, and mature woodlands may very well be the "best practise" for water quality management if this country is serious about making every river, lake and stream fishable and swimable. As I read this well crafted history it occurred to me that this book belongs in the same league as "A Sand County Almanac". I am sure Aldo leopold would agree.

Excellent view of the big picture
This book is a must read for everyone. It was well documented and interesting, covering a lot of information in a small, easily read book. It's the type of book that should be used in classrooms as required reading, for it promotes a greater understanding of our world.

most informative book on water and environment
This book opens one's eyes about water, the way the water cycle was before the continent was despoiled, little things like water percolating through leaves and big things like the beaver dams constructed by 200 million beavers...now, there are 200 million people! We are ordering extra copies to give away, to inform and to intrigue people in all walks of life.

Jam-packed, Non-fat Eco-journey
This is a superlative book; I recommend anyone living in the USA to read it. It is short, but each sentence is informative, there are no wasted words, no fat. It is scientifically and historically acurate to the smallest detail, but never dry. Outwater's writing style is flowing and musical, and each sentence takes you further and deeper into an Alice-in-Wonderland journey of the magic and marvel of each of the ecosytems she describes. She uses water as the vehicle for each journey, from molecules to the ocean. She describes the balances of Nature and how humans have fit in, or destroyed, these balances. I am a longtime outdoorsman, photographer, and conservationist, and had thought I was reasonably observant. But reading this book was like having a film removed from my eyes and being fitted with ultra-acute vision and hightened understanding and appreciation of our history and environment. ... Read more

Book Description

This new practical guide provides a "hands-on" approach to learning the essential concepts and techniques of landscape ecology. The fundamental knowledge gained will enable students to usefully address landscape-level ecological and management issues. It is an ideal companion to the text, Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice by Monica G. Turner, Robert H. Gardner, and Robert V. O'Neill, also published by Springer-Verlag. The book is organized into nine sections comprising 20 chapters, each of which consists of a lab focusing on an important point in the text. A variety of approaches are presented: group discussion, thought problems, written exercises, and modeling. Each exercise is categorized as to whether it is for individual, small group, or whole class study. Appendices of additional exercises using specialized technical tools of landscape ecology (for example, GIS) are supplied for instructors with appropriate equipment. The book includes a CD-ROM containing spatial data sets and modeling software for use with a number of the exercises.

About the Included CD: Many of the labs use only Excel (.xls) files or Adobe (.pdf) files (or no files at all) and as such are compatible with computers running on either Mac or Windows platforms, as long as the computers have Excel and/or Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.Chapters 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 and part of 7 fall into this category. Several other programs require a PC running Windows: Markov, HarvestLite, Rule, Fragstats, ReserveDesign and Folio are DOS executables; ArcExplorer and Bachmap must be installed on a Windows PC. These programs require a Windows emulator for use on a Macintosh platform. ... Read more

Book Description

128 color photographs, more than 1,000 line drawings, 2 maps In the spirit of the avid desert botanist Willis Linn Jepson, The Jepson Desert Manual provides botanical enthusiasts of all backgrounds with the first comprehensive field guide focused exclusively on native and naturalized vascular plants of California's southeastern deserts. Based on The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, the Desert Manual incorporates new illustrations for more than two hundred desert taxa, revised keys to identification, updated distributional information, and 128 color photographs. This guide will allow easier identification of California's fascinating desert plants than would be possible in a manual with broader geographic coverage. As in The Jepson Manual, detailed descriptions and illustrations of plant characteristics are provided, along with information on native versus alien status, habitats, elevation, endangerment, toxicity, weed status, horticultural requirements, and flowering times. Introductory sections on the desert setting and vegetation offer the reader a broad context and new perspectives for appreciating the more than twenty five hundred plant species included in the Manual. For amateur and professional botanists alike, the Desert Manual will prove to be an invaluable companion in California's spectacular Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, and southern Great Basin environments, including the White Mountains. ... Read more

Book Description

An unmatched reference work distinguished by its erudition and beauty, The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures is an illustrated who's who of prehistoric life, a Baedeker of more than 500 million years of evolution on Earth.

With entries for more than 600 species, each arranged in its evolutionary sequence, the book presents a panorama of enormous diversity, from predatory dinosaurs to primitive amphibians, from giant armored fish to woolly mammoths, saber-tooth tigers and dire wolves. Each entry features a specially commissioned full-color painting prepared according to the best research of today in close collaboration with world-renowned paleontologists. The records of the rocks -- fossil bones, teeth, skin, hair and even footprints and nests -- have been combined with knowledge of the anatomy and behavior of present-day descendants to arrive at informed judgments about posture, color and other aspects of appearance.

Lively and informative "biographies" of the creatures accompany these remarkable illustrations: how they moved, what they ate, where they ranged and the habitats and ecological niches they occupied. Comparisons are made wherever possible with familiar living animals, highlighting both the contrasts and similarities. Also included are articles on subjects such as the time scale of evolution, fossil formation and interpretation and convergent evolution.

Truly a magnificent sourcebook, The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures is both a triumph of scholarship and a work of art. It will stand as the best and most accurate presentation of the prehistoric animal world available. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Engaging at first, but then the flaws ...
This book looked great at first, but then, on closer inspection, the drawings are second-rate, the information is thin, and the inaccuracies mount. Yet, there are no real alternatives that seek to comprehensively catalogue ancient life. I'd still buy it, but my enthusiasm has waned.

On the second thought...
Several months after acquiring the book I leaf through it and wonder how I could have given it such a high rating as I did. It has flaws throughout!

- The book appears to have a drastic shortage of species to list - it is only half as thick as Simon and Schuster's Encyclopedia of Animals - despite the fact that on numerous occasions they list but one or two species from a thirty-species family;

- The art is severely degraded from the above mentioned encyclopedia of animals. While I can see the puzzlement concerning the colors of the creatures' hides, there is no excuse for the the sloppy drawings of several of the animals! If you make a conjecture, please, be sure to follow through! On several of the animals the hair cover fails to obey the laws of physics, and most of the amphibians look like a horrid joke.

- The information is sketchy at best - on numerous occasions special biological mechanisms are mentioned (like a new jaw bone arrangement for the fishes, and the skull structures of the early land animals), yet are never explained in function. Almost all species are captioned with the basics like weight and dimensions followed with senseless filler.

- The between-section class summarizations and the cladistic graphs are also very, very basic. While I understand that the book was not intended for specialists, even the basic layman will find the charts a bit "dumbed down".

This book is flashy and artful, but lacking, lacking a great lot.

An incredible work
I have always longed for such a book. Probably it's a grave mistake on my part to make that the firt sentense of a review, but still. I daresay, anyone who has ever been in the very least intereste in paleontology has always longed for this sort of tome. The authors have satisfied both our love of visuals ( pictures are abundant - they accompiny every entry, in full blazing color by very trustworthy artists, generally sure to catch anyone's eye) and our love of the unknown ( this is the first non-specialist book that I have seen that goes beyond the everyday banal creatures like the pachycephalosaurus and the pterosaurids). This book is sheer pleasure while doing any sort of research, even for the specialists who need solid information. Perhaps there isn't quite enough data with every entry ( due to page limits), but the information that is included is accurate and up-to-date. This is a very good book.

Fascinating pictures and fascinating text !
I have been looked for such a book for a long time, and now I have it. Reading this book is delightful, as it gives you plenty of informations about prehistoric animals in a very attractive manner. You have very nice pictures of all animals, with a short explanation giving all essential data about them (size, anatomic singularities, food habits, ...). In addition, extremely interesting introducing sections give you a vision of each branch of animals, together with explanations on the evolutionary process concerning them.

This very up-to-date pictorial guide to now disappeared animals is a treasure for anybody interested in evolution and diversification of life. It gives you enough matter to become a specialist in this domain ! If you want to have one book on dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, make it be this one. ... Read more

Book Description

Among the most ancient and powerful of insects, dragonflies fascinate scientists and nonspecialists--in part because they are large enough for the behavior of individual insects to be observed and interpreted. Indeed, so much useful information exists about dragonflies that they serve as valuable models for interpreting the behavior and ecology of other taxa. Philip S. Corbet has devoted a lifetime to their study. His book A Biology of Dragonflies has been a standard text for more than thirty-five years. This latest book establishes a new benchmark for the Odonata, providing a comprehensive, critical review of past and current knowledge--both published and unpublished--about species from all biogeographical regions in both functional and evolutionary contexts.The volume emphasizes the diversity found in dragonfly behavior as well as unifying patterns. It describes the behavioral strategies that influence the fitness of individuals in physical and biotic environments and in all stages of the life cycle, and identifies the biological principles reflected in those strategies. The book also examines behavior associated with processes such as habitat selection, foraging, seasonal regulation, migration, territoriality, mating, and sperm competition, emphasizing the interdependence of all developmental stages as well as relationships among dragonflies and other animals, including humans.Dragonflies represents a remarkably thorough and searching appraisal of a single taxon, featuring 252 drawings and black-and-white photographs, 96 color plates, nearly 100 appendix tables, and more than 4,000 bibliographic citations to original sources. The wealth of information and its integrated treatment will indisputably make the book the definitive source on dragonflies for years to come. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent
It is a masterpiece, bound to remain indispensable to biologists for years to come.

A New Standard in Odonatological Literature
I am a fourth-year biology undergrad at the University of Toronto. My program has consisted largely of ecology, evolution, and behavior, and throughout it I have attempted to incorporate my lifelong fascination with dragonflies into many of my research projects, essays, etc. Recently, while drafting a paper on the conservation of rare/significant dragonflies for a Conservation Biology class, I came across (and relied heavily upon) P.S. Corbet's book, Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology of Odonata. I was beyond impressed. Having sifted through as much primary and secondary literature as I could get my hands on, his book quickly found the top of the pile, being by far the most current, comprehensive, and well-written study of dragonfly ecology and life history. In fact, my enthusiasm for his work must have been quite apparent, as my girlfriend thoughtfully gave me a copy for Christmas, so I could avoid any further library fines for a book I simply couldn't give back! I consider this book a must-have for any aspiring odonatologist, and highly recommend it to anyone who is awed (as I am) by these wonderful insects. Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology of Odonata affords not only an educational, but a truly pleasurable read--a combination that only someone with personal enthusiasm and lifetime experience in a subject could produce. Anyone with a copy of Walker on the shelves should be sure to place Prof. Corbet's work next to it, as it truly represents a new standard in Odonatological literature.

Cory Robertson University of Toronto Hon. B.Sc. Biology ... Read more

Book Description

Carnivores provide innumerable ecological benefits and play a unique role in preserving and maintaining ecosystem services and function, but at the same time they can create serious problems for human populations. A key question for conservation biologists and wildlife managers is how to manage the world's carnivore populations to conserve this important natural resource while mitigating harmful impacts on humans.

In People and Predators, leading scientists and researchers offer case studies of human-carnivore conflicts in a variety of landscapes, including rural, urban, and political. The book covers a diverse range of taxa, geographic regions, and conflict scenarios, with each chapter dealing with a specific facet of human-carnivore interactions and offering practical, concrete approaches to resolving the conflict under consideration. Chapters provide background on particular problems and describe how challenges have been met or what research or tools are still needed to resolve the conflicts.

People and Predators will helps readers to better understand issues of carnivore conservation in the 21st century, and provides practical tools for resolving many of the problems that stand between us and a future in which carnivores fulfill their historic ecological roles.

Book Description

The Pasoh Forest Reserve in Malaysia is one of the most species-rich ecological systems on our planet. Since the 1970s it has been the site of intensive research on lowland tropical rain forest across a diverse range of disciplines including ecology, forestry, meteorology, and hydrology. Research has focused on biodiversity and sustainable management of tropical rain forests as well as the role of tropical rain forests in maintaining global climate and carbon sinks. This book compiles diverse studies of the ecology and natural history of the Pasoh Forest Reserve and focuses on six areas: Physical settings and environment; Vegetation structure, diversity, and dynamics; Plant population and functional biology; Animal ecology and biodiversity; Plant–animal interactions; and Anthropogenic impacts and forest management. This book is of interest to tropical forest researchers worldwide in ecology, conservation biology, taxonomy, and forestry. ... Read more

Book Description

The Truth of Ecology is a wide-ranging, polemical appraisal of contemporary environmental thought. Focusing on the new field of ecocriticism from a thoroughly interdisciplinary perspective, this book explores topics as diverse as the history of ecology in the United States; the distortions of popular environmental thought; the influence of Critical Theory on radical science studies and radical ecology; the need for greater theoretical sophistication in ecocriticism; the contradictions of contemporary American nature writing; and the possibilities for a less devotional, ""wilder"" approach to ecocritical and environmental thinking. Taking his cues from Thoreau, Stevens, and Ammons, from Wittgenstein, Barthes and Eco, from Bruno Latour and Michel Serres, from the philosophers Rorty, Hacking, and Dennett, and from the biologists Ernst Mayr and Stephen Jay Gould, author Dana Phillips emphasizes an eclectic but pragmatic approach to a variety of topics. His subject matter includes the doctrine of social construction; the question of what it means to be interdisciplinary; the disparity between scientific and literary versions of realism; the difficulty of resolving the tension between facts and values, or more broadly, between nature and culture; the American obsession with personal experience; and the intellectual challenges posed by natural history. Those challenges range from the near-impossibility of defining ecological concepts with precision to the complications that arise when a birder tries to identify chickadees in poor light on a winter's afternoon in the Poconos. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Brilliant, tough, unsentimental: all good for ecocriticism
Phillips has made an outstanding contribution to ecocriticism, and I see it as positive. He makes thoughtful connections to contemporary theory but obliterates cultural studies and the school of social construction, which have denigrated natural science for too long and discouraged humanists from absorbing the realities of biome and genome. Yes, his tone is brusque but not dismissive; he echoes the kind of discussion familiar to philosophers, where logic and reason prevail over sentiment. The claim that he has nothing new to offer is wrong: in the late chapters he calls for a "wild" ecocriticism that is diverse, eclectic, and pragmatic. I see this approach as far more constructive, and instructive, than the dewy-eyed reverence that preoccupies too many nature writers and their critics to date. Fifty years ago, Leslie Fiedler performed the same service for New Criticism, when he called Huck back to the raft. Instead of reacting defensively, I hope ecocritics will realize that a good mind and wit has taken up their cause and urged them to get serious and active: a languid pastoralism will not win attention in the academy or clean house at the Department of Interior.

irreverent but informed
The previous review is a bit unfair and so I am moved to add a few words. Yes, if you are drawn to an environmentalism that is underwritten by spiritual or mystical motivations, then you probably will be irritated by Phillips' irreverence. However, there is much to be said for this literate and well-researched book. Phillips has astoundingly wide interests, which include contemporary environmental thought, environmental history, environmental literature, and the history, philosophy, and sociology of science. His book does contain some positive suggestions about how the environmental movement might take a more pragmatic approach and so become more successful. Also, there is some pleasure, and perhaps glory, to be found in the witty and withering barbs that Phillips hurls at his objects of study. The environmental movement is too important to recoil from criticism like this. It can only be strengthened by the intelligent, informed and, sometimes, acerbic voice of Dana Phillips.

Unfair and irresponsible
Phillips book is flawed on a fundamental level. As he works through his arugement he not only essentializes and trivializes the work of ecologists and ecocritics alike, he goes at them from a perspective wholly foregin to their own. Phillips seems to be trying to play the role of the disillusioned environmentalist, yearning for a better, more equitable ecocritical paradigm, but in his self professed attempt to "philosophize with a hammer," he comes off instead as trying to completely undercut the ecological values and aesthetics of the Green Left. He takes pot shots at everyone from Muir and Thoreau to Lopez, Dillard and Ammons. Constantly crying foul at their lack of objectivity, Phillips argues that ecocritics should take on more of a scientific approach, and abandon the world of the spiritual, aesthetic and mystical. His attack at, what he considers to be, the cliche of the "ecological epiphany" is particularly barbed, as is his attack of Dillard's sense of the mystery and awe she feels when confronted with the Blue Ridge Mountains (he does quite a number on her "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek"). In the process of dismantaling the ecocritical aesthetic Phillips aligns himself with Joyce Carol Oates in trivializing the "REVERENCE, AWE, PIETY, MYSTICAL ONENESS" that characterize ecocritical responses. In one of his attacks Phillips questions whether "any sense can be made out of" Andrew Pickering's assertion that "the claims that the Earth circles the Sun and that it rests on a stack of turtles were of equal validity." At this point I should have stopped reading, because it should have become clear that Phillips is someone who just doesn't get it. Clearly he is confusing facts with truth, mysticism with positivism, and in asserting that there is some fundemental problem with this statement he is revealing himself is an enemy of the ecocritical project. Clearly ecocriticism, being a young field, is in need of maturing, and admittedly Phillips points out some real problems in its application, but he falls into trap of cutting down the field without sewing new seeds or seeing to the fertility of the ground. Clearly the values that Phillips has brought to the table are so fundamentally different from the ecocritics that he deems to speak of that they can never be reconciled. I will however throw Phillips a bone and point out that he does admit to being unapologetically argumentative, though I'd say dismissive would be more accurate. ... Read more