Long Legged Wading Birds Of The North American Wetlands

Long-Legged Wading Birds Of The North American Wetlands combines Lucian Niemeyer's stunning color photography with Mark Riegner's broad scientific knowledge to produce both a beautiful and informative study of these magnificent birds.

Over 150 color photos and accompanying text document wetland sites in the American Southwest and Mexico.

Never-before-seen photographs of baby birds of the marshlands from a noted birding photographer Naturalist William Burt is known for seeking out wild places and elusive birds—and none fit the bill quite so well as the creatures featured in this book. This may well be his break out book, featuring the downy young of the wetlands, whose images are full of character and appeal. Most of these birds have never been captured on film until now. From the comic-monster herons to the fuzzy ducklings and stick-legged sandpipers, these tots have personality and spunk. In the wetlands, they come together, drawn by one essential need: for water. These babies then, are birds that get their feet wet; this book is one for bird lovers, naturalists, photographers, and animal lovers. “A perfectionist whose photographs of shy and elusive birds of the wetlands are unquestionably the finest ever taken.” –Roger Tory Peterson "What really comes through, in the writing and the photographs, is his deep and sensitive appreciation of the uniqueness of each of these most intriguing birds."--David Allen Sibley

Examines Goethe's neglected but sizable body of scientific work, considers the philosophical foundations of his approach, and applies his method to the real world of nature.

Wetlands are among the world’s most valuable and most threatened habitats, and in these crucially important ecosystems, the invertebrate fauna holds a focal position. Most of the biological diversity in wetlands is found within resident invertebrate assemblages, and those invertebrates are the primary trophic link between lower plants and higher vertebrates (e.g. amphibians, fish, and birds). As such, most scientists, managers, consultants, and students who work in the world’s wetlands should become better informed about the invertebrate components in their habitats of interest. Our book serves to fill this need by assembling the world’s most prominent ecologists working on freshwater wetland invertebrates, and having them provide authoritative perspectives on each the world’s most important freshwater wetland types. The initial chapter of the book provides a primer on freshwater wetland invertebrates, including how they are uniquely adapted for life in wetland environments and how they contribute to important ecological functions in wetland ecosystems. The next 15 chapters deal with invertebrates in the major wetlands across the globe (rock pools, alpine ponds, temperate temporary ponds, Mediterranean temporary ponds, turloughs, peatlands, permanent marshes, Great Lakes marshes, Everglades, springs, beaver ponds, temperate floodplains, neotropical floodplains, created wetlands, waterfowl marshes), each chapter written by groups of prominent scientists intimately knowledgeable about the individual wetland types. Each chapter reviews the relevant literature, provides a synthesis of the most important ecological controls on the resident invertebrate fauna, and highlights important conservation concerns. The final chapter synthesizes the 15 habitat-based chapters, providing a macroscopic perspective on natural variation of invertebrate assemblage structure across the world’s wetlands and a paradigm for understanding how global variation and environmental factors shape wetland invertebrate communities.

Contains all of the continent's (north of Mexico) long-legged wading birds that might be found in fresh or saltwater marshes. In addition, other species (their 'allies') commonly found in association with them that also feed in water are included. The guide recognises that some bird watchers are just beginning and others are more advanced. Accordingly, it tries to provide something for all levels. Armed with the knowledge from this guide the more serious birdwatcher will be able to recognise and identify unusual variations of birds not found in most guides.

Recent scientific development and politico-institutional experiences related to the conservation of the South-American Pantanal are explored in this book in relation to what is happening in other tropical wetland areas of international importance such as the Everglades in North America and the Okavango in Africa, as well as considering the European experience. An interdisciplinary group of authors examines the need to establish a constructive dialogue between scientists, policy-makers and local stakeholders and outline a future research agenda, including consideration of the impacts of climate change and the pressures of regional development, for wetland management.