Ecosystem Science

Swifts live almost entirely in the air. They eat, drink, sleep, mate and gather their nesting materials on the wing, fly thousands of miles across the world, navigating their way around storms, never lighting on tree, cliff or ground, until they return home with the summer. Sarah Gibson has written a fascinating story of discovery, exploring what is known about these mysterious birds, their ancient ancestry and how they have been regarded through history.

Die Wälder sind sein berufliches Zuhause, und die Arbeit mit Bäumen ist sein Leben. Bei geführten Waldwanderungen gibt der passionierte Förster und Autor Peter Wohlleben sein enormes Wissen über Bäume weiter. Seine Gebrauchsanweisung ist eine ebenso handfeste wie stimmungsvolle Entdeckungstour. Fundiert und unterhaltsam weist er ein in die wichtigsten Laub- und Nadelbaumarten: was sie kennzeichnet, welchen die Zukunft gehört, welche bei Gewitter wirklich Schutz bieten.

You might know that gray wolves live in packs, but there’s so much more to learn about these incredible predators! Find out what makes wolves howl, why wolves sniffing each other’s butts is their way of shaking hands, and how some wolves in Yellowstone National Park used thermal activity to heat their den! You’ll also witness the incredible relationship gray wolves have with ravens (they play tug with wolf cubs), learn about wolf rewilding projects, and discover what it takes to become a wolf zoologist yourself.

Seit Jahrzehnten steigende Temperaturen sind eine unabweisbare Tatsache: Der Klimawandel kommt nicht - wir sind bereits mittendrin. Bernhard Kegel geht in seinem Hörbuch der Frage nach, wie sich unsere Umwelt in den nächsten Jahren verändern wird. Welche Migration von Flora und Fauna wird es geben - und was bedeutet dies für unser Leben? Was passiert, wenn natürliche Zyklen kollabieren, wenn etwa Fische schlüpfen, weil die Wassertemperatur ansteigt, aber kein Futter vorhanden ist, weil sich Phytoplankton erst vermehrt, wenn die Tage länger werden?

In Florida, there exists a very special ecosystem where sub-tropical and north-temperate vegetation meet—Bulow Hammock. Saved by conservationists, it is one of the last stands of forest on the East Coast. This hardwood grove in Florida's open marshes and pine wood is now a State Park where complex life thrives. In the tradition of Peter Matthiessen and Stephen Jay Gould, David Rains Wallace links natural history with the imagination for an intensive study of this unique and beautiful ecosystem.

Pilgrimage is a sacred tradition that has existed around the world for centuries. Every year, more than 100 million devotees from different cultures and faiths embark on journeys to such holy sites as Santiago de Compostela, Mecca, and Banaras. For some, making a pilgrimage is a spiritual act, while for others it is a secular experience of personal restoration. And yet there has never existed a tradition of pilgrimage within the US. Cultural geographer James E. Mills makes a compelling case for the creation of a network of American pilgrimage routes to heal societal divisions....

Faszinierendes Paralleluniversum: Sophia Kimmig entführt in die Dunkelwelt und öffnet die Augen für die Wunder der Nacht direkt vor unserer Tür. Wenn die Sonne untergegangen ist, wird es bei den Wildtieren erst richtig interessant: Wo tagsüber Menschen auf Busse warten, durchwühlt eine Wildschweinfamilie den Mülleimer an der Haltestelle. Füchse suchen nach Futter, Glühwürmchen senden Blinksignale an potenzielle Partner, Waschbären durchstöbern das Gebüsch. Die Nacht ist nicht nur eine Zeit, sondern ein vielfältiger Lebensraum, über den wir immer noch zu wenig wissen.

You've probably heard the story of the garden of Eden - the paradise that God created for humans to live in. There was plenty of room for everyone, there were trees and flowers and plenty of food. When you look out your window today you don't see the paradise God intended for us. This world is crowded, polluted, and headed for trouble.But it's not hopeless.

Japan. March 11, 2011. 2:46 P.M. The biggest earthquake in Japan's history - and one of the world's five most powerful since 1900 - devastated the Tohoku region, 320 kilometers (200 miles) northeast of Tokyo. It triggered a huge tsunami that left crippling damage in its wake. More than 13,000 people drowned, and thousands of buildings and homes were reduced to rubble.

The water sprite with roots is personified as a friend who experiences many encounters, imbalances, fears, and hopes in his water cycle journey. Because he shares an affinity with any organic life form derived from carbon and hydrogen, he can communicate with other beings and express their stories from their realities. Most importantly, he talks the walk through his mission of discovering cyclical truths from the sun to water to nutrients to plants to animals to decomposing bacteria to respecting the biodiversity essential for all life.

In The Song of the Dodo, we follow Quammen's keen intellect through the ideas, theories, and experiments of prominent naturalists of the last two centuries. We trail after him as he travels the world, tracking the subject of island biogeography, which encompasses nothing less than the study of the origin and extinction of all species. Why is this island idea so important? Because islands are where species most commonly go extinct - and because, as Quammen points out, we live in an age when all of Earth's landscapes are being chopped into island-like fragments by human activity.

It is accepted wisdom today that human beings have irrevocably damaged the natural world. We have altered our climate, acidified our oceans, and we are in the process of causing the sixth mass extinction. Yet what if this gloomy narrative obscures a more hopeful truth? In Inheritors of the Earth, renowned ecologist and environmentalist Chris D. Thomas overturns this loss-only view of the world's biodiversity, revealing how many animals and plants have benefited from the human-altered planet.

Explora el intrincado tapiz de vida que prospera en la tierra con Fundamentos de los Ecosistemas Terrestres. Este primer volumen de la serie La Red de la Tierra invita a los lectores a embarcarse en un viaje para comprender los principios fundamentales de los ecosistemas terrestres, revelando cómo los organismos interactúan con su entorno para dar forma a paisajes dinámicos y llenos de vida. El libro comienza con una introducción sobre qué son los ecosistemas terrestres y profundiza en los pilares básicos de la vida, como el suelo, el clima y la biodiversidad.

Il comportamento dissennato degli umani ha portato alla loro autodistruzione. Ma il pianeta e le altre creature viventi sembrano vivere un periodo rigoglioso. L’estinzione riguarda quindi solo gli uomini che non si riproducono più. Può esserci ancora una speranza di rinascita? E, soprattutto, chi sopravvive capirà e saprà cambiare? Questo racconto ci conduce in un percorso che apre quegli orizzonti e quelle sensibilità che solo se si praticheranno potranno condurci a ripensare ai nostri egoistici stili di vita. Pena la nostra stessa fine.

The award-winning audiobook for The Lost Words and its sister, The Lost Spells, showcased the immersive power of a natural soundscape. Compiled by renowned wildlife recordist, Chris Watson, these soundscapes acted as the backdrop and setting for beautiful spells, whilst possessing an energy and life of their own. Now, these aural glimpses into the natural world, be it an adder in grass or an egret submerging into the swell of the ocean, are brought together to star in their own right.

Within the next three years, Juliet Blaxland's home will be demolished, and the land where it now stands will crumble into the North Sea. In her numbered days living in the Easternmost House, Juliet fights to maintain the rural ways she grew up with, re-connecting with the beauty, usefulness and erratic terror of the natural world. A stunning memoir, describing a year on the easternmost edge of England, and exploring how we can preserve delicate ecosystems, and livelihoods, in the face of rapid coastal erosion and environmental change.

The Arctic Odyssey: A Quest for the North Pole is a mesmerizing and inspiring journey through the breathtaking beauty, rich history, and complex challenges of the Arctic region. From the frozen landscapes of the North Pole to the rich cultural traditions of the Inuit and other indigenous peoples of the Arctic, this book offers a unique and powerful perspective on one of the world's most captivating and mysterious places.

El creador de Lo que el pulpo me enseñó nos revela, en esta apasionante historia de amor por la naturaleza, como volver a conectar con el mundo natural. En estas emocionantes memorias de una vida dedicada a explorar los lugares más increíbles de la Tierra —desde el Gran Bosque Marino Africano hasta las guaridas de cocodrilos del Delta del Okavango—, Craig Foster revela como podemos prestar atención a la belleza terrenal que nos rodea y hacer crecer nuestro amor por todos los seres vivos.

Trees are both amazing and vital. Their intricate, complex processes benefit humanity in so many ways, especially in cities, where populations are on the rise. Why Trees? is a non-fiction book about how to keep our urban trees healthy. It is an engaging, pleasurable audiobook, packed with information about these endangered climate champions.

Upon completing his historic work on the Human Genome Project in 2002, J. Craig Venter declared that he would sequence the genetic code of all life on earth. Thus began a fifteen-year quest to collect DNA from the world's oldest and most abundant form of life: microbes. Boarding the Sorcerer II, a 100-foot sailboat turned research vessel, Venter travelled over 65,000 miles around the globe to sample ocean water and the microscopic life within. In this book, Venter and science writer David Ewing Duncan tell the remarkable story of these expeditions and of the momentous discoveries that ensued.