Book Description
From the Forest to the Sea: The Ecology of Wood in Streams, Rivers, Estuaries and Oceans is a fascinating new scientific work that discusses the role wood plays in very complex and diverse aquatic ecosystems. Until now almost nothing has been published on this little understood topic. 1. Wood in streams and rivers is a source of food energy for invertebrate organisms; habitat for vertebrate organisms, such as fish; and a structural component that shapes, diversifies, and stabilizes channels while helping to dissipate the water's energy before it can scour channels.2. Wood in estuaries is a major source of food and habitat for obligatory, wood boring, marine invertebrates that in their feeding , break it down and pass usable carbon into the water's current where it enters the detrital based marine food web.3. Wood along the coastline stabilizes sand spits, beaches, and dune complexes, as well as battering rocky shores where it creates new habitats for intertidal organisms and provides small splinters of wood to the coastal food chain.4. Driftwood floating in the open ocean attracts a variety of marine invertebrates and fishes, forming a floating surface community that help organisms colonize new areas. Large fishes, such as tuna, not only feed on smaller fishes attracted to the wood but also drift with it because its movement is controlled by wind and current; thus tuna find the best feeding areas-current interfaces rich in food species. 5. A common textbook perception on marine biology is that, while communities of bacteria can use sulfur compounds as energy and animals can and do live around deep-sea hydrothermal vents through which hot water issues in the ocean's floor, the rest of the oceans bottom is almost devoid of life. But as driftwood becomes waterlogged and sinks, it represents terrestrially-fixed carbon in the energy poor deep-sea where at least three species of wood-borers convert it into a readily available source of detritus that in turn supports the development of complex communities of bottom-dwelling organisms.6. The loss of wood to aquatic ecosystems means destabilization of streams, estuaries, dunes and beaches as well as food chains in the oceans of the world. Sooner or later it may mean the loss of jobs and unique cultural ways of life such as the commercial fishing of certain species. ... Read more

Book Description
Each book in this series explores and explains the amazing ecosystems and natural phenomenon of our world. Young scientists get a thorough introduction to jungles, deserts, volcanoes, and much more. The series includes: Arctic & Antartic, Deserts & Dry Lands, Earthquakes & Volcanoes, Jungles & Rainforests, Mountains & Valleys, and Oceans & Rivers. The Changing World series is a companion to the Science Nature Guide series which includes: Amphibians & Reptiles, Birds, Butterflies, Fossils, Freshwater Life, Insects, Mammals, Rocks & Minerals, Seashells, and Wildflowers. ... Read more

Book Description
An international symposium on `Ocean, River and Lakes: Energy and Substance Transfers at Interfaces' was held in Nantes, France in October 1996. It was the third International Joint Conference on Limnology and Oceanography which brings together specialists of both environments. Considered to be necessary in Europe, this confrontation of two different aspects of common subjects could produce innovative approaches.The main purpose concerns scientific researches relative to the interfaces between various aquatic environment compartments. The principal treated topics are bioavailability and mobility of substances, influence of biotic and abiotic factors on transfers, and fluxes at the interfaces. It is particularly interesting to note the contribution of Limnologists and Oceanographers on the impact of nutrients and pollutants, and flux quantification of river basin inputs.As well as scientists, this book is also of interest to all engineers and consultants involved in teaching and working in aquatic management, restoration and enhancement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An educational and entertaining look at the water around us.
Birds in the Waterfall takes you on a round-the-world tour of the water in, over and all around us. You will never look at water the same way again.Filled with facts to challenge any textbook, it nevetheless reads like an adventure novel.A great read! ... Read more

Amazon.com
Jerome, the author of the fine study On Mountains and many other books, turns his attention to his lifelong quest for "perfect waters" in this limpid book of natural history and personal reflection. He takes his readers to little-known streams like the Mountain Fork River of Oklahoma, the scene of his earliest memories, and the turbulent Raquette River in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. He dips into the warm, healing waters of the Caribbean and the cold depths of Canadian lakes, and examines the play of water in the human imagination, an influence that has been profound in music, art, and literature. Jerome writes with evident love for his subject, and his lyrical book speaks to the power of waters to make us whole. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

aquatic blue rooms to ease dryland blue moods
This is simply one of the very best books written about the joy, adventure, contact and contemplation of water. I have dipped into it frequently and recommended it to many. And I have quoted it 8 times (few authors other than Thoreau were quoted more frequently) in my own recent book Deep Immersion: The Experience of Water (nominated for top environmental book of the year). Jerome's prose is wonderful and his stories engaging. He simply loves to get wet and would well understand Thoreau's maxim: "That part of you that is wettest is fullest of life" (quoted in Profitably Soaked: Thoreau's Engagement With Water, Green Frigate Books, 2003).

Once again, Jerome is fantastic.
John Jerome has, in recent years, become one of my favorite writers thanks to his elegant and straightforward prose style. I ordered "Blue Rooms" the moment I heard it was out, and I was not disappointed. Thisis a terrific book.

"Blue Rooms" is about a lifelong loveaffair with water. From playing in the muddy San Marcos river as a boy, tokayaking the cold waters of Canadian lakes as a grown man, it seems Jeromehas always been fascinated by water. Most of the earth's surface, he pointsout, is water. So is most of the human body.

What strikes me most aboutthis book is the way in which Jerome takes a personal obsession and makesit understandable to his readers. By the end of the book I could have swornI had a lifelong love affair with water, too, even though I'm a mediocreswimmer who lives in hills far from any large water source. Really, this isa terrific book. Go out and buy it. You won't be sorry. ... Read more

Book Description
This complete guide covers 317 of the most common and conspicuous plants and animals of the seashores, from jellyfish and kelp to clams, gulls, and whales. Species are grouped by habitat so readers know what they can expect to see along sandy beaches, in rocky tide pools, or in mud flats. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Detailed and well done guide to seashore animals.
This field guide to seashores is well explained, especially for beginners encouraged to learn more about the life in tidepools. The color illustrations are also nice and detailed. Buy this one before you start on the original official Peterson Field guides.
Recommened for beginning and intermediate learners. ... Read more

Book Description
Water, in its many guises, has always played a powerful role in shaping Southeast Asian histories, cultures, societies, and economies. These essays represent a broad range of approaches to the study of Southeast Asia with water as the central theme.

As it was exposed to the sea, the region was more accessible to outside political, economic and cultural influences than many landlocked areas. Easy access through sea routes also stimulated trade. However, the same easy access made Southeast Asia vulnerable to political control by strong outsiders. The sea is, moreover, a source of food, but also of many hazards. At the same time, Southeast Asian societies and cultures are confronted with and permeated by "water from heaven" in the form of rain, flash floods, irrigation water, water in rivers, brooks, and swaps, water-driven power plants, and pumped or piped water, in addition to water as a carrier of sewage and pollution. Finally, the volume deals with the role of water in classification systems, beliefs, myths, illness, and healing. ... Read more

Book Description
What would you see if you sat at the edge of a pond and looked into the water? In this hand-size book, Anne Hunter illustrates in loving detail the creatures that live in and around a pond-a water strider, a tadpole, a red-winged blackbird, a painted turtle, and more. Each illustration is accompanied by simple yet detailed text describing the animal's characteristics and habits. Young readers can put this book into a pocket or a backpack and take it with them to the pond. The artwork and simple sense of wonder will inspire children to explore their environment. What's Under the Log? is the perfect accompaniment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

small but good book
Small book,too small for reading at circle time to group of children. Hardback cover is approx. 5"x5" with pictures inside much smaller. This would be a nice book for one on one or independent reading, or leaving in science area, it has a lot of good information.

painstaking 3-d detail inspiring sense of wonder
These painstakingly detailed, beautiful drawings are serene, pensive, yet light-hearted 3-dimensional renditions of these tiny creatures. The text and illustrations inspire a closer look and sense of wonder for smallchildren and their adult companions. And it fits in your pocket! ... Read more

Book Description
This guide is for amateurs and professionals who find pleasure and excitement in beachcombing for stranded tropical seeds and fruits (sea-beans) on beaches ranging from Norway and Holland to South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and South Florida. Included are over 100 accurately and beautifully illustrated line drawings of the common sea-bean. These drawings, along with a key and detailed descriptions, make it possible for the first time to correctly identify a sizable number of tropical drift fruits and seeds from beaches around the world. Also contained in this guide is a section on planting and growing these seeds and fruits, many of which are from common plants of the tropics. Much useful information on polishing sea-beans and making them into artifacts of various kinds is also provided, as sea-beans are commonly fashioned into jewelry and keepsakes in many parts of the world. Readers will be fascinated by the histories of these tropical seeds and fruits. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good Sea Bean Book
This is a good book. It is scientific & complete with excellent drawings of sea beans. It is a must for any sea bean collector.

Nice enough?
A 1976 classic, reprinted at the occasion of the 1999 Sea-Bean Symposium. As reprints go this is quite good, with a sturdy cover. The book consists of a general part (Introduction, History, Currents & Beaches, Collecting & Uses, Key) and a catalog. The latter, which comprises just over half the book, consists for each entry of a page (or less) of text and a page (sometimes three) of line-drawings. The line-drawings are not of top quality but adequate.

Although it is good to have this back in print it would have been far preferable to see a revised, expanded and updated edition. In this day and age the black & white photographs in the general part look distinctly out of place, especially for such an appealing subject matter, lending itself so well to spectacular color photography. The topic deserves better? ... Read more