Best-selling author David Quammen takes readers on a breathtaking journey through America's most inspiring and imperiled ecosystem--Yellowstone National Park--in this monumental book on America's first national park. Yellowstone's storied past, rich ecosystem, and dynamic landscape are brilliantly portrayed in a captivating mosaic of photographs and eloquently written text that blend history, science, and research from the field. As much a visual ode to nature as an intimate tour of one of the world's most celebrated conservation areas, this gorgeous book illuminates the park's treasures grand and small--from the iconic Old Faithful to the rare gray wolf; from misty mountain tops to iridescent springs; and from sweeping valleys to flourishing wild blooms. In four illuminating sections that combine photos, sidebars, and graphics with elegantly crafted text, this book brings readers deeper into the life of the park than ever before, both commemorating its beauty and highlighting its challenges. This book is an essential addition to the National Parks' 100th anniversary celebration and will remind readers why conservation is worth every effort.
Visitors to Yellowstone National Park are drawn to the spectacular scenery, unique thermal features, and the large numbers of wild animals easily observed in their natural habitat. The thoughtful visitor to the park cannot help but be captivated by the unparalleled breadth of scientific knowledge needed to understand the intricate interrelationships that make up the yellowstone landscape. Knowing Yellowstone explores how scientists discover what they know about America's first national park and the surrounding lands. The chapter authors are scientists who represent the best of their fields of study. The science they describe is leading the way to our understanding of complex ecosystems worldwide.
The world's first national park, Yellowstone is a symbol of nature's enduring majesty and the paradigm of protected areas across the globe. But Yellowstone is constantly changing. How we understand and respond to events that are putting species under stress, say the authors of Yellowstone's Wildlife in Transition, will determine the future of ecosystems that were millions of years in the making. With a foreword by the renowned naturalist E. O. Wilson, this is the most comprehensive survey of research on North America's flagship national park available today. Marshaling the expertise of over thirty contributors, Yellowstone's Wildlife in Transition examines the diverse changes to the park's ecology in recent decades. Since its creation in the 1870s, the priorities governing Yellowstone have evolved, from intensive management designed to protect and propagate depleted large-bodied mammals to an approach focused on restoration and preservation of ecological processes. Recognizing the importance of natural occurrences such as fires and predation, this more ecologically informed oversight has achieved notable successes, including the recovery of threatened native species of wolves, bald eagles, and grizzly bears. Nevertheless, these experts detect worrying signs of a system under strain. They identify three overriding stressors: invasive species, private-sector development of unprotected lands, and a warming climate. Their concluding recommendations will shape the twenty-first-century discussion over how to confront these challenges, not only in American parks but for conservation areas worldwide. Highly readable and fully illustrated, Yellowstone's Wildlife in Transition will be welcomed by ecologists and nature enthusiasts alike.
The 7-volume Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Second Edition maintains the reputation of the highly regarded original, presenting the most current information available in this globally crucial area of research and study. It brings together the dimensions of biodiversity and examines both the services it provides and the measures to protect it. Major themes of the work include the evolution of biodiversity, systems for classifying and defining biodiversity, ecological patterns and theories of biodiversity, and an assessment of contemporary patterns and trends in biodiversity. The science of biodiversity has become the science of our future. It is an interdisciplinary field spanning areas of both physical and life sciences. Our awareness of the loss of biodiversity has brought a long overdue appreciation of the magnitude of this loss and a determination to develop the tools to protect our future. Second edition includes over 100 new articles and 226 updated articles covering this multidisciplinary field— from evolution to habits to economics, in 7 volumes The editors of this edition are all well respected, instantly recognizable academics operating at the top of their respective fields in biodiversity research; readers can be assured that they are reading material that has been meticulously checked and reviewed by experts Approximately 1,800 figures and 350 tables complement the text, and more than 3,000 glossary entries explain key terms
If you’ve ever had a medical check-up, did you wonder why they put a cuff around your forearm, gave it a squeeze, and made you sit still and quiet? Or why they asked you to open your mouth so they could stick a thermometer under your tongue? Or put that cold stethoscope against your chest while you took deep breaths followed by sticking a clothespin thingamabob on your finger? What’s up with all the gizmos and gadgets and why all the bother?
What’s up is that all of these instruments measure the conditions of some of the most important, life-supporting functions, or vital signs, which keep your carcass from becoming, well, a carcass. The squeezy cuff is reading your blood pressure, which indicates how strongly your blood is pumping through your pipes. The thermometer measures your core body temperature, which affects many chemical reactions in your body that supply energy for your cells. With a stethoscope, the swooshing sound of air moving in and out of your lungs can be listened to. And the clothespin doohickey tracks the amount of oxygen being carried by your blood. Vital signs are critical indicators of your body’s overall health. By tracking them as you grow and mature, these measurements can be used as a guide or reference point for when your body isn’t feeling all that great.
Now what does your blood pressure have to do with US National Parks? While human vital signs are important in evaluating your body’s health, ecological vital signs are indicators for measuring ecosystem health. An ecosystem is a community of living organisms like frogs, trees, or bacteria, and nonliving materials such as water, dirt, and rocks that are located together and interact on some level. In a healthy ecosystem, all of the living and nonliving members exist in a state of natural balance in harmony with their environment. When something new enters the community, say a strange weed or insect, or something in the environment shifts, such as the air temperature becoming warmer, the health of the ecosystem can be threatened. Monitoring ecological vital signs gives scientists a reference point or baseline of the natural condition and alerts them when there is a change. While a healthy ecosystem can continue to support all its members and adapt to change, sometimes changes are too great and members of the ecosystem become stressed and have a hard time keeping up.
Although US National Parks are some of the most protected areas on the planet, the ecological health of many of these carefully safeguarded lands is increasingly uncertain due to our rapidly changing global environment. Here we present a collection of articles about how we study and understand the health of park ecosystems by measuring and tracking the condition of ecological vital signs. This scientific data helps park managers protect the valued resources of our parks and lessen harmful impacts when change is inevitable.
The world's climate is changing, and it will continue to change throughout the 21st century and beyond. Rising temperatures, new precipitation patterns, and other changes are already affecting many aspects of human society and the natural world. In this book, the National Research Council provides a broad overview of the ecological impacts of climate change, and a series of examples of impacts of different kinds. The book was written as a basis for a forthcoming illustrated booklet, designed to provide the public with accurate scientific information on this important subject.
**A New York Times Bestseller!** Based on the wildly popular Instagram account, Subpar Parks features both the greatest hits and brand-new content, all celebrating the incredible beauty and variety of America’s national parks juxtaposed with the clueless and hilarious one-star reviews posted by visitors. Subpar Parks, both on the popular Instagram page and in this humorous, informative, and collectible book, combines two things that seem like they might not work together yet somehow harmonize perfectly: beautiful illustrations and informative, amusing text celebrating each national park paired with the one-star reviews disappointed tourists have left online. Millions of visitors each year enjoy Glacier National Park, but for one visitor, it was simply "Too cold for me!" Another saw the mind-boggling vistas of Bryce Canyon as "Too spiky!" Never mind the person who visited the thermal pools at Yellowstone National Park and left thinking, “Save yourself some money, boil some water at home.” Featuring more than 50 percent new material, the book will include more depth and insight into the most popular parks, such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Acadia National Parks; anecdotes and tips from rangers; and much more about author Amber Share's personal love and connection to the outdoors. Equal parts humor and love for the national parks and the great outdoors, it's the perfect gift for anyone who loves to spend time outside as well as have a good read (and laugh) once they come indoors.
