Synopses & Reviews
As recently as 11,000 years agoand#151;"near time" to geologistsand#151;mammoths, mastodons, gomphotheres, ground sloths, giant armadillos, native camels and horses, the dire wolf, and many other large mammals roamed North America. In what has become one of science's greatest riddles, these large animals vanished in North and South America around the time humans arrived at the end of the last great ice age. Part paleontological adventure and part memoir,
Twilight of the Mammoths presents in detail internationally renowned paleoecologist Paul Martin's widely discussed and debated "overkill" hypothesis to explain these mysterious megafauna extinctions. Taking us from Rampart Cave in the Grand Canyon, where he finds himself "chest deep in sloth dung," to other important fossil sites in Arizona and Chile, Martin's engaging book, written for a wide audience, uncovers our rich evolutionary legacy and shows why he has come to believe that the earliest Americans literally hunted these animals to death.
As he discusses the discoveries that brought him to this hypothesis, Martin relates many colorful stories and gives a rich overview of the field of paleontology as well as his own fascinating career. He explores the ramifications of the overkill hypothesis for similar extinctions worldwide and examines other explanations for the extinctions, including climate change. Martin's visionary thinking about our missing megafauna offers inspiration and a challenge for today's conservation efforts as he speculates on what we might do to remedy this situationand#151;both in our thinking about what is "natural" and in the natural world itself.
Review
"Achingly beautiful. . . . Greene succeeds in illuminating the world as a place of beauty, harmony, and danger, deeply interconnected and worthy of cherishing and preserving." Starred Review.
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"This scientist has a poetand#8217;s heart. . . . Tracks and Shadows is a sweet surprise; rarely has science been so tender."
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"As beautiful and nuanced as the landscapes it evokes."
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"What a pleasure it is to read these meditations on a 'personal quest for wildness.' . . . What makes this book so rich is [the author's] gift with language along with his thoughtful appreciation of what it means to study nature and to travel, if ever so briefly, on a living planet."
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"As packed with people and drama as a novel."
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"Greene engages readers from beginning to end. . . . The book leaves us with questions to ponder but also with inspiration to indulge our curiosity for nature."
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"Fiercely honest and fascinating."
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"Greene has created a rare bridge between [artists and scientists] and told us what it feels like to be a deeply sensitive research scientist, working in a world where the ecosystems are falling to bits around us."
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"[Reminds] us that appreciation of the natural world is important to us as individuals and collectively."
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"No one reading this paean for a respect of the outdoors and its inhabitants could fail to be enthused."
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"Harry Greeneand#8217;s exuberance for life infuses this scien- tific autobiography, which overflows with his passion for herpetology, the wild places that his beloved reptiles inhabit, and very human friendships."
Synopsis
To newly minted biologist James Estes, the sea otters he was studying in the leafy kelp forests off the coast of Alaska appeared to have an unbalanced relationship with their greater environment. Gorging themselves on the sea urchins that grazed among the kelp, these small charismatic mammals seemed to give little back in return. But as Estes dug deeper, he unearthed a far more complex relationship between the otter and its underwater environment, discovering that otters play a critical role in driving positive ecosystem dynamics. While teasing out the connective threads, he began to question our assumptions about ecological relationships. These questions would ultimately inspire a lifelong quest to better understand the surprising complexity of our natural world and the unexpected ways we discover it.
Serendipity tells the story of James Estes s life as a naturalist and the concepts that have driven his interest in researching the ecological role of top-level predators. Using the relationships between sea otters, kelp, and sea urchins as a touchstone, Estes retraces his investigations of numerous other species, ecosystems, and ecological processes in an attempt to discover why ecologists can learn so many details about the systems in which they work and yet understand so little about the broader processes that influence these systems. Part memoir, part natural history, and deeply inquisitive, Serendipity will entertain and inform readers as it raises thoughtful questions about our relationship with the natural world."
Synopsis
"Many of the findings in the book . . . are classics of ecology. . . . A rare and delightful insight into timely science."--Jane Lubchenco, Nature"Estes's refreshing narrative deftly weaves rigorous science with personal reflection to create an absorbing and introspective read that is equal parts memoir, ecological textbook, and motivational guidebook for young ecologists."--Science
To newly minted biologist James Estes, the sea otters he was studying in the leafy kelp forests off the coast of Alaska appeared to have an unbalanced relationship with their greater environment. Gorging themselves on the sea urchins that grazed among the kelp, these small charismatic mammals seemed to give little back in return. But as Estes dug deeper, he unearthed a far more complex relationship between the otter and its underwater environment, discovering that otters play a critical role in driving positive ecosystem dynamics. While teasing out the connective threads, he began to question our assumptions about ecological relationships. These questions would ultimately inspire a lifelong quest to better understand the surprising complexity of our natural world and the unexpected ways we discover it.
Serendipity tells the story of James Estes's life as a naturalist and the concepts that have driven his interest in researching the ecological role of top-level predators. Using the relationships between sea otters, kelp, and sea urchins as a touchstone, Estes retraces his investigations of numerous other species, ecosystems, and ecological processes in an attempt to discover why ecologists can learn so many details about the systems in which they work and yet understand so little about the broader processes that influence these systems. Part memoir, part natural history, and deeply inquisitive, Serendipity will entertain and inform readers as it raises thoughtful questions about our relationship with the natural world.
Synopsis
Intellectually rich, intensely personal, and beautifully written,
Tracks and Shadows is both an absorbing autobiography of a celebrated field biologist and a celebration of beauty in nature. Harry W. Greene, award-winning author of
Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature, delves into the poetry of field biology, showing how nature eases our existential quandaries. More than a memoir, the book is about the wonder of snakes, the beauty of studying and understanding natural history, and the importance of sharing the love of nature with humanity.
Greene begins with his youthful curiosity about the natural world and moves to his stints as a mortician's assistant, ambulance driver, and army medic. In detailing his academic career, he describes how his work led him to believe that natureand#8217;s most profound lessons lurk in hard-won details. He discusses the nuts and bolts of field research and teaching, contrasts the emotional impact of hot dry habitats with hot wet ones, imparts the basics of snake biology, and introduces the great explorers Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. He reflects on friendship and happiness, tackles notions like anthropomorphism and wilderness, and argues that organisms remain the core of biology, science plays key roles in conservation, and natural history offers an enlightened form of contentment.
Synopsis
"This book is an immediate classic. I had heard of it rumored for years. It is grand indeed and more than fulfilled my expectations."
and#151;Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall and The River Swimmer
"Tracks and Shadows is a valuable, fascinating, very human book about the making of a field biologist. Harry Greene has lived the life of which I once dreamed: studying snakes. But there's more here, much more, and what makes it all work is something not taught in herpetology class. This man can write."
and#151;David Quammen, author of Spillover and The Song of the Dodo
"With Tracks and Shadows, renowned field scientist Harry Greene masterfullyand#151;and poeticallyand#151;examines the contradictions inherent in wild places that teem with both beauty and danger. In these stories, drawn from a life spent in the study of his beloved snakes, he reveals how an eminently humane scientist learned to find joy and peace by exploring the living world."
and#151;Mark W. Moffett, author of Adventures among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions
"Harry Greene shares the sting of death and the joy of life in Tracks and Shadows, but this brilliant book is also about the wonder of snakes, the beauty of studying natural history, and the importance of sharing a love of nature with humanity. It has something to teach every one of us."
and#151;Marty Crump, author of In Search of the Golden Frog and Headless Males Make Great Lovers
and#160;
Synopsis
This unprecedented volume presents a sweeping picture of what we know about the natural history, biology, and ecology of whales in the broad context of the dynamics of ocean ecosystems. Innovative and comprehensive, the volume encompasses multiple points of view to consider the total ecological impact of industrial whaling on the world's oceans. Combining empirical research, ecological theory and modeling, and historical data, its chapters present perspectives from ecology, population biology, physiology, genetics, evolutionary history, ocean biogeography, economics, culture, and law, among other disiplines. Throughout, contributors investigate how whaling fundamentally disrupted ocean ecosystems, examine the various roles whales play in food webs, and discuss the continuing ecological chain reactions to the depletion of these large animals. In addition to reviewing what is known of the current and historic whale populations, Whales, Whaling, and Ocean Ecosystems considers how this knowledge will bear on scientific approaches to conservation and whaling in the future and provocatively asks whether it is possible to restore ocean ecosystems to their pre-whaling condition.
Synopsis
"A must read for anyone interested in the ecology of whales, this timely and creative volume is sure to stimulate new research for years to come."and#151;Annalisa Berta, San Diego State University
Synopsis
"Paul S. Martin's innovative ideas on late quaternary extinctions and wildlife restoration have fueled one of science's most stimulating recent debates. He expounds them vividly here, and defends them eloquently. A must-read."and#151;David Rains Wallace, author of
Beasts of Eden "This is a marvelous read, by a giant in American prehistory, about one of the greatest mysteries in the earth sciences."and#151;Tim Flannery, author of The Eternal Frontier
"Whether or not you agree with Paul Martin, he has shaped how we think about our Pleistocene ancestors and their role in transforming this planet."and#151;Ross D. E. MacPhee, Curator of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History
About the Author
James A. Estes is Research Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is coeditor of Community Ecology of Sea Otters. Douglas P. DeMaster is Director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Daniel F. Doak and Terrie M. Williams are Professors of Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Doak is coauthor of Quantitative Conservation Biology and Williams is author of The Hunter's Breath: On Expedition with the Weddell Seals of the Antarctic. Robert L. Brownell is Senior Scientist with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center.
Table of Contents
List of Contributors
List of Tables
List of Figures
1. Introduction
BACKGROUND
2. Whales, Interaction Webs, and Zero-Sum Ecology
3. Lessons From Land
4. When Ecological Pyramids Were Upside Down
5. Pelagic Ecosystem Response to a Century of Commercial Fishing and Whaling
6. Evidence for Bottom-Up Control of Upper-Trophic-Level Marine Populations
WHALES AND WHALING
7. Evolutionary Patterns in Cetacea
8. A Taxonomy of World Whaling
9. The History of Whales Read from DNA
10. Changes in Marine Mammal Biomass in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and after the Period of Commercial Whaling
11. Industrial Whaling in the North Pacific Ocea 1952-1978
12. Worldwide Distribution and Abundance of Killer Whales
13. The Natural History and Ecology of Killer Whales
14. Killer Whales as Predators of Large Baleen Whales and Sperm Whales
PROCESS AND THEORY
15. Physiological and Ecological Consequences of Extreme Body Size in Whales
16. Ecosystem Impact of the Decline of Large Whales in the North Pacific
17. The Removal of Large Whales from the Southern Ocean
18. Great Whales as Prey
19. Whales and Whaling in the North
20. Legacy of Industrial Whaling
21. Predator Diet Breadth and Prey Population Dynamics
22. Bigger is Better
CASE STUDIES
23. Gray Whales in the Bering and Chukchi Seas
24. Whales, Whaling, and Ecosystems in the North Atlantic Ocean
25. Sperm Whales in Ocean
26. Ecosystem Effects of Fishing and Whaling in the North Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
27. Potential Influences of Whaling on the Status and Trends of Pinniped Populations
SOCIAL CONTEXT
28. The Dynamic Between Social Systems and Ocean Ecosystems
29. Whaling, Law, and Culture
OVERVIEW AND SYNTHESIS
30. Whales Are Big and It Matters
31. Restropection and Review
Index