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653 books match the query 'Animals' and 34 start with f

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FISHES OF OHIO

Milton B. Trautman

The Ohio State University Press, 1982

“In 1957, Milton B. Trautman . . . authored one of the finest regional fish books. His first edition of The Fishes of Ohio was unique in its approach by documenting historical changes in fish distribution in the face of man's encroachment and alteration of aquatic ecosystems. . . . Now, 24 years later, a revised edition of this classic work has been made available.

“The objectives of [this] edition are to demonstrate and explain distributional changes from 1750 to 1980, and to provide keys to the 166 species of Ohio fishes. These aims are admirably achieved. The natural factors influencing distribution of fishes are discussed in Part I, which relates the geology, physiography, topography, hydrology, and climatic history of the regions. . . . Part II reviews changes that have occurred from 1750 until 1980, and is an excellent chronicle of modern man's alternation and manipulation of essentially every aquatic ecosystem in Ohio. . . . Part III is a listing of species, synonomy and nomenclatorial history of Ohio’s fishes. . . . Part IV is an informative section of the systematics and nomenclature of fishes that is very useful to beginning students of ichthylogy. The glossary and family and species keys contained in Part V are excellent. Part VI contains the major content of the book, the 166 species accounts. . . .

“The updated range maps, a central focus of Trautman's approach, are excellent and obviously the result of endless efforts. Ohio is one of the most thoroughly surveyed of all states and to translate these data to visual understanding is an unenviable task for which the reader should be deeply appreciative. . . . Also of exceptional quality are the species illustrations originally rendered by Mrs. E. R. Weeks and Trautman himself for the 1957 edition. They are among the best of their kind in a fish reference work, and serve well to facilitate identification of specimens in hand. . . .

“Anyone concerned with or otherwise interested in the fishes, aquatic environments, or general natural history of Ohio or eastern North America should consider this book a valued addition to their library.”
—Ohio Journal of Science

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Fascinating Shells

An Introduction to 121 of the World’s Most Wonderful Mollusks

Andreia Salvador

University of Chicago Press, 2022

A New Scientist Best Book of the Year

Beautiful photographs of stunning shells from London's Natural History Museum, home to one of the most significant and comprehensive collections in the world.

Collected and treasured for their beauty, used in religious rituals, or even traded as currency, shells have fascinated humans for millennia. Ancient and enchanting, dazzling in form and variety, these beautiful objects come from mollusks, one of the most diverse groups in the animal kingdom, including snails, oysters, cuttlefish, and chitons. Soft-bodied, these creatures rely on shells for protection from enemies and their environments, from snowy mountains to arid deserts, in deep-sea hydrothermal vents and the jungles of the tropics, on rocky shores, and in coral reefs.

In this book, mollusk expert Andreia Salvador profiles some of the world’s most beautiful and quirky shells, each selected from the more than eight million specimens held in the collection at London’s Natural History Museum. We lock eyes with the hundred-eyed cowry, named after "the all-seeing one," the giant Argus Panoptes of Greek mythology. We see how shells' appearances translate into defense strategies, as with the zigzag nerite, which varies its patterning to deceive and confuse predators. And we meet shell inhabitants, such as the amber snail, which eats earthworms by sucking them up like spaghetti. Reproduced in full color and striking detail, these shells have much to reveal about the history of collecting, the science of taxonomy, and the human desire to understand the natural world.

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Feather Brained

My Bumbling Quest to Become a Birder and Find a Rare Bird on My Own

Bob Tarte

University of Michigan Press, 2016

For much of his life, the closest Bob Tarte got to a nature walk was the stroll from parking lot to picnic table on family outings. But then a chance sighting of a dazzling rose-breasted grosbeak in wife-to-be Linda’s backyard prompts a fascination with birds, which he had never cared about before in the least. Soon he is obsessed with spotting more and more of them—the rarer the better—and embarks on a bumpy journey to improve his bumbling birding skills. Along the way, Tarte offers readers a droll look at the pleasures and pitfalls he encounters, introduces a colorful cast of fellow birders from across the country, and travels to some of the premier birding sites in the Midwest, including Point Pelee, Magee Marsh, Tawas Point State Park, and even Muskegon Wastewater System. This funny, heartfelt memoir will appeal to birders of all skill levels as well as to anyone who knows and loves a birder.

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Feeding Strategy

Jennifer Owen

University of Chicago Press, 1982

Feeding is invoked in some way in almost all the encounters and associations between different species. The choice of food is immense: plants grow in a multitude of forms, from seaweeds to cactuses and from grasses to forest trees: animal prey is available from tiny krill in the oceans to antelopes on the plains. As almost every species is accessible to another with the right feeding strategy, there is a continual evolutionary jostling between eater and eaten for the advantage over the other.

Among both plants and animals elaborate strategies have evolved for exploring the surrounding life as food. The feeding behavior of predators is based on a search and strike strategy. In contrast, grazers live surrounded by their food and are relatively immobile. Such animals as impalas and grasshoppers, whose persistent feeding make them ready prey, have evolved means of avoiding the notice of predators or methods of speedy escape. Plants that digest animal tissue have evolved complex and devious means to attract prey.

The variations in style of these feeding encounters and the precision involved in some of the feeding mechanisms are the themes of Feeding Strategy.

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Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Illinois

Christopher A. Phillips, John A. Crawford, and Andrew R. Kuhns. Foreword by Ronald A. Brandon

University of Illinois Press, 2022

The second edition of the Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Illinois offers up-to-date information on the state’s 102 species of frogs and toads, salamanders, turtles, lizards, and snakes. Detailed descriptions by the authors include habitats, distinguishing features, behaviors, and other facts, while revised range maps and full-color photographs help users recognize animals in the field. In addition, an identification key and easy-to-navigate page layouts guide readers through extensive background material on each species' population, diet, predators, reproduction, and conservation status.

A one-of-a-kind resource, the Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Illinois is a definitive guide aimed at biologists, teachers, students, wildlife specialists, natural resource managers, conservationists, law enforcement officials, landowners, hobbyists, and everyone else eager to explore herpetology and nature in the Prairie State.

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Field Guide to Illinois Mammals

Joyce E. Hofmann

University of Illinois Press, 2026

The new edition of the Field Guide to Illinois Mammals is a pocket-sized handbook on the state’s sixty-one species. Joyce Hofmann provides entries with extensive physical descriptions, and information on lookalike species, behaviors, habitats, tracks and scat, and population status, and range. More than 200 color photos, drawings, and illustrations aid at-a-glance identification while distribution maps show where each species is known to occur in the state.

Designed to use in the field or the backyard, Field Guide to Illinois Mammals updates a singular reference for wildlife biologists, ecologists, hikers, armchair adventurers, and anyone else fascinated by the state’s wildlife.

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Fish in Your Pocket

A Guide to Fish of the Upper Midwest

Terry VanDeWalle

University of Iowa Press, 2017

Whether sitting in a boat with a rod and reel trying to outwit a largemouth bass or watching bluntnose minnows dart among the rocks of a sparkling stream, many people are attracted to fish. Hundreds of species can be found in the ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams of the Upper Midwest, from the beautifully colored orangethroat darter to the prehistoric-looking shovelnose sturgeon. This much-needed addition to Iowa’s popular series of laminated guides—the twenty-eighth in the series—describes twenty-nine fish species, including some of the most sought after game fish like bluegill and largemouth bass, as well as less common species like logperch and the snakelike American eel.

Terry VanDeWalle includes a thorough description of each species, and covers the Upper Midwest states of Kansas, Illinois, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.

The careful descriptions and habitat and diet information in Fish inYour Pocket—enhanced with superb photographs by underwater photographer Garold Sneegas—make it extremely useful for anglers and naturalists alike.

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Fishes of Arkansas

Henry W. Robison

University of Arkansas Press, 2019

The second edition of Fishes of Arkansas, in development for more than a decade, is an extensive revision and expansion of the first edition, including reclassifications, taxonomic changes, and descriptions of more than thirty new species.

An invaluable reference for anyone interested in the state’s fish population—from professional ichthyologists, fisheries biologists, and managers of aquatic resources, to amateur naturalists and anglers—this new edition provides updated taxonomic keys as well as detailed descriptions, photographs, and line drawings to aid identification of the state’s 243 fish species. There is also much information on the distribution and biology of each species, including descriptions of habitat, foods eaten, reproductive biology, and conservation status.

This project and the preparation of this publication was funded in part by a grant from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

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Fishes of South Dakota

By Reeve M. Bailey and Marvin O. Allum

University of Michigan Press, 1962

This book assembles information on the fish fauna of South Dakota into a conveniently usable form. Ninety-three species are described with precise data on distribution and measurements. Additionally, this book attempts (1) to collect and identify published records of South Dakota fishes, (2) to present keys for the identification of fishes known or expected to occur in South Dakota, (3) to record original distributional data based on 137 fish collections taken throughout the state, (4) to solve some problems involving the systematic status of certain South Dakota species, (5) to clarify or extend information on the distribution of several species in the adjoining Plains area, and (6) to determine the geographic sources of origin of South Dakota fishes and to interpret routes of postglacial dispersal.

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Fishes of the Chicago Region

A Field Guide

Francis M. Veraldi, Stephen M. Pescitelli, and Philip W. Willink

University of Chicago Press, 2025

“A must-have field guide for fans of Second City area fish.”—Robert Ito, The New York Times Book Review • “A treasure of hardcore fish intelligence and delightful tidbits of fish history.”—Dale Bowman, Chicago Sun-Times

Fish don’t heed state boundaries, and neither does this comprehensive, photo-filled guide to the diverse species of Chicago and beyond.

Encompassing southern Lake Michigan, northeastern Illinois, and adjacent areas of Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the Chicago Region is home to rare habitats supporting diverse fish populations. From small creeks to large rivers and from small ponds to one of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems, Lake Michigan, these systems are home to some 164 fish species representing 31 families. In this essential field guide, the most complete and up-to-date reference for fishes in the Chicago Region, we meet them all—lampreys, sturgeon, paddlefish, gars, drum, darters, perches, sticklebacks, sculpins, and more. Written by leading local ecologists and featuring a pictorial family key, color photographs, detailed species distribution maps, and natural history observations unique to the region, this go-to guide belongs on the shelf—and in the boat—of every angler, naturalist, fisheries manager, and biologist.

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Fishes of the Great Basin

A Natural History

John W. Sigler

University of Nevada Press, 2014

Naturalists and recreational anglers will welcome the paperback edition of this comprehensive volume, first published in 1986, which describes every species in the lakes and streams of the Great Basin. Includes an updated checklist of established species, discussion of threatened and endangered species, glossary, bibliography, and index.

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Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Vol. 1

Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes

By John McEachran and Janice D. Fechhelm

University of Texas Press, 1998

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world and contains over 15 percent of all known species of marine fishes. This diverse fish fauna has been the subject of many publications, but, until now, no work has ever surveyed all known species, including the deep sea fishes and those of the southern Gulf.

This book is the first of two volumes that will cover the entire fish fauna of the Gulf of Mexico. An introductory section that outlines the Gulf's geographical setting, geological origin, current patterns, tides, sediments, meteorology, ecology, and biological exploration is followed by a key for the forty-four orders of fishes known from the Gulf. Keys and descriptions are provided for families, which are arranged phylogenetically, and for the species, which are arranged alphabetically, described, and distinguished from similar species. All but a few species are illustrated.

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Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Volume 2

Scorpaeniformes to Tetraodontiformes

By John D. McEachran and Janice D. Fechhelm

University of Texas Press, 2006

This book is the second of two volumes that cover the entire fish fauna of the Gulf of Mexico. It includes the orders Scorpaeniformes, Perciformes, Pleuronectiformes, and Tetraodontiformes. Keys and descriptions are provided for the families, which are arranged phylogenetically, and for the species, which are arranged alphabetically, described (including distribution and life history), and distinguished from similar species. All but a few species are illustrated. The volume also includes a biogeographical synopsis of the fishes of the Gulf of Mexico.

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Fishes of the Minnesota Region

Gary L. Phillips, William D. Schmid, and James C. Underhill

University of Minnesota Press, 1982

Fishes of the Minnesota Region was first published in 1982. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

From Northern Pike to the Walleye, this is the definitive guide to all of Minnesota's 149 kinds of fishes. Illustrated with over 80 color photographs, this book will appeal to enthusiastic anglers as well as curious naturalists.

Along with a guide to identification, the authors cover habitat, distribution, conservation, and even some recipes. If you catch a fish from one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes you'll find a description of it in this book.

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Fishes of the Open Ocean

A Natural History and Illustrated Guide

Julian Pepperell

University of Chicago Press, 2010

Between the surface of the sea and depths of two hundred meters lies a remarkable range of fish, generally known as pelagics, or open-ocean dwellers. These creatures are among the largest, fastest, highest-leaping, and most migratory fish on the entire planet. Beautifully adapted to their world, they range from tiny drift fish and plankton-straining whale sharks to more streamlined predators such as tuna, marlin, sailfish, and wahoo.

Fishes of the Open Ocean, from leading marine biologist and world authority on the subject Julian Pepperell, is the first book to comprehensively describe these fishes and explore the complex and often fragile world in which they live. In what will be the definitive book on the subject for years to come—and, with over three hundred color images, the most lavishly produced as well—Pepperell details the environment and biology of every major species of fish that inhabits the open ocean, an expanse that covers 330 million cubic miles and is the largest aquatic habitat on the Earth. The first section of the book introduces the various evolutionary forms these fish have taken, as well as the ways in which specific species interact and coevolve with others in the food web. A chapter on commercial and sport fisheries explores the human element in this realm and considers such issues as sustainability, catch-and-release initiatives, and the risks of extinction.

The second section of the book provides species accounts of open ocean dwellers organized by group, with overviews and general descriptions that are inclusive of range and distribution, unique physiological and morphological attributes, and the role of each species within its ecosystem. Global distribution maps, original illustrations from renowned artist and scientist Guy Harvey, and truly stunning images from some of the world’s leading underwater photographers round out this copiously illustrated volume.

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Fishing Arkansas

A Year-Round Guide to Angling Adventures in the Natural State

Keith Sutton

University of Arkansas Press, 2000

Fishing Arkansas is a comprehensive guide to the angling opportunities that the Natural State offers to its 500,000–700,000 licensed fisherman as well as to visitors to the state. In addition to conveying the very drama and excitement of the fishing experience itself, the month-by-month organiziation of the book allows the reader a detailed look at the life histories of many Arkansas sport fish, the best lakes and streams in which to find them, and the most successful tactics and tackle to use.

Enhanced by Sutton's excellent photographs, the guide includes twelve sections on popular game fish, such as largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill, and trout. It also provides an introduction to often-overlooked species like bowfin, gar, carp, paddlefish, and pickerel. Hundreds of valuable fishing tips gleaned from decades of on-the-water experience and interviews with dozens of guides, biologists, and expert anglers enhance the engaging narraive. From the glistening trout in the cold tailwaters of the White River, to feisty catfish on the muddy bayou bottoms of the Delta region, Keith Sutton has served up a tempting array of the fish that can be sought and caught on hook and line in the teeming waters of Arkansas.

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Fishing for Gold

The Story of Alabama's Catfish Industry

Karni R. Perez

University of Alabama Press, 2006

A captivating story of the industry's rise in Alabama.

With a wonderful ear for dialogue and in flowing narrative style, Karni Perez weaves together oral histories collected from early hatchery owners, catfish farmers, processors, and researchers to recount the important contributions made by Alabamians to the channel catfish industry. Perez describes the struggles and glories of fish culture from its early days as an experimental venture to the thriving present-day commercial enterprise that supplies warmwater fish for the American food industry.

As Perez states, "The catfish industry started out in Alabama as a do-it-yourself and figure-it out-yourself kind of enterprise." We hear how men who were mostly cattle farmers learned to nudge male and female fish into spawning in crudely constructed aquaria, how growers discovered the dissolved oxygen needs of their "herd" when big die-offs occurred, how Lenson Montz and Otis Breland designed the first paddle aerator to remedy the problem, how farmers eventually trained a bottomfeeding species to rise to the water surface to eat so their numbers could be better estimated. In one dramatic story, we learn how a man experimenting with the first skinning machine lost a piece of his hand in front of a crowd of horrified locals. (After it was retrieved from the skin basket, it was reattached by a town doctor and healed perfectly.) Ironically, the man was a representative of the engineering firm tasked with designing the machine; he had never before seen a catfish in his life. The machine was modified and became an essential component of modern fish processing.

In addition to telling the remarkable stories of individual contributions by farmers and researchers, Perez explains the positive effects played by improved public infrastructure, continued biological research, state legislation, and federal recognition of aquaculture as agriculture.

From Chapter Three:

"You're crazy," the bank officer declared with a friendly chuckle. "Why,

the Warrior River is full of catfish for anyone who wants them. There are

more in there than people will ever eat. And you think you're going to go

sell them when folks can go get them for nothing? That's just a bunch of

dreams!"

From Chapter Two:

“A crop duster's error, a visit by a curious feed company researcher, a

fluke of the weather, a coincidental encounter at a gas station. . . . How

could the three men, or anyone else for that matter, guess that these

chance circumstances would play into the birth of an industry that would

mushroom over the next forty or so years into one of the largest

contributors to the state's economy and that of the entire southeastern

United States?”

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Flight of the Golden Plover

The Amazing Migration Between Hawaii and Alaska

Debbie S. Miller

University of Alaska Press, 2011

The remarkable story of the golden plover’s annual migration, this beautifully illustrated nature title for young readers sees the small but mighty plover embark on a six-thousand-mile flight between the frozen Alaska tundra and gentle grassy slopes of the Hawaiian Islands. Equally at home in his two very different habitats, the once-endangered golden plover has evolved many behaviors and adaptations that make it perfectly well-suited to each of its homes, and this book contains many fascinating facts about them. Readers are also introduced to the plover’s neighbors and friends—from the giant Hawaiian goose, or nene, to the musk ox, grizzly bear, arctic fox, and sandhill crane.

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Floating Gold

A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris

Christopher Kemp

University of Chicago Press, 2012

A fascinating natural history of an incredibly curious substance.

“Preternaturally hardened whale dung” is not the first image that comes to mind when we think of perfume, otherwise a symbol of glamour and allure. But the key ingredient that makes the sophisticated scent linger on the skin is precisely this bizarre digestive by-product—ambergris. Despite being one of the world’s most expensive substances (its value is nearly that of gold and has at times in history been triple it), ambergris is also one of the world’s least known. But with this unusual and highly alluring book, Christopher Kemp promises to change that by uncovering the unique history of ambergris.

A rare secretion produced only by sperm whales, which have a fondness for squid but an inability to digest their beaks, ambergris is expelled at sea and floats on ocean currents for years, slowly transforming, before it sometimes washes ashore looking like a nondescript waxy pebble. It can appear almost anywhere but is found so rarely, it might as well appear nowhere. Kemp’s journey begins with an encounter on a New Zealand beach with a giant lump of faux ambergris—determined after much excitement to nothing more exotic than lard—that inspires a comprehensive quest to seek out ambergris and its story. He takes us from the wild, rocky New Zealand coastline to Stewart Island, a remote, windswept island in the southern seas, to Boston and Cape Cod, and back again. Along the way, he tracks down the secretive collectors and traders who populate the clandestine modern-day ambergris trade.

Floating Gold is an entertaining and lively history that covers not only these precious gray lumps and those who covet them, but presents a highly informative account of the natural history of whales, squid, ocean ecology, and even a history of the perfume industry. Kemp’s obsessive curiosity is infectious, and eager readers will feel as though they have stumbled upon a precious bounty of this intriguing substance.

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Food Hoarding in Animals

Stephen B. Vander Wall

University of Chicago Press, 1990

In this first comprehensive synthesis of the literature on food hoarding in animals, Stephen B. Vander Wall discusses how animals store food, how they use food and how this use affects individual fitness, why and how food hoarding evolved, how cached food is lost, mechanisms for protecting and recovering cached food, physiological and behavioral factors that influence hoarding, and the impact that hoarding animals have on plant populations and plant dispersal. He then provides detailed coverage of hoarding behavior across taxa—mammals, birds, and arthropods—to address issues in evolution, ecology, and behavior.

Drawings, photographs, and appendixes document complex and intrinsically interesting food-hoarding behaviors, and the bibliography of nearly 1,500 sources is itself an invaluable and unique reference.

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For the Bees

A Handbook for Happy Beekeeping

Tara Dawn ChapmanIllustrations by Caroline Brown

University of Texas Press, 2024

A handbook for what to expect the first year of beekeeping and beyond.

The path to becoming a successful beekeeper begins with a deep understanding of the bees themselves. Taking an approach that is both holistic and practical, Tara Chapman, founder and operator of Austin’s beloved Two Hives Honey, begins with a primer on honey bee biology and nutrition as well as beehive architecture. (Did you ever wonder why honey combs are composed of tiny hexagons?) A little scientific knowledge goes a long way: a beekeeper who understands how these fascinating creatures work will be better equipped to recognize a particular colony’s needs, make sound decisions when the unexpected happens, and adapt their care regimen to changing conditions. Moving beyond the basics, Chapman shows potential beekeepers how to spot pests and diseases; manage swarms (those bees aren’t angry; they’re just looking for a good home); and, of course, harvest delicious homegrown honey.

Imbued with the joy of the beekeeping journey, For the Bees provides practical visual explanations through appealing illustrations, that, alongside Chapman’s own stories from the bee yard, share the charms of these essential insects.

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For the Birds

Protecting Wildlife through the Naturalist Gaze

Elizabeth Cherry

Rutgers University Press, 2019

2020 Award for Distinguished Book from the Animals & Society Section of the American Sociological Association

One in five people in the United States is a birdwatcher, yet the popular understanding of birders reduces them to comical stereotypes, obsessives who only have eyes for their favorite rare species. In real life, however, birders are paying equally close attention to the world around them, observing the devastating effects of climate change and mass extinction, while discovering small pockets of biodiversity in unexpected places.

For the Birds offers readers a glimpse behind the binoculars and reveals birders to be important allies in the larger environmental conservation movement. With a wealth of data from in-depth interviews and over three years of observing birders in the field, environmental sociologist Elizabeth Cherry argues that birders learn to watch wildlife in ways that make an invaluable contribution to contemporary conservation efforts. She investigates how birders develop a “naturalist gaze” that enables them to understand the shared ecosystem that intertwines humans and wild animals, an appreciation that motivates them to participate in citizen science projects and wildlife conservation.

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Foraging for Survival

Yearling Baboons in Africa

Stuart A. Altmann

University of Chicago Press, 1998

Stuart A. Altmann presents the results of one of the most intensive investigations ever carried out on foraging behavior and its consequences for survival and reproduction.

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Foraging

Behavior and Ecology

Edited by David W. Stephens, Joel S. Brown, and Ronald C. Ydenberg

University of Chicago Press, 2007

Foraging is fundamental to animal survival and reproduction, yet it is much more than a simple matter of finding food; it is a biological imperative. Animals must find and consume resources to succeed, and they make extraordinary efforts to do so. For instance, pythons rarely eat, but when they do, their meals are large—as much as 60 percent larger than their own bodies. The snake’s digestive system is normally dormant, but during digestion metabolic rates can increase fortyfold. A python digesting quietly on the forest floor has the metabolic rate of thoroughbred in a dead heat. This and related foraging processes have broad applications in ecology, cognitive science, anthropology, and conservation biology—and they can be further extrapolated in economics, neurobiology, and computer science.

Foraging is the first comprehensive review of the topic in more than twenty years. A monumental undertaking, this volume brings together twenty-two experts from throughout the field to offer the latest on the mechanics of foraging, modern foraging theory, and foraging ecology. The fourteen essays cover all the relevant issues, including cognition, individual behavior, caching behavior, parental behavior, antipredator behavior, social behavior, population and community ecology, herbivory, and conservation. Considering a wide range of taxa, from birds to mammals to amphibians, Foraging will be the definitive guide to the field.

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Forevering

Carol Mavor

Duke University Press, 2027

Forevering is a memoir about practicing practice. When art theorist Carol Mavor’s beloved husband Kevin passed away unexpectedly, her lifelong practices collapsed. In a blend of lyric essay and poetry, Mavor reflects on living and doing after his death, relearning how to write and make art and love in a world without him. She also takes up horseback riding, giving her a new bond, a new being’s touch, and a new challenge with which she grounds herself in an unstable world. Mavor dives deep into the eternal pleasures and difficulties of learning, unlearning, and practicing the things that make up a life as she continues writing, riding, drawing, and touching, each activity bringing with it the joys and pains of remembering her life with her husband. Illustrating a journey to build and celebrate a life of endless practice, Forevering is a reflection on continuing to live in and through grief.

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Fossil Lake and the Rise of Modern Birds

Snapshots from Early Avian Evolution

Lance Grande, Daniel T Ksepka, and Gerald Mayr

University of Chicago Press, 2027

Lavishly produced with color fossil photographs throughout, the first comprehensive summary of findings at one of the world’s best fossil bird localities, offering profound insight into early avian evolution after the end-of-Cretaceous extinction event.

What is today a high mountain desert in southwestern Wyoming was, 52 million years ago, a magnificent subtropical lake system. Part of the famed Green River Formation, the limestone layers of this region’s Fossil Lake provide an unparalleled record of life in the Early Eocene of North America. Evolutionary biologist Lance Grande has spent much of his career collecting and studying the beautiful and diverse assemblage of fossils from this locality. Since his 2013 book, The Lost World of Fossil Lake, researchers have uncovered many new fossil bird specimens—often stunningly preserved skeletons, sometimes even including feathers—and benefited from significant advances in our understanding of avian evolution. Their findings help to illuminate the early days of bird life on Earth.

In this volume, Grande and his collaborators—paleornithologists Daniel T. Ksepka and Gerald Mayr—explore these birds of Fossil Lake, where various researchers have formally named and described thirty avian species. The authors also present an additional twenty possible new species awaiting further study and formal review, birds that may soon be added to that list. Fossil Lake and the Rise of Modern Birds then places these avian ancestors within the global context of other fossil birds. Like Grande’s previous publications, this comprehensive work features stunning imagery, including nearly two hundred detailed fossil photographs—fifty that have never appeared elsewhere.

Whether you are an ornithologist, paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, or amateur fossil enthusiast interested in the early evolutionary diversification of modern birds, this book is a treasure.

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French Thinking about Animals

Louisa Mackenzie

Michigan State University Press, 2015

Bringing together leading scholars from Belgium, Canada, France, and the United States, French Thinking about Animals makes available for the first time to an Anglophone readership a rich variety of interdisciplinary approaches to the animal question in France. While the work of French thinkers such as Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, and Felix Guattari has been available in English for many years, French Thinking about Animals opens up a much broader cross-cultural dialogue within animal studies. These original essays, many of which have been translated especially for this volume, draw on anthropology, ethology, geography, history, legal studies, phenomenology, and philosophy to interrogate human-animal relationships. They explore the many ways in which animals signify in French history, society, and intellectual history, illustrating the exciting new perspectives being developed about the animal question in the French-speaking world today. Built on the strength and diversity of these contributions, French Thinking about Animals demonstrates the interdisciplinary and internationalism that are needed if we hope to transform the interactions of humans and nonhuman animals in contemporary society.

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Freshwater Fish Distribution

Tim M. Berra

University of Chicago Press, 2007

With more than 29,000 species, fishes are the most diverse group of vertebrates on the planet. Of that number, more than 12,000 species are found in freshwater ecosystems, which occupy less than 1 percent of the Earth’s surface and contain only 2.4 percent of plant and animal species. But, on a hectare-for-hectare basis, freshwater ecosystems are richer in species than more extensive terrestrial and marine habitats. Examination of the distribution patterns of fishes in these fresh waters reveals much about continental movements and climate changes and has long been critical to biogeographical studies and research in ecology and evolution.

Tim Berra’s seminal resource, Freshwater Fish Distribution,maps the 169 fish families that swim in fresh water around the world. Each family account includes the class, subclass, and order; a pronunciation guide to the family name; life cycle information; and interesting natural history facts. Each account is illustrated, many with historical nineteenth-century woodcuts.

Now available in paperback, this heavily cited work in ichthyology and biogeography will serve as a reference for students, a research support for professors, and a helpful guide to tropical fish hobbyists and anglers.

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Freshwater Fishes of Manitoba

Kenneth Stewart

University of Manitoba Press, 2004

Manitoba's ninety-three species of fish give the province the third most diverse fish population in Canada. The provinceís variety of geological features, with its major lakes, rivers, tributaries, and watersheds, is due in large part to its history as the basin for Glacial Lake Agassiz. This, combined with its access to the waters of Hudson Bay and large American river systems, has provided habitat for a wide diversity of freshwater fish. Species from lampreys to goldeye, catfish to perch, bigmouth bass to slimy sculpin swim in waters from arctic rivers in the north to Red River tributaries and down to the Mississippi in the south.Freshwater Fishes of Manitoba is a comprehensive, user-friendly guide. Each species is accurately depicted in detailed colour photographs and accompanying map, with descriptions of physical characteristics, spawning and feeding habits, distribution, habitat, ecological role, and economic importance. The guide also includes an extensive glossary, keys to identifying the families, species, and subspecies, and information on documentation and preservation of specimens. Freshwater Fishes of Manitoba is not only the definitive guide to these fishes of Manitoba, it is also accessible and reliable for a range of users from general fishers to professional fish biologists.

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Friday Comes on Tuesday

An Adventure at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Darcy Pattison

University of Arkansas Press, 2021

Winner, 2022 Susannah DeBlack Award, Arkansas Historical Association

The delightful story of Friday, a dog who discovers that the world of art is filled with many wonderful friends.

A dog in an art museum? Maybe not most dogs, but Friday goes to the museum every Tuesday to visit his friends. One day Friday must say goodbye for the winter. Join the fun as Friday trots through the galleries, taking photos and saying goodbye to Maman the spider, Rosie the Riveter, George Washington, and many others.

Looking back on his day, Friday realizes that the works of art in a museum are more than just bronze and steel, paint and canvas, ink and paper. Instead, the art connects him—and us—to a diversity of cultures, stories, and dreams.

Through the art collection at Crystal Bridges, all of us—even a dog—become part of the American experience.

Lexile Level: 570L

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Frog Day

A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Amphibian Lives

Marty Crump

University of Chicago Press, 2024

An illustrated hourly guide that follows twenty-four frogs as they eat, find mates, care for their young, and survive our harsh and changing planet.

In this short book, celebrated biologist Marty Crump leads readers on a worldwide field trip in search of frogs. Each chapter of Frog Day covers a single frog during a single hour, highlighting how twenty-four different species spend their time. Our day begins at midnight in Indonesia, with the rustle of leaves above. It’s not a bird, but Wallace’s flying frog, using its webbed feet and emerald-green skin flaps to glide through the forest canopy. In the early hours of the morning, we hear a horned marsupial frog “bopping” and a wood frog “quacking” to attract mates. At six o’clock in the morning, beneath a streetlight in Honolulu, we meet a corpulent, invasive cane toad slurping insects—and sometimes snakes, lizards, turtles, birds, and mice. At noon, we watch parenting in action as an African bullfrog bulldozes a path through the mud to free his tadpoles from a drying pond. At dusk, in a Peruvian rain forest, we observe “the ultimate odd couple”—a hairy tarantula and what looks like a tiny amphibian pet taking shelter in the spider’s burrow. Other frogs make a tasty meal for this tarantula, but the dotted humming frog is a friend, eating the ants that might otherwise make a meal of the tarantula’s eggs.

For each hour in our Frog Day, award-winning artist Tony Angell has depicted these scenes with his signature pen and ink illustrations. Working closely together to narrate and illustrate these unique moments in time, Crump and Angell have created an engaging read that is a perfect way to spend an hour or two—and a true gift for readers, amateur scientists, and all frog fans.

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Frogs and Toads in Your Pocket

A Guide to Amphibians of the Upper Midwest

Terry VanDeWalle

University of Iowa Press, 2011

Frogs and toads have become canaries in the coal mine when it comes to conservation, as the discovery of malformed frogs has brought increased attention to global habitat loss, declining biodiversity, and environmental pollution. Midwestern species of frogs and toads—already declining due to habitat loss from agriculture—have been greatly affected by this worldwide phenomenon. VanDeWalle includes a complete description of each species along with distinguishing characteristics for three subspecies, information about range and habitat preferences, diet, types of calls, and breeding season.

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Frogs and Toads of Alabama

Craig Guyer and Mark A. Bailey

University of Alabama Press, 2023

From forest floor to backyard pond, discover Alabama’s frogs and toads in vivid detail.

Frogs and Toads of Alabama is the most comprehensive taxonomy of the anuran fauna gathered since Robert H. Mount’s 1975 volume on the reptiles and amphibians of Alabama. This richly illustrated guide provides an up-to-date summary of the taxonomy and life history of both native frogs and toads and those introduced to the state.

Alabama possesses one of the most species-rich biotas of North America, and this richness is reflected in its frogs and toads. The authors examine all known species within the state and describe important regional variations in each species, including changes within species across the state’s many habitats. Significant field studies, pertaining especially to species conservation, inform each account.

The life history entry for each species consists of scientific and common names, full-color photographs, a morphological description, discussion of habits and life cycle, and a distribution map depicting areas in which the species is located throughout the state, as well as notes on conservation and management practices. The illustrated taxonomic keys provided for families, genera, species, and subspecies will be an invaluable resource to herpetologists.

This extensive guide will serve as a single resource for understanding the rich natural history of Alabama by shedding light on this important aspect of its biodiversity, especially in light of ongoing changes in the habitats of many of Alabama’s herpetofauna. Accessible to all, this volume is valuable for both the professional herpetologist and the general reader interested in frogs and toads.

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