The Ocean Sunfishes: Evolution, Biology and Conservation is the first book to gather into one comprehensive volume our fundamental knowledge of the world-record holding, charismatic ocean behemoths in the family Molidae. From evolution and phylogeny to biotoxins, biomechanics, parasites, husbandry and popular culture, it outlines recent and future research from leading sunfish experts worldwide This synthesis includes diet, foraging behavior, migration and fisheries bycatch and overhauls long-standing and outdated perceptions. This book provides the essential go-to resource for both lay and academic audiences alike and anyone interested in exploring one of the ocean’s most elusive and captivating group of fishes.
Engaging text highlights the life cycle of ocean sunfish, from birth through adulthood. This book's easy-to-read text and full-color photographs bring this animal's world to life, introducing readers to the ocean sunfish's diet, habitat, and enemies and threats. Ocean sunfish size, body description, and family are also discussed. A diagram helps readers identify body parts, from its mouth to its clavus. Fast Facts are great for reports, while Fascinating Facts expand readers' knowledge of ocean sunfish. Bold glossary words and an index enhance reader comprehension. Buddy Books is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.
QLD Premier's Book Awards -- Shortlisted Science Writer Award Awarded a 2010 Whitley Certificate of Commendation for Natural History The largest, swiftest, highest-leaping, fastest-growing and most migratory fishes on the planet all live in the open ocean. Beautifully adapted to their world, they range from tiny drift fish and slow plankton-straining whale sharks to high-energy, streamlined predators such as tuna and marlin. Fishes of the Open Ocean, from Julian Pepperell, one of Australia's best-known marine biologists and world authority on oceanic fishes, is the first book to describe these fishes and detail their biology and the complex, often fragile world in which they live. This unique guide covers all major species including tuna, marlin, swordfish and pelagic sharks, as well as lesser-known ones such as flying fish, lancetfish, sunfish, pomfret, opah, louvar, fanfish and basking sharks.
The Ocean Sunfishes: Evolution, Biology and Conservation is the first book to gather into one comprehensive volume our fundamental knowledge of the world-record holding, charismatic ocean behemoths in the family Molidae. From evolution and phylogeny to biotoxins, biomechanics, parasites, husbandry and popular culture, it outlines recent and future research from leading sunfish experts worldwide This synthesis includes diet, foraging behavior, migration and fisheries bycatch and overhauls long-standing and outdated perceptions. This book provides the essential go-to resource for both lay and academic audiences alike and anyone interested in exploring one of the ocean’s most elusive and captivating group of fishes.
One fish, two fish, red fish, nearly thirty thousand species of fish -- or fishes, as they are properly called when speaking of multiple species. This is but one of many things the authors of this fascinatingly informative book reveal in answering common and not-so-common questions about this ubiquitous group of animals. Fishes range in size from tiny gobies to the massive Ocean Sunfish, which weighs thousands of pounds. They live in just about every body of water on the planet. Ichthyologists Gene Helfman and Bruce Collette provide accurate, entertaining, and sometimes surprising answers to over 100 questions about these water dwellers, such as "How many kinds of fishes are there?" "Can fishes breathe air?" "How smart are fishes?" and "Do fishes feel pain?" They explain how bony fishes evolved, the relationship between them and sharks, and why there is so much color variation among species. Along the way we also learn about the Devils Hole Pupfish, which has the smallest range of any vertebrate in the world; Lota lota, the only freshwater fish to spawn under ice; the Candiru, a pencil-thin Amazonian catfish that lodges itself in a very personal place of male bathers and must be removed surgically; and many other curiosities. With over 100 photographs -- including two full-color photo galleries -- and the most up-to-date facts on the world's fishes from two premier experts, this fun book is the perfect bait for any curious naturalist, angler, or aquarist.
"This autobiography is a charming and accurate telling by a modest man whose brilliant career has allowed millions to venture into the sea and feel what Dave feels when he's underwater—without getting wet!"—John E. McCosker, Director Emeritus, Steinhart Aquarium, San Francisco "Dave Powell is one of the giants in the development of the modern public aquarium. His great talents and skill have come from years of working with the technology of public aquariums, and also from a great love of the sea. This book is a wonderful tale of his adventures (and misadventures) as he worked to capture the essence of the ocean and bring it to public view."—Bruce Carlson, Director, Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu "Gobies, jellyfish, coelacanth, white sharks—it's all here. A delightfully written book detailing the experiences of the most innovative aquarist of our time. This book is a must read for anyone fascinated by looking through an aquarium viewing window."—Jerry Goldsmith, Vice President, SeaWorld of California
This classroom resource provides clear, concise scientific information in an understandable and enjoyable way about water and aquatic life. Spanning the hydrologic cycle from rain to watersheds, aquifers to springs, rivers to estuaries, ample illustrations promote understanding of important concepts and clarify major ideas. Aquatic science is covered comprehensively, with relevant principles of chemistry, physics, geology, geography, ecology, and biology included throughout the text. Emphasizing water sustainability and conservation, the book tells us what we can do personally to conserve for the future and presents job and volunteer opportunities in the hope that some students will pursue careers in aquatic science. Texas Aquatic Science, originally developed as part of a multi-faceted education project for middle and high school students, can also be used at the college level for non-science majors, in the home-school environment, and by anyone who educates kids about nature and water. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.
A New York Times Bestseller Do fishes think? Do they really have three-second memories? And can they recognize the humans who peer back at them from above the surface of the water? In What a Fish Knows, the myth-busting ethologist Jonathan Balcombe addresses these questions and more, taking us under the sea, through streams and estuaries, and to the other side of the aquarium glass to reveal the surprising capabilities of fishes. Although there are more than thirty thousand species of fish—more than all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined—we rarely consider how individual fishes think, feel, and behave. Balcombe upends our assumptions about fishes, portraying them not as unfeeling, dead-eyed feeding machines but as sentient, aware, social, and even Machiavellian—in other words, much like us. What a Fish Knows draws on the latest science to present a fresh look at these remarkable creatures in all their breathtaking diversity and beauty. Fishes conduct elaborate courtship rituals and develop lifelong bonds with shoalmates. They also plan, hunt cooperatively, use tools, curry favor, deceive one another, and punish wrongdoers. We may imagine that fishes lead simple, fleeting lives—a mode of existence that boils down to a place on the food chain, rote spawning, and lots of aimless swimming. But, as Balcombe demonstrates, the truth is far richer and more complex, worthy of the grandest social novel. Highlighting breakthrough discoveries from fish enthusiasts and scientists around the world and pondering his own encounters with fishes, Balcombe examines the fascinating means by which fishes gain knowledge of the places they inhabit, from shallow tide pools to the deepest reaches of the ocean. Teeming with insights and exciting discoveries, What a Fish Knows offers a thoughtful appraisal of our relationships with fishes and inspires us to take a more enlightened view of the planet’s increasingly imperiled marine life. What a Fish Knows will forever change how we see our aquatic cousins—the pet goldfish included.
