Book Description

In this love letter disguised as an anthology, author Ted Rulseh expresses his deep affinity with that singular body of water we call Lake Michigan. In a collection of 107 seasonally grouped essays, his easy prose brings home the essence of life next to one of the most fabled Great Lakes in all of its many moods. ... Read more

Book Description

For two decades the idea of governments and fishers working together to manage fisheries has been advocated, questioned, disparaged and, most importantly, attempted in fisheries from North and South America through Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. This book is the first time these experiences have been pulled together in a single volume, summarized and explained. The Fisheries Co-management Experience begins with a review of the intellectual foundations of the co-management idea from several professional perspectives. Next, fisheries researchers from six global regions describe what has been happening on the ground in their area. Finally, the volume offers a set of reflections by some of the best authors in the field. The end result describes both the state-of-the-art and emerging issues for one of the most important trends in natural resources management. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Southern Climate
I loved this diary of the south-eastern climate. Not having ever visited the South or the East, I was very taken and involved with Ms. Simms details of her natural clime. Being an amateur poet/philosopher myself, I also enjoyed her humorous take on things and the wonderful quotes she included in this work. Since so few of us get the luxury of meditating amongst "all the little live things" for a day, not to mention a year, I invite everyone to become an armchair naturalist like I was, and read this book!

A Delightful Experience
A Year at the Lake is a breath-taking chronicle of the author's deep appreciation of nature and of her own love of learning. I
found myself laughing out loud as I read Tina's encounters with the critters around her natural habitat. ("I am still not inclined to get too close to them. I know my reaction to crawly things is not completely rational.") and awestruck with her poetic accounts of the endless small miracles that Nature reveals when we simply stop and notice. Tina's book is likely to inspire you to quit your job, buy a pair of binoculars, move to the country, and simply watch and listen for a year. At least it did me. I'm sending it to all the backyard naturalists and aficionados of Southern wit on my gift list this year. ... Read more

Book Description

A high-level case-study reference volume, Freshwater Wetlands and their Sustainable Future: Evidence from the Trebon Basin Biosphere Reserve adds to the body of knowledge on how wetlands effect the environment. Using evidence collected from studies on the Trebon Basin biosphere reserve, the book covers the key role of wetlands, ecological consequences of fishpond management, wetlands surrounding an ancient man-made lake, mires in a marginal situation, and future prospects for wetlands. It includes bibliographic references plus indexes by author, subject, and scientific name of organisms. The book presents otherwise inaccessible information about one of Europe's most important and well studied wildlife areas, an area that has been documented for over thirty years. It examines the information through the lens of sustainability and future prospects. The insights gained here can be applied to wetlands world wide, both natural and constructed. In addition, Freshwater Wetlands and Their Sustainable Future: Evidence from the Trebon Basin Biosphere Reserve provides a complete picture of how wetlands function long-term. ... Read more

Book Description

This volume summarises the outcome of the 13th Workshopof the International Association of Phytoplankton Taxonomy and Ecology(IAP) on if, and if so under what conditions phytoplankton assemblagesreach equilibrium in natural environments. Quite a number ofecological concepts use terms such as: ecological equilibrium,stability, steady-state, climax, stable state, etc. However, theseecological concepts often have been "translations" of scientifictheories developed in physics or chemistry but they almost always lackscientific corroboration, the problem being that often these conceptsremain vague and they are not formally defined. Here an attempt toformally recognize what "equilibrium" is in phytoplankton ecology istraced. The book also contains papers by leading scientists on thetaxonomy of two selected key groups: cryptomonads and filamentouscyanoprokaryotes. This volume is addressed to all those involved inphytoplankton taxonomy and ecology and in ecology itself. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Amazing photos of an amazing place.
One of the top five color monographs in the last five years. In some respects, this is better that being there, if you can't be there year-round. Being both a photographer and a past resident of the Mono Basin, I relate not so much to the grand and spectactular images of tufa and sky, but to the perceptive and sublime studies of the sedate and the subtle; to the solitude found in the silence of winter and early spring. They speak to Mono's true sense of place, and as such make this a universal look at wilderness as we may never see it again. Stimson represents the rare landscape photographer who transcends the standard narrative of picture postcard color, offering the viewer a palette of texture, pattern, light and shadow more often associated with the best in black and white photography of the land. ... Read more

Book Description

Cyanobacteria make a major contribution to world photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation, but are also notorious for causing nuisances such as dense and often toxic `blooms' in lakes and the ocean. The Ecology of Cyanobacteria: Their Diversity in Time and Space is the first book to focus solely on ecological aspects of these organisms. Its twenty-two chapters are written by some thirty authors, who are leading experts in their particular subject.The book begins with an overview of the cyanobacteria -- or blue-green algae, for those who are not specialists -- then looks at their diversity in the geological record and goes on to describe their ecology in present environments where they play important roles. Why is one of the key groups of organisms in the Precambrian still one of the most important groups of phototrophs today? The importance of ecological information for rational management and exploitation of these organisms for commercial and other practical purposes is also assessed. Accounts are provided of nuisances as well as the ecology of the commercially successful Spirulina and the role of cyanobacteria in ecosystem recovery from oil pollution.Many chapters include aspects of physiology, biochemistry, geochemistry and molecular biology where these help general understanding of the subject. In addition there are three chapters dealing specifically with molecular ecology. Thirty-two pages of colour photos incorporate about seventy views and light micrographs. These features make the book valuable to a wide readership, including biologists, microbiologists, geologists, water managers and environmental consultants. The book complements the highly successful The Molecular Biology of Cyanobacteria already published by Kluwer. ... Read more

Book Description

This book elucidates the vital but often neglected relationship between bottom soil and water quality.An understanding of this important connection is essential for maintaining water quality within optimum ranges for shrimp and fish.It is the first volume to provide information on topics from soil science essential to pond aquaculture.The impact of soil-water interactions on water quality is examined, and the volume provides important methods for enhancing the soil conditions in ponds.Detailed chapters include coverage of *soils in pond aquaculture *physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of soil *soil nutrients *the exchange of dissolved substances between soil and water *soil organic matter, anaerobic respiration, and oxidation-reduction *sediment soil*relationships to aquatic animal production *pond bottom management and soil analyses. Bottom Soils, Sediment, and Pond Aquaculture gives students and professionals in aquaculture insight into the principles of soil science which most affect pond management and provides them with an essential and current reference. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An in-depth explanation of pond bottom chemistry.
Dr. Boyd has done an excellent job addressing the often overlookedinfluence of pond soils and sediments on water quality in aquacultureponds. Boyd discusses the obvious as well as the obscure in terms of pondchemistry. Included within is thethe best discussion ofreduction-oxidation potential in bottom sediments to be found. Dr. Boyd isto be commended on his ability to translate highly scientific material intolanguage that can be grasped and understood by the non-scientist. Amust-have for the serious aquaculturist or pond manager. ... Read more

Book Description

Aquaculture is a growing industry. A vital component of thesubject is feeding the organisms under cultivation. This book providesathorough review of the scientific basis and applied aspects of fishnutrition in a user-friendly format. It will be of great use toindividuals working or training in the industry, and to fish feedmanufacturing personnel. ... Read more

Book Description

"In order to accept the enormous responsibility that comes of being in the world, we must first conceive, in spite of all the obstacles, the state of actually being the world." It is for this reason that John R. Campbell came to the Klamath marshes, a wetland in southern Oregon formed by three ancient, shallow lakes, a vast emptiness that is paradoxically home to an amazing diversity of life, of untold thousands of birds both migratory and resident, of all the interconnected life forms that make up one of North America's richest natural environments.

Absence and Light is Campbell's account of his exploration of the marshes and a meditation on the world he found there, on his growing understanding of the physical, emotional, moral, and aesthetic meaning of that world, on his own growth as a man. Through Campbell's eyes, we observe the stirring and astonishing beauty of the marshes and their creatures, and the utter poignancy of their fragility before the heedless ambitions of humankind.

This is nature writing at its most profound and moving, writing that in examining and defining the world of nature helps us to understand the very complicated and contradictory realities of being human. Campbell's luminous descriptions and mystical insights will long linger in the reader's memory. ... Read more

Book Description

Probably Utah's most widely recognized topographical feature, the Great Salt Lake is possibly also the state's least appreciated and understood one. While visitors often feel compelled to take a closer look at it and even test its salinity by dipping a finger or a toe, many native Utahns and tourists never take the time to explore the lake more extensively or to learn about its many facets. Awaiting those who do so is the discovery of just how fascinating a place the lake is. As Gary Topping points out in his introduction, Great Salt Lake "sounds like someone's literary fantasy: a vast interior sea bordered by marshes and dotted with islands that support thousands of shore birds of a great variety of species, yet flanked on other sides by an immense salt waste that forbids human habitation . . . Great Salt Lake remains one of the world's most remarkable geological phenomena, a place of beauty, drama, and complexity to challenge the most ambitious curiosity and imagination."

To encourage a deeper knowledge and understanding of this unique body of water, Topping has assembled some of the best historical and contemporary writing on Great Salt Lake. The authors include historical figures such as Osborne Russell, Jedediah Smith, John C. Frémont, Howard Stansbury, and, less known, Alfred Lambourne, a turn-of-the-century artist and western Thoreau who sought solitude and contemplation by building a house on remote Gunnison Island. Also included are selections from more recent writing about the lake, among them pieces by well-known historians Dale Morgan and Brigham Madsen and other essays that look at the varied ways, recreational and economic, that people have used or sought to use the lake. The subjects of the collected pieces range from fantastic stories people tell about this odd inland sea to attempts they have made to exploit it for commercial value; from exploration and emigration to recreation and resorts; from the lake's prehistory to its future, as development and population growth near its shores create conflicting demands and pressures. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is about freshwater fish in streams, lakes, reservoirs, and special habitats around the world. It addresses approximately twentymajor topics in freshwater fish ecology in a format suitable for usein graduate-level courses. The book focuses on basic ecology andcontains much data from fisheries ecology. Dr. Matthews explains theway in which empirical studies, theoretical concepts, andexperimental evaluations blend into the current state-of-the-art withrespect to each major topic, and provides original data andinterpretations on some points as well as new syntheses. Each chaptercontains empirical information, a synthesis, and a summary. ... Read more

Book Description

This volume provides a selection of the most significant paperspresented at the Fourth Conference on Fish Telemetry in Europe, inTrondheim, Norway, in 2001. Papers are focused on migratory patternsand habitat utilisation, social behaviour, physiological ecology,fisheries management, effects of human impact on fish populations,aquaculture and methodology, and new technology. This book is aimed at scientists and engineers actively involved inaquatic telemetry projects, aquatic biologists (marine andfreshwater), fisheries biologists and managers. ... Read more

Book Description

Anderson Marsh is comprised of over 1,000 acres of wetlands, oak woodlands, and grasslands. It is located in Lake County, California, on Clear Lake. There are at least 30 Native American archaeological sites located here, some of which are over 10,000 years old. Along with its prehistoric past, Anderson Marsh has a rich history of European settlement - the Grigsby's in the 1850s and the Anderson's in the 1880s.This book outlines the making of the park, its history, and prehistory. Subsequent chapters weave rich details of the park, such as its flora, fauna, Pomo Indian lifeways, basketry, and mythology into a narrative which takes the reader along each of the four park trails. ... Read more

Book Description

A remarkable meditative foray into the strange and seductive beauty of swamps and bogs.

"Barbara Hurd writes about people with the canny poise of Cheever, and about nature with the loving exactitude of Thoreau. And everywhere in her work is a speculative energy and elegance that make her essays a rare achievement."
-J. D. McClatchy, author of The Rest of the Way ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Sophomoric and not Useful
I bought this book based on a review that suggested it was natural history and would give me information on swamps and bogs.

What it turned out to be was a sophomoric series of essays loosely focused around the author's experiences in wetlands. There was little science, instead just a series of unrelated ramblings.

It appears to be the work of student trying to impress their professor with their vast knowledge of various cultural icons.

If you want to learn about wetlands, find another book. If you want to read good writing, find another book.

Swamp Hybrid
Each essay in STIRRING THE MUD is a hybrid of poetry and prose well suited to its swampy, mysterious content, which often varies widely from paragraph to paragraph. In fact, Hurd sometimes weaves together several topics within a paragraph, traveling with the speed of poetry rather than prose. It is no accident that poets have written blurbs of praise for the back of this book's jacket.

This is a book in which the gorgeous paragraphs reign. Don't miss them! The one downfall is that the book does not read well as the united whole its numbered chapters would suggest it is. We consistently and disruptively at the beginning of each chapter enter the swamp, again. And again. It would have been a welcome change of pace to stay in the swamp for two consecutive chapters once or twice. Without also having edited to further diminish repetition, better to have let them stand obviously as individual essays.

I suspect that Hurd must have been torn, the naturalist in her dared not leaver her beloved swamps only to the essayist but had to summon the poet also. No wonder this multiple talent struggled with form. She created a sort of hybrid that resists categorization. I hope her next work will emerge with a form even more unique.

Barbara Hurd's Brilliant Book
This is a marvelous book, the best of its kind since Barry Lopez's ARCTIC DREAMS. In it, she traverses swamps and bogs with an expert's eye, and with concerns that keep resonating into the lives we live or might live, and those we repress. No one has written more lovingly (or is it fearlessly?) about sinking into the muck or enduring, even seeking out uncertainties. With language as lyrical as it is precise, Hurd speculates about "how it's possible to be on the ridge and in the thicket at the exact same time." I can't remember when I've felt so aesthetically satisfied while learning so much. ... Read more