Naturalists At Sea

DIV On the great Pacific discovery expeditions of the “long eighteenth century,” naturalists for the first time were commonly found aboard ships sailing forth from European ports. Lured by intoxicating opportunities to discover exotic and perhaps lucrative flora and fauna unknown at home, these men set out eagerly to collect and catalogue, study and document an uncharted natural world./div DIV /div DIV This enthralling book is the first to describe the adventures and misadventures, discoveries and dangers of this devoted and sometimes eccentric band of explorer-scholars. Their individual experiences are uniquely their own, but together their stories offer a new perspective on the extraordinary era of Pacific exploration and the achievements of an audacious generation of naturalists. Historian Glyn Williams illuminates the naturalist’s lot aboard ship, where danger alternated with boredom and quarrels with the ship’s commander were the norm. Nor did the naturalist’s difficulties end upon returning home, where recognition for years of work often proved elusive. Peopled with wonderful characters and major figures of Enlightenment science—among them Louis Antoine de Bouganville, Joseph Banks, John Reinhold Forster, Captain Cook, and Charles Darwin—this book is a gripping account of a small group of scientific travelers whose voyages of discovery were to change perceptions of the natural world./div

The Windward Road, published in 1956, made history. When Archie Carr began to rove the Caribbean to write about sea turtles, he saw that their numbers were dwindling. Out of this appeal to save them grew the first ventures in international sea turtle conservation and the establishment of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. In addition to sea turtle biology, Carr recorded his general impressions, producing a natural history sprinkled with colorful stories.

Discusses the ocean ecosystem and the role of the sea otter as a keystone species in helping to maintain it, describing the otter's place on the food chain and what would happen if the sea otter were to become extinct.

Filled with beautiful photography and engaging text, Explore the Salish Sea inspires children to explore the unique marine ecosystem that encompasses the coastal waters from Seattle's Puget Sound up to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Georgia Strait of British Columbia. Discover the Salish Sea and learn about its vibrant ecosystem in this engaging non-fiction narrative that inspires outdoor exploration. Filled with full-color photography, this book covers wildlife habitats, geodiversity, intertidal and subtidal sea life, and highlights what is unique to this Pacific Northwest ecosystem.