A Gal Pagos Island Food Chain

Profiles a variety of Galâapagos Island consumers, producers, and decomposers, explaining how each one fits into the region.

Welcome to the Galápagos Islands! As you follow a path through the black lava rock on one of the islands, you may hear the sea lions barking or the hum of a white-lined sphinx moth flying past your head. The Galápagos Islands are full of life, from a huge tortoise trudging toward a cactus patch to a Galápagos barn owl gliding in the air, ready to snatch up a Santa Fe rice rat. Day and night in the Galápagos Islands, the hunt is on to find food - and to avoid becoming someone else’s next meal. All the living things are connected to one another in a food chain, from animal to animal, animal to plant, plant to insect, and insect to animal. What path will you take to follow the food chain through the islands? Will you . . . Go fishing with a blue-footed booby? Snack on some crabs with a Galápagos sea lion? Dive under the reef in search of algae with a marine iguana? Follow all three chains and many more on this who-eats-what adventure!

Welcome to a North American estuary! As you travel through the swamp’s murky water, you wade through green duckweed and push ahead to the moss-draped trees at the water’s edge. Everything seems green and still. But the estuary is full of life, from an American alligator lying in wait for a cottonmouth snake, to a swarm of biting midges stinging you. Day and night in the estuary, the hunt is on to find food - and to avoid becoming someone else’s next meal. All living things are connected to one another in a food chain, from animal to animal, animal to plant, plant to insect, and insect to animal. What path will you take to follow the food chain through the estuary? Will you ...swoop through the sky with a barred owl chasing a mouse? Join a family of opossums munching on a poisonous snake? Nibble on some water plants with a swamp rabbit? Follow all three chains and many more on this who-eats-what adventure!

Welcome to the Nile River in Egypt! As you slosh through the river bank and puddle-jump the marshy areas, you can hear birds calling, frogs peeping and little scurrying sounds from the underbrush. The Nile River is full of life, from Egyptian vultures snatching ostrich eggs to golden jackals gnawing on a dead rabbit. Day and night in the Nile River delta, the hunt is on to find food - and to avoid becoming someone else’s next meal. All the living things are connected to one another in a food chain, from animal to animal, animal to plant, plant to insect, and insect to animal. What path will you take to follow the food chain through the river delta? Will you . . . Swoop through the air with an Egyptian slit-faced bat hunting insects? Stalk for frog dinner through thick reeds with a swamp cat? Scavenge for road kill with a striped hyena? Follow all three chains and many more on this who-eats-what adventure!

Welcome to a Caribbean coral reef! As you snorkel just offshore, you see brilliant fish, waving sea anemones, diving turtles - maybe even a prowling barracuda! The coral reef is full of life - from coral polyps snagging plankton to a moray eel gobbling up a goby fish. Day and night on the coral reef, the hunt is on to find food - and to avoid becoming someone else’s next meal. All living things are connected to one another in a food chain, from animal to animal, animal to plant, and plant to animal. What path will you take to follow the food chain through the coral reef? Will you . . . Tail a tiger shark as it sniffs out its next victim? Check out a stingray crushing clams? Watch a feathery fan worm trap bits of leftovers? Follow all three chains and many more on this who-eats-what adventure!

Welcome to an African cloud forest! As you set off down the mountain path, all you see ahead is a thick tangle of vines and bamboo trees. But the cloud forest is full of life, from a collared sunbird hovering over some flowers to a leopard stalking a giant forest hog. Day and night in the cloud forest, the hunt is on to find food - and to avoid becoming someone else’s next meal. All living things are connected to one another in a food chain, from animal to animal, animal to plant, plant to insect, and insect to animal. What path will you take to follow the food chain through the cloud forest? Will you . . . Watch a fierce honey badger battle a dangerous snake? Slink along with an African golden cat as it tails its prey? Munch on some leaves with a family of mountain gorillas? Follow all three chains and many more on this who-eats-what adventure!

Food Webs and the Dynamics of Marine Reefs summarizes recent developments in the ecology of kelp forests and coral reefs in order to develop an understanding of the general principles of their ecological organization and how they might be managed from an ecosystem perspective.

The highly specialized nature of marine mammals when compared with their terrestrial counterparts, the environment in which they live, and the impact of humans on them throughout history and at the present, have made of the scholarship on these creatures something unique in itself. Therefore, it is not surprising that many researchers have also taken a distinctive approach to their study. This volume is aimed at providing a glimpse at such diversity of views and approaches while delivering valuable information on marine mammalogy. Given the increasing concerns regarding issues of anthropogenic factors affecting these animals, it is not surprising that the majority of chapters in this book deal with this subject.