The Young Oxford Book of Ecology

by Scott, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780195214284
• ISBN10: 0195214285
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-03-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This volume takes readers on a journey through the earth's habitats and ecosystems. It explains how plants and animals are designed to survive, how they rely on the natural resources around them, and shows how they all, ultimately, depend on one another. The book is divided into three broad sections. In Life-styles, we look at animals and plants--grazers and hunters, predators, migrating animals, parasites, and creatures who live in very cold or very hot climates. In Life on Earth, various regions of the world are explored--mountains and valleys, prairies and grasslands, the hot desert, and life in and under the sea. And in Threats to Life, we focus on "the ark under threat." But author Michael Scott shows how we can learn from extinction and pollution and change our ways to leave the planet fit for the future. An index and glossary make The Young Oxford Book of Ecology an excellent reference tool, and the color photographs and drawings throughout are superb.

Author Biography

Michael Scott began his first book on animal life at the age of 8. He has worked for the World Wide Fund for Nature, and shares his enthusiasm for the natural world through his writing, lecturing, photography, and study tours.

Table of Contents

Life-Styles
Living Together	8	(4)
Ecology: what it is and why it matters
The Needs of Life	12	(6)
Sun and soil: how plants get energy and nutrients
Grazers and Hunters	18	(8)
Plant eaters and meat eaters: chains, webs, and pyramids
Recyclers, Partners, and Pickpockets	26	(8)
Cooperation and exploitation: nutrient cycling, symbiosis, and parasitism
Eat Or Be Eaten	34	(8)
Thorns and horns: plant and animal defenses
Coping with the Cold	42	(6)
Cold and ice: strategies for survival
Heat and Thirst	48	(4)
High temperature and drought: strategies for survival
Avoiding the Extremes	52	(8)
Animals on the move: migration
Life on Earth
Life at the Limits	60	(8)
North and south: surviving in the polar deserts
Up on the Tops	68	(4)
From valley to mountain peak: living at altitude
Woodland Life	72	(10)
From conifer to broadleaf: life in the temperate forest
Seas of Grass	82	(8)
Prairie, savanna and pampas: life in the world's grasslands
The Living Desert	90	(8)
Parched rock and shifting sand: survival in the hot desert
In the Rain Forest	98	(8)
Struggle in the jungle: from floor to canopy in the tropical rain forest
Water Life	106	(4)
River, pond, and lake: living in fresh water and wetland
Kingdom of the Deep	110	(10)
From sunlit surface to ocean trench: life in and under the sea
Between the Tides	120	(4)
At the mercy of the tide: living between high and low water
Life on the Coast	124	(4)
Salt marsh, mangrove, and cliff: the territory between sea and land
Island Life	128	(4)
Far from the nearest land: the unique wildlife of the world's remotest islands
Life Around People	132	(6)
Of mice and men: wildlife in fields, houses, and cities
Threats to Life
Disappearing World	138	(6)
The ark under threat: habital loss, extinction, and conservation
Wasting the World	144	(6)
Acid, oil, and ozone: pollution of land, sea, and air
Lessons for Life	150	(4)
Changing our ways: leaving planet Earth fit for the future
Glossary	154	(2)
Index	156	(4)
Acknowledgements	160