Why Protecting Biodiversity is Key to Human Survival
When will the next pandemic arrive? For wildlife, it's already here. The Nature of Pandemics explores an unspoken truth: how our actions are driving wildlife pandemics across the world. Highlighting the interconnectedness of human, (non-human) animal and environmental health, it examines historical and contemporary pandemics and considers the ......
Winner of the Richard Jefferies Society and White Horse Book Shop Literary Prize 'splendid' -Guardian 'visionary' -New Statesman Britain has all the space it needs for an epic return of its wildlife. Only six percent of our country is built upon. Contrary to popular myth, large areas of our countryside are not productively farmed but ......
Through a lifetime of biological and seabird research, Michael Brooke has been blessed with the opportunity to visit a huge array of islands dotted across all the oceans of the world. His is an island list fit to make the armchair traveller green with envy - and potentially seasick. Truly no island has been too far: from St Kilda to Spitsbergen, ......
How the Natural World Shapes Our Minds, Bodies & Health
Reconnecting with Nature is the most important public health intervention of our time. Science has shown how our bodies are shaped by our environment - yet we still see ourselves as separate from the natural world. To protect human health, we need to reawaken our inner connection with Nature and prevent the destruction of our environment and the ......
The Sounds, Colors and Movements of Birds, and Our Tools for Watching Them
Birding has become one of the world's most popular pastimes for good reason. The vibrant colors, aerial finesse, and vocal talents of birds draw us to nature, stimulate our admiration and pique our curiosity. We cannot help but have questions as we encounter these elegant creatures. How do iridescent feathers seemingly glow? What must a ......
When and where did the ancestors of modern birds evolve? What enabled them to survive the meteoric impact that wiped out the dinosaurs? How did these early birds spread across the globe and give rise to the 10,600-plus species we recognise today - from the largest ratites to the smallest hummingbirds? Based on the latest scientific discoveries and ......
This is a book about how ecologists can integrate remote sensing and GIS in their daily work. It will allow ecologists to get started with the application of remote sensing and to understand its potential and limitations. Using practical examples, the book covers all necessary steps from planning field campaigns to deriving ecologically relevant ......
Our Past, Present and Future Relationship with Forests
As we clear millions of hectares of forests globally, the challenge of restoring these precious ecosystems becomes ever more pressing. The stakes are high: a staggering 95% of Earth's land could succumb to degradation by 2050. While the task might appear straightforward - simply plant millions of trees - the reality is far more perplexing. ......
Ponds and small lakes support an extremely rich biodiversity of fascinating organisms. Many people have tried pond-dipping and encountered a few unfamiliar creatures, such as dragonfly nymphs and caddisfly larvae. However, there is a far richer world of microscopic organisms, such as diatoms, desmids and rotifers, which is revealed in this book. ......