Product Description
A general non-technical introduction to the more exotic forms of sea life depicted in color on 12 plates. Biological Science. Natural History Art. ... Read more

Product Description
Ready-to-Go Activities, Games, Literature Links, and Hands-on Reproducibles
Especially for K-1!
Dive into learning about the creatures of the deep with this engaging thematic unit! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

The most magnificent marine fish covered
Four chapters that introduce the book and cover the presentation and our relationship with fish, lead the reader to survey about 160 selected species of open ocean fish, of no fixed abode, engaged in journeys between the continental shelves or dispersed over a significant area of sea.The author takes care in explaining how and why he has chosen the fish he has, and roughly in what order they appear in the book.Each fish is typically depicted in colourby artist Harvey, with maps, photographs and full-page artwork resulting in a lavish reference.We see side profiles for most of the fish though others such as the basking shark are depicted less flatly.The side of views for hammerhead sharks does them a disservice though Tuna and Billfish get some superb illustrations.Seven chapters partition the fish into groups such as billfish, tuna, jacks and sharks with a miscellaneous assortment at the end that includes remoras, oilfish, sunfish and fanfish that may be unfamiliar.

A more consistent taxonomic treatment would have been preferable with a summary of facts for each of the main fish covering their body length and weight.For example, the butterfly tuna is probably a basal group to other tunafish, but appears in the middle of the section dealing with the true tuna the thunini and other forms such as bonitos.To place the sharks as a group between a spectrum of bony fish is also questionable - the taxonomic series does not follow a particularly logical pattern.We do have to wade through quite a bit of text for each fish to find out its size and weight, when a short summary besides each distribution map could have helped.Overall, some kind of fish classification with all the cast of fish shown as an appendix could have helped tremendously.

Most billfish and the fourteen true tuna fish are covered with a fifth of the selection representing the Scombridae and its subgroups in a spectrum that encompasses some thirty-nine families of fish across fourteen orders.Sizes of fish, especially from sport fishing records are given with more attention to weight rather than length.The length of the Bluefin tuna does not seem to be stated categorically given a record for one individual which was apparently 30 feet long.The descriptions highlight key species aspects rather than being encyclopaedic.Conservation issues are dealt with relatively impartially and Pepperell dwells on recent studies (such as tagging) indicating our levels of scientific and aesthetic ignorance of what often amounts to anonymous sources of food.E.g., Annual catches of Skipjack tuna along with "bycatch" have risen to c.2.4 million tonnes, "a trend which is of considerable concern" and several species like Rainbow runners are not just strikingly colourful, but change colour rapidly when alive, which is not how we are likely to encounter them.

More could have been said about overfishing and solutions apart from game fishing and tagging research.As a tribute to oceanic predatory behemoths and food fish, this book augers well for education, research, and conservation incorporating recreational aspects such as (increasingly) non lethal sport fishing, fish watching and diving.Encore.

A superlative book about epipelagic fish
This book is superlative. Lavishly illustrated, with a learned text, this work introduces and describes the fish of the open ocean. It belongs equally on the desktop and the coffee table, or a one's arm as re-watching _The Blue Planet_.

Of particular note is the book's treatment of billfish (30 pages) and tunas (40 pages), which have pride of place in the whole work. Pepperell covers pelagic sharks, jacks, and trevallies in depth--I especially enjoyed his writeup of lamnid sharks--but he clearly loves the bluefin and the marlin, the swordfish and the yellowfin, the skipjack and the sailfish, most of all.Indeed, his volume may be the fullest treatment of these fishes in a generally available English-language book. ... Read more

Product Description
Life in the World's Oceans: Diversity, Abundance and Distribution is a true landmark publication.

Comprising the synthesis and analysis of the results of the Census of Marine Life this most important book brings together the work of around 2000 scientists from 80 nations around the globe.

The book is broadly divided into four sections, covering oceans past, oceans present, oceans future and a final section covering the utilisation of the data which has been gathered, and the coordination and communication of the results.

Edited by Professor Alasdair Mcintyre, Marine Life is a book which should find a place on the shelves of all marine scientists, ecologists, conservation biologists, oceanographers, fisheries scientists and environmental biologists. All universities and research establishments where biological, earth and fisheries science are studied and taught should have copies of this essential book on their shelves.

• A true landmark publication
• One of the most important marine science books ever published
• Contributions from many world leading researchers
• Synthesis of a huge amount of important data
• Represents the culmination of 10 years' research by 2000 scientists from 80 countries

Product Description
An authoritative visual guide to aquatic wildlife featuring fish, shells, crabs, corals, echinoderms, seals, jellyfish, sharks, rays, whales, reptiles and amphibians. ... Read more

Product Description
Discusses fishes inhabiting lakes, rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, and the deep sea. ... Read more

Product Description
Young readers dive into non-fiction with the help of these vibrant books about the intriguing world of marine life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Wonderful!
What a delightful and informative book! As I've been able to do more diving and snorkling in SE Asia the past couple of years, identifying the underwater life has become a hobby as much as my love of birding. But I wanted to know more than just identification. This book is very readable and informative, suitable for adults and older children. The photographs are gorgeous and very clear. I'm reading it cover to cover. Many thanks to the Tacketts!

one of the best infromational books
I have the complete set of books now and I really enjoy having the infromation so when I go diving in Cozumel each year it really helps me identify the different species.This really helps when you are one of the few that does not know it all.

Simply Beautiful
This is a beautiful book with incredible pictures. Additionally it has very informative text. It is a great book for anyone with a serious interest in reefs & reef life.

A must for the UW Photographer
I have been waiting for this book!Burt Jones got me focused on the 'one metre' dive a few years back and I've been enjoying macro critters and muck diving ever since.In this awsome new book, the Tacketts bring you their personal experiences with the macro world and incorportate a great deal of useful information which can help all of us better understand the interrelationships amongst all the critters.That understanding is one of the keys to making better images of the critters.

If you are a diver and you really want to get acquainted with the underwater world, stop swimming and start looking.And this book gives you step by step pointers on how to go about looking and helps you understand what you are seeing.

much more than pretty pictures
The Tacketts have achieved something remarkable with this book. Not only is the quality of the photographs consistently high, but the detailed information within the text is logical and accessible to any diver whetherthey be experts in marine biology or simply curious fish watchers.
This American husband and wife team seem to have lived many divers dream existence. Travelling the Indo Pacific for 13 years, they would camp on a beach with their own compressor and make three dives a day collecting sponge specimens for medical research.
The scientific information is clear and broken down into digestible chunks, enlivened by well annotated pictures - everything from mantis shrimps eating coral shrimps, to frogfish camouflaged against cup corals. Predation, reproduction, camouflage, feeding and mimicry are all wonderfully explained. And, in keeping with the mood of the times there is a final section on reefs in danger - overfishing, cyanide, pollution etc, complete with appropriate photos including a poignant shot of an octopus trying to cover itself with a piece of broken plastic audio-cassette.
A substantial glossary at the end of the book covers everything from allelopathy to zooxanthellae.
The strength and value of this book is that it is not just a collection of good underwater images, I suspect it will become an invaluable primer for any diver who wants to look at reefs in an intelligent way. ... Read more

Product Description
This 2-CD set includes over three hours of original, narrated, underwater video, music, and photography. Approximately 250 species from more than 40 families of reef fishes are featured. Produced with collaborator Gerry Allen, author of the definitive printed guide to the fish of the Great Barrier Reef. Comprehensive text, range maps, photographs and movies. Interactive maps of the Great Barrier Reef allow you to explore with great detail the largest coral reef in the world. An ecology section enables readers to understand the formation and development of the reef. Also includes text search, text & movie export, and a visual index. ... Read more

Product Description
There is disturbing evidence of high mortality of salmon at sea. The need for a multidisciplinary study of contributing factors and appropriate action has been advocated for some time. As a result, the Atlantic Salmon Trust, organised a workshop under the chairmanship of Derek Mills to redress this situation, bringing together climatologists, oceanographers, planktonologists and marine and salmon biologists to clarify and discuss the environmental and biological issues affecting survival. Proposals are put forward for further research and collaboration. ... Read more