Amazing Animal Engineers

"Describes the different types of homes animals build in the wild"--

"Animals build structures to shelter their young, catch prey, and even communicate. Some animals even change their environment to suit their needs. This awesome book reveals the amazing ways that certain animals engineer structures and ecosystems in order to survive"--

The alarm calls of birds make them difficult for predators to locate, while the howl of wolves and the croak of bullfrogs are designed to carry across long distances. From an engineer's perspective, how do such specialized adaptations among living things really work? And how does physics constrain evolution, channeling it in particular directions? Writing with wit and a richly informed sense of wonder, Denny and McFadzean offer an expert look at animals as works of engineering, each exquisitely adapted to a specific manner of survival, whether that means spinning webs or flying across continents or hunting in the dark-or writing books. This particular book, containing more than a hundred illustrations, conveys clearly, for engineers and nonengineers alike, the physical principles underlying animal structure and behavior. Pigeons, for instance-when understood as marvels of engineering-are flying remote sensors: they have wideband acoustical receivers, hi-res optics, magnetic sensing, and celestial navigation. Albatrosses expend little energy while traveling across vast southern oceans, by exploiting a technique known to glider pilots as dynamic soaring. Among insects, one species of fly can locate the source of a sound precisely, even though the fly itself is much smaller than the wavelength of the sound it hears. And that big-brained, upright Great Ape? Evolution has equipped us to figure out an important fact about the natural world: that there is more to life than engineering, but no life at all without it.

Explains the process and materials that beavers use to build dams. This book’s colorful photos, clear text, and “A Closer Look” feature highlight the engineering that makes this structure such a marvel and helps beavers survive in the wild.

Animal Engineers introduces readers to some of the animal kingdom's most amazing structures. Each book provides an in-depth look at how animals build and use the structure, as well as its effect on the surrounding environment.

Animal Engineers introduces readers to some of the animal kingdom's most amazing structures. Each book provides an in-depth look at how animals build and use the structure, as well as its effect on the surrounding environment. Explains the process and materials that spiders use to build webs. This book's colourful photos, clear text, and "A Closer Look" feature highlight the engineering that makes this structure such a marvel and helps spiders survive in the wild. AGES: 7 to 9 SELLING POINTS: * Table of contents * Glossary * Index * Additional resource lists * Quiz questions * "A Closer Look" special feature

Explains the process and materials that prairie dogs use to build burrows. Highlights the engineering that makes this structure such a marvel and helps prairie dogs survive in the wild.

Explains the process and materials that birds use to build nests. This book’s colorful photos, clear text, and “A Closer Look” feature highlight the engineering that makes this structure such a marvel and helps birds survive in the wild.