Showing 1–12 of 149 results
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Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay: Portraits of Earth’s Great Ecosystem
Artist/Author: McPhee, Daryl$70.00 Add to cartAn interdisciplinary examination of the geologic, marine and human history of Moreton Bay.
The south-east Queensland region is currently experiencing the most rapid urbanisation in Australia. This growth in human population, industry and infrastructure puts pressure on the unique and diverse natural environment of Moreton Bay. Much loved by locals and holiday-goers, Moreton Bay is also an important biogeographic region because its coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and saltmarshes provide a suitable environment for both tropical and temperate species. The bay supports a large number of species of global conservation significance, including marine turtles, dugongs, dolphins, whales and migratory shorebirds, which use the area for feeding or breeding.Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay provides an interdisciplinary examination of Moreton Bay, increasing understanding of existing and emerging pressures on the region and how these may be mitigated and managed. With chapters on the bay’s human uses by Aboriginal peoples and later European settlers, its geology, water quality, marine habitats and animal communities, and commercial and recreational fisheries, Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay will be of value to students in the marine sciences, environmental consultants, policy-makers and recreational fishers.
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Rivers: A Natural and not-so-Natural History
Artist/Author: Raven, Paul , Nigel Holmes$63.00 Add to cartThroughout British history rivers have been of profound economic, social and cultural importance – yet as we see with increasing frequency they have the potential to wreak great destruction. This book describes the natural and not-so-natural changes that have affected British rivers since the last ice age and looks at the many plants and animals that live along, above and within them. Detailed case studies of the Meon, Dee and Endrick illustrate the incredibly varied nature of our river ecosystems, and the natural and human factors that make each one different. Written by two widely respected river ecologists, the book looks not only at rivers as they were and are but also at how they can be managed and cared for. Full of interesting facts and stunning images, Rivers is essential reading for anyone professionally involved in rivers and for the naturalist, conservationist and layman alike. It is the one book you need to understand this singularly important and often contentious feature of the British landscape.
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Call of the Reed Warbler
Artist/Author: Massy. Charles$40.00 Add to cartIs it too late to regenerate the earth? Call of the Reed Warbler shows the way forward for the future of our food supply, our Australian landscape and our planet.This ground-breaking book will change the way we think of, farm and grow food. Author and radical farmer Charles Massy explores transformative and regenerative agriculture and the vital connection between our soil and our health. It is a story of how a grassroots revolution – a true underground insurgency – can save the planet, help turn climate change around, and build healthy people and healthy communities, pivoting significantly on our relationship with growing and consuming food.Using his personal experience as a touchstone – from an unknowing, chemical-using farmer with dead soils to a radical ecologist farmer carefully regenerating a 2000-hectare property to a state of natural health – Massy tells the real story behind industrial agriculture and the global profit-obsessed corporations driving it. He shows – through evocative stories – how innovative farmers are finding a new way and interweaves his own local landscape, its seasons and biological richness.At stake is not only a revolution in human health and our communities but the very survival of the planet. For farmer, backyard gardener, food buyer, health worker, policy maker and public leader alike, Call of the Reed Warbler offers a tangible path forward for the future of our food supply, our Australian landscape and our earth. It comprises a powerful and moving paean of hope. -
Myth of Silent Spring: Rethinking the Origins of American Environmentalism
Artist/Author: Montrie, Chad$44.00 Add to cartSince its publication in 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring has often been celebrated as the catalyst that sparked an American environmental movement. Yet environmental consciousness and environmental protest in some regions of the United States date back to the nineteenth century and the advent of industrial manufacturing and consequent growth of cities. As these changes transformed peoples’ lives, ordinary Americans came to recognize the connections between economic exploitation, social inequality, and environmental problems. In turn, as the modern age dawned, these Americans relied on labor unions, sportsmen’s clubs, racial and ethnic organizations, and community groups to respond accordingly. The Myth of Silent Spring tells this story. By challenging the canonical “suburbs and songbirds” interpretation associated with Carson and her work, this book gives readers a more accurate sense of the past and better prepares them for thinking and acting in the present.
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Aliens Among Us: How Invasive Species Are Transforming the Planet—and Ourselves
Artist/Author: Anthony, Leslie$60.00 Add to cartA thoughtful, accessible look at the rapidly growing issue of invasive plants, animals, and microbes around the globe with a focus on the scientific issues and ecological, health, and other challenges. From award-winning adventure and science journalist comes an eye-opening exploration of a burgeoning environmental phenomenon and the science coalescing around it. Leslie Anthony leads readers on adventures physical and philosophical as he explores how and why invasive species are hijacking ecosystems around the globe. Weaving science, travel, history, and humor with diverse examples to chart and describe the phases of species invasion and human response, Anthony introduces field researchers and managers who seek to understand the biological, social, and economic aspects of this complex issue, and whose work collectively suggests the emergence of a global shadow economy centered on invasives.
With tales of pythons in the Everglades, Asian carp and lamprey in the Great Lakes, Japanese knotweed seemingly everywhere, and the invasive organisms we don’t see—pathogens and microbes such as the Zika virus—this book rivets attention on a new ecological reality. -
The Hawkesbury River: A Social and Natural History
Artist/Author: Boon, Paul I.$120.00 Add to cartA definitive account of the natural history of the Hawkesbury River and the pivotal role it has played in history.
The Hawkesbury River is the longest coastal river in New South Wales. A vital source of water and food, it has a long Aboriginal history and was critical for the survival of the early British colony at Sydney. The Hawkesbury’s weathered shores, cliffs and fertile plains have inspired generations of artists. It is surrounded by an unparalleled mosaic of national parks, including the second-oldest national park in Australia, Ku-ring-gai National Park. Although it lies only 35 km north of Sydney, to many today the Hawkesbury is a ‘hidden river’ – its historical and natural significance not understood or appreciated.
Until now, the Hawkesbury has lacked an up-to-date and comprehensive book describing how and when the river formed, how it functions ecologically, how it has influenced humans and their patterns of settlement and, in turn, how it has been affected by those settlements and their people. The Hawkesbury River: A Social and Natural History fills this gap. With chapters on the geography, geology, hydrology and ecology of the river through to discussion of its use by Aboriginal and European people and its role in transport, defence and culture, this highly readable and richly illustrated book paints a picture of a landscape worthy of protection and conservation. It will be of value to those who live, visit or work in the region, those interested in Australian environmental history, and professionals in biology, natural resource management and education. -
Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities
Artist/Author: Legge, Sarah, David Lindenmayer, Natasha Robinson, Benjamin Scheele, Darren Southwell, Brendan Wintle$70.00 Add to cartMonitoring is integral to all aspects of policy and management for threatened biodiversity. It is fundamental to assessing the conservation status and trends of listed species and ecological communities. Monitoring data can be used to diagnose the causes of decline, to measure management effectiveness and to report on investment. It is also a valuable public engagement tool. Yet in Australia, monitoring threatened biodiversity is not always optimally managed.
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Primate Communities
Artist/Author: Fleagle, J. G. et al.$66.00 Add to cartComprehensive and unique volume exploring the differences and similarities between primate communities worldwide.
Although the behaviour and ecology of primates have been more thoroughly studied than that of any other group of mammals, there have been very few attempts to compare the communities of living primates found in different parts of the world. In Primate communities, an international group of experts compares the composition, behaviour and ecology of primate communities in Africa, Asia, Madagascar and South America. They examine the factors underlying the similarities and differences between these communities, including their phylogenetic history, climate, rainfall, soil type, forest composition, competition with other vertebrates and human activities. As it brings together information about primate communities from around the world for the very first time, it will quickly become an important source book for researchers in anthropology, ecology and conservation, and a readable and informative text for undergraduate and graduate students studying primate ecology, primate conservation or primate behaviour. -
Galapagos: Preserving Darwin’s Legacy
Artist/Author: De Roy, Tui.$71.00 Add to cartThis sumptuous large-format book was first produced in 2009 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Charles Darwin Foundation on Galapagos. The book comprises a series of invited essays under the editorship of world-renowned photographer and long-term Galapagos resident, Tui de Roy, who has also provided most of the photographs. The authoritative essays cover the entire spectrum of Galapagos wildlife including the marine environment, unique vegetation such as sunflower trees as well as wildlife including giant tortoises, marine iguanas, sea lions and the Galapagos finches that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution. This new edition has significant updates to a number of chapters including brand new photography and information about scientific developments elsewhere and a new jacket.
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The new wild: why invasive species will be nature’s salvation.
Artist/Author: Pearce, Fred.$35.00 Add to cartVeteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce used to think of invasive species as evil interlopers spoiling pristine ‘natural’ ecosystems. Most conservationists would agree with this, but what if traditional ecology is wrong, and true environmentalists should be applauding the invaders? In this book, Pearce goes on a journey to rediscover what conservation should really be about. He explores ecosystems from Pacific islands to the Australian outback to the Thames estuary, digs into the questionable costs of invader species, and reveals the outdated intellectual sources of our ideas about the balance of nature. Keeping out alien species looks increasingly flawed. The new ecologists looking afresh at how species interact in the wild believe we should celebrate the dynamism of alien species and the novel ecosystems they create. In an era of climate change and widespread ecological damage, we must find ways to help nature regenerate. Embracing the ‘new wild’ is our best chance. Also available in paperback [Stock ID: 38945]
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The rise and fall of Gunns Ltd.
Artist/Author: Beresford, Quentin.$33.00 Add to cartAt its peak, Gunns Ltd had a market value of $1 billion, was listed on the ASX 200, was the largest employer in the state of Tasmania and its largest private landowner. Most of its profits came from woodchipping, mainly from clear-felled old-growth forests and pulp mill was central to its expansion plans. Its collapse in 2012 was a major national news story, as was the arrest of its CEO for insider trading. Here, Beresford illuminates for the first time the dark corners of the Gunns empire. He shows it was built on close relationships with state and federal governments, political donations and use of the law to intimidate and silence its critics. Gunns may have been single-minded in its pursuit of a pulp mill in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley, but it was embedded in an anti-democratic and corrupt system of power supported by both main parties, business and unions. Simmering opposition to Gunns and all it stood for ramped up into an environmental campaign not seen since the Franklin Dam protests. Fearless and forensic in its analysis, the book shows that Tasmania’s decades-long quest to industrialise nature fails every time. But the collapse of Gunns is the most telling of them all.
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The Southwest: Australia’s biodiversity hotspot.
Artist/Author: Laurie, Victoria.$45.00 Add to cartIn this lavishly illustrated book, Victoria Laurie uncovers the southwest of Australia, a triangle of land that encompasses a multitude of natural worlds. One third of all known Australian plant species is found growing in the southwest, and the region has been designated ‘Australia’s Global Biodiversity Hotspot,’ one of only thirty-four such hotspots in the world and the only one on this continent. Driven by her own passion for this country, Laurie presents us with the voices of scientists and those dedicated to protecting a fragile ecology supporting up to 150,000 species. Life forms and landscapes are a feature of this informative and thrilling discovery of a region that has evolved with abundant biodiversity because of its isolation.
