Product Description: The vast expanses of ocean that cover about 70% of our planet have been negatively affected by fishing, pollution and, increasingly, by climate change. To mitigate these effects and safeguard the delicate ecological and environmental functions of oceans and their remarkable biodiversity, international agreements have led to the ongoing creation of marine protected areas around the world...read more

Product Description: A superb photographic celebration of marine life.Our seas are host to an extraordinary variety of plant and animal life, but much of it remains mysterious and great imagery is surprisingly hard to find. Alex Mustard is one of the world’s leading underwater photographers and his images are so crisp and immediate that the animals seem to swim out of the water towards you...read more

Product Description: The book explores how Darwin´s legendary and mythologized visit to the Galapagos affected the socioecosystems of the Islands, as well as the cultural and intellectual traditions of Ecuador and Latin America. It highlights in what way the connection between Darwin and the Galapagos has had real, enduring and paradoxical effects in the Archipelago...read more

Product Description: Featuring satellite imagery from Google Earth, this guide provides a unique, highly visual tour of lakes across the globe, from the simple to the complex, the nearby to the remote. Clear text accompanies each image and identifies important aspects of each lake along with such information as its coordinates, scale, and altitudes, if relevant...read more

Product Description: This is the first comprehensive book on the biology and ecology of pufferfish, also known as blowfish, swellfish, and globefish. Covering 197 species of pufferfish recorded so far from the marine, brackish, and freshwater ecosystems of the world, this important volume expounds on the toxins and associated poisonings of pufferfish...read more

Who hasn’t fantasized about the unique thrill of working among charismatic and clever dolphins in the wild? Now we no longer have to rely solely on our imaginations . With Dolphin Confidential, Maddalena Bearzi invites all of us shore-bound dreamers to join her and travel alongside the dolphins. In this fascinating account, she takes us inside the world of a marine scientist and offers a firsthand understanding of marine mammal behavior, as well as the frustrations, delights, and creativity that make up dolphin research.  In this intimate narrative, Bearzi recounts her experiences at sea, tracing her own evolution as a woman and a scientist from her earliest travails to her transformation into an advocate for conservation and dolphin protection. These compelling, in-depth descriptions of her fieldwork also present a captivating look into dolphin social behavior and intelligence. The central part of the book is devoted to the metropolitan bottlenose dolphins of California, as Bearzi draws on her extensive experience to offer insights into the daily lives of these creatures—as well as the difficulties involved in collecting the data that transforms hunches into hypotheses and eventually scientific facts. The book closes by addressing the critical environmental and conservation problems facing these magnificent, socially complex, highly intelligent, and emotional beings.   An honest, down-to-earth analysis of what it means to be a marine biologist in the field today, Dolphin Confidential offers an entertaining, refreshingly candid, and always informative description of life among the dolphins.  

Product Description: This book summarizes and analyzes the biology, ecology, exploitation and management of small cetaceans in Japan. It describes the various types of cetacean fisheries in Japan and their historical development, the life histories and ecologies of the main species involved, and the history and problems of conservation and management...read more

Product Description: Seashells, stretching from the deep past into the present day, are touchstones leading into fascinating realms of the natural world and cutting-edge science. Members of the phylum Mollusca are among the most ancient animals on the planet...read more