A Naturalist Along the Jersey Shore
A Naturalist Along the Jersey Shore

Author: Joanna Burger

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780813523002

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Come for a journey along the Jersey shore with naturalist and ecologist Joanna Burger In these deeply felt, closely observed personal essays, Burger invokes the intertwined lives of naturalist and wild creatures at the ever-changing edge of ocean and land. Discover with her the delicate mating dances of fiddler crabs, the dangers to piping plovers, the swarming of fish communities into the bays and estuaries, the trilling notes of Fowler's toads, and the subtle green-grays of salt marshes. Joanna Burger knows the shore through all its seasons--the first moment of spring when the herring gulls arrive on ice-gouged salt marshes, the end of spring when the great flocks of shorebirds come to feed on horseshoe crab eggs at Cape May, the summer when the peregrine hunts its prey, the fall when the migrations of hawks and monarch butterflies attract watchers from around the world, and the depths of winter when a lone snowy owl sweeps across snow-covered dunes and frozen bay. This is a book that anyone who loves the Jersey shore will cherish And because so many of these wonderful creatures live all along the Atlantic coast, it will be of equal interest to beach-lovers, naturalists, bird-watchers, fishermen, and coastal and marine scientists from North Carolina to Maine.

Beaches, Bays, and Barrens
Beaches, Bays, and Barrens

Author: Eric G. Bolen

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2024-05-17

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 1978836201

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Jersey Shore attracts millions of visitors each year, drawn to its sandy beaches. Yet New Jersey’s coastline contains a richer array of biodiverse habitats than most tourists realize, from seagrass meadows to salt marshes to cranberry bogs. Beaches, Bays, and Barrens introduces readers to the natural wonders of the Jersey Shore, revealing its unique ecology and fascinating history. The journey begins with the contributions and discoveries of early naturalists who visited the region and an overview of endangered species and natural history, followed by chapters that explore different facets of the shore’s environments. These start with sandy beaches and dunes and culminate in the engaging Pine Barrens, the vital watershed for much of the state’s varied coastline. Along the way, readers will also learn about whaling, decoy carvers, an extinct duck, and the cultivation of wild blueberries. Including over seventy color photographs, the book also features twenty-three infoboxes that go deep into areas of ecological or historical interest, such as the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge or the Jaws-like shark attacks of 1916. From Cape May to Sandy Hook, biologist Eric G. Bolen takes you on a guided tour of the Jersey Shore’s rich ecological heritage.

25 Nature Spectacles in New Jersey
25 Nature Spectacles in New Jersey

Author: Joanna Burger

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9780813527666

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From mating horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay to goldenclub and orchids at Web's Mill Bog, the authors reveal Garden State nature at its best. 99 illustrations. 3 maps.

A Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic Coast
A Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic Coast

Author: Patrick J. Lynch

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2021-03-23

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 0300246463

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A beautifully illustrated field guide to the Mid-Atlantic region, from the Jersey Shore to Cape Hatteras The Outer Banks of North Carolina and the beaches of the Mid-Atlantic Coast are among the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. This book is a richly illustrated field guide that surveys the geology, environmental history, natural history, and human history of a region that spans the eastern seaboard from Sandy Hook in New Jersey south to Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is organized around environments, not particular locations. Included are the geology of beaches and barrier islands, the environmental history of the region, as well as detailed looks at the natural history of beaches, dunes, maritime forests, coastal marshes, and estuaries. Also covered are issues involving human activity and climate change, which have become dominant forces shaping geophysical and biological environments. This guide will enable users to walk into a salt marsh or onto a beach and identify much of what they see.

Whispers in the Pines
Whispers in the Pines

Author: Joanna Burger

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 0813537940

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this book, naturalist Joanna Burger takes us on a series of delightful trips through the Pine Barrens. From the Albany Pine Bush, the Long Island Barrens, and the New Jersey Pine Barrens in the Northeast, to the pinelands of South Carolina and Florida, Burger describes in lively detail how these habitats have come to harbor such a unique assemblage of species. She introduces us to amphibians and reptiles, neotropical migrants and other birds, and a range of common and unusual mammals. Burger also traces the regions' historic and geologic backgrounds, and the impact of human occupation from the time of the paleo-Indians to the present. She revisits the tension between development and preservation, reminding us that a healthy pine barren region requires uninterrupted land and rejuvenating fires, both of which are increasingly jeopardized. Whispers in the Pines is essential reading for everyone concerned with the history and preservation of these unique landscapes and their wildlife.

Coastal Landscapes
Coastal Landscapes

Author: Kenneth W. Able

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2023-06-16

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1978833741

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

New Jersey has roughly one hundred and thirty miles of coastline, including a wide array of habitats from marshes to ocean beaches, each hosting a unique ecosystem. Yet these coastal landscapes are quite dynamic, changing rapidly as a result of commercial development, environmental protection movements, and of course climate change. Now more than ever, it is vital to document these landscapes before they disappear. Based on numerous aerial images from helicopter and drone flights between 2015 and 2021, this book provides extensive photographs and maps of the New Jersey coast, from the Pine Barrens to the ocean beaches. The text associated with each exceptional image describes it in detail, including its location, ecological setting, and relative position within the larger landscape. Author Kenneth Able, director of the Rutgers University Marine Field Station for over thirty years, has thoroughly ground-truthed each image by observations made through kayaks, boats, and wading through marshes. Calling upon his decades of expertise, Able paints a compelling portrait of coastal New Jersey’s stunning natural features, resources, history, and possible futures in an era of rising sea levels.

Encyclopedia of New Jersey
Encyclopedia of New Jersey

Author: Maxine N. Lurie

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 984

ISBN-13: 0813533252

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Everything you've ever wanted to know about the Garden State can now be found in one place. This encyclopaedia contains a wealth of information from New Jersey's prehistory to the present covering architecture, arts, biographies, commerce, arts, municipalities and much more.

Heartbeats in the Muck
Heartbeats in the Muck

Author: John Waldman

Publisher: Fordham Univ Press

Published: 2012-11-19

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 0823249875

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Heartbeats in the Muck traces the incredible arc of New York Harbor’s environmental history. Once a pristine estuary bristling with oysters and striped bass and visited by sharks, porpoises, and seals, the harbor has been marked by centuries of rampant industrialization and degradation of its natural environment. Garbage dumping, oil spills, sewage sludge, pesticides, heavy metals, poisonous PCBs, landfills, and dredging greatly diminished life in the harbor, in some places to nil. Now, forty years after the Clean Water Act began to resurrect New York Harbor, John Waldman delivers a new edition of his New York Society Library Award–winning book. Heartbeats in the Muck is a lively, accessible narrative of the animals, water quality, and habitats of the harbor. It includes captivating personal accounts of the author’s explorations of its farthest and most noteworthy reaches, treating readers to an intimate environmental tour of a shad camp near the George Washington Bridge, the Arthur Kill (home of the resurgent heron colonies), the Hackensack Meadowlands, the darkness under a giant Manhattan pier, and the famously polluted Gowanus Canal. A new epilogue details some of the remarkable changes that have come upon New York Harbor in recent years. Waldman’s prognosis is a good one: Ultimately, environmental awareness and action has allowed the harbor to begin cleaning itself. Although it will never regain its native biological glory, the return of oysters, herons, and a host of other creatures is an indication of New York Harbor’s rebirth. This excellent, engaging introduction to the ecological issues surrounding New York Harbor will appeal to students and general readers alike. Heartbeats in the Muck is a must-read for anyone who likes probing the wilds, whether country or city, and natural history books such as Beautiful Swimmers and Mannahatta.

Butterflies of New Jersey
Butterflies of New Jersey

Author: Michael Gochfeld

Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9780813523552

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Butterfly watching has begun to gain the popularity that bird watching has enjoyed for half a century. Much as birds served as a flagship of the conservation movement in this country, butterflies are coming to be seen as the rallying point for the protection of invertebrate species--now regarded as increasingly important for the well-being of all members of the ecosystem. Butterflies of New Jersey discusses the behavior, status, distribution, taxonomy, ecology, and conservation of butterflies in New Jersey. It is an innovative companion and complement to any butterfly identification guide of the Northeast. It pays particular attention to the place of butterflies in the ecosystem of New Jersey and neighboring regions and their relationships to other butterflies around the world. Its detailed species accounts of 140-plus kinds of butterflies found in the state and neighboring regions (out of 700 North American species) alert butterfly watchers to changes in populations over time. Where other butterfly guides typically include a section on collecting butterflies, this one includes a detailed chapter on protecting them by creating butterfly gardens and preventing habitat destruction. Butterflies of New Jersey is indispensable for everyone interested in the butterflies and natural history of the Garden State and its neighbor.