Princeton University Press
Wild Nature Press
A personal account of—and guide to—unlocking the wildlife potential of gardens and other plots of land in lowland Britain
Over the past decade, wildlife author and photographer Paul Sterry has nurtured, both through action and by doing nothing, what has become a small island of flourishing biodiversity in the half-acre garden that surrounds his north Hampshire cottage. By giving nature a free hand, and fostering habitats appropriate to this part of southeast England, he has enabled an abundance of native plant and animal species to call the garden home. This contrasts with the continued decline in biodiversity in the surrounding countryside. In this inspiring and informative book, Sterry tells the story of his own experiences in biodiversity gardening and offers detailed practical advice to anyone who wants to give nature the upper hand on their own bit of land, no matter how small.
Hampshire still retains traces of its rich wildlife heritage, but changes in land use over the past half-century have had a devastating impact on local biodiversity. Against this backdrop, The Biodiversity Gardener presents a habitat-driven and evidence-based approach, describing how any gardener can unlock the wildlife potential of their plot and enjoy the satisfaction of watching it become home to a rich array of native species, including butterflies, wildflowers, grasshoppers, amphibians, and fungi.
In The Biodiversity Gardener, Sterry explains the ecological imperative of adopting this approach. Collectively, biodiversity gardens could leave a lasting legacy—wildlife oases from which future generations stand a fighting chance of restoring Britain’s natural heritage. The book encourages and empowers readers to create their own biological inheritance for posterity—and shows them how they can do it.
The definitive field guide to all the sharks, rays and chimaeras of eastern North America
The waters off the East Coast of North America are home to an amazing variety of sharks, rays and chimaeras. This groundbreaking, comprehensive and easy-to-use field guide covers all 173 species found along the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada, including Bermuda and the Bahamas, and extending into the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan Peninsula. These are all the species that are encountered in the shallow waters of estuaries and coasts and in the open ocean, including rarely seen deepsea species.
Lavishly illustrated throughout, this must-have guide includes detailed species accounts describing key identification features, habitat, biology and status. It also features illustrated key guides that enable users to accurately identify species, comparison plates of similar species, dentition plates and illustrations of egg cases, where known. This an essential guide for fisheries management, trade regulation and shark conservation.
- The first field guide to cover all 173 species
- Features hundreds of color illustrations and photos
- Describes key features, habitat, biology and status
- Includes depth guides, at-a-glance icons and distribution maps
- Offers illustrated key guides, species comparisons and dentition plates
A strikingly illustrated photographic identification guide to sea slugs in all their colourful variety
Nudibranchs, or sea slugs, are a group of marine gastropod molluscs whose adults lack shells, an evolutionary loss that has led to a wide variety of body shapes, colours and colour patterns, making them popular with divers and underwater photographers. In this book, experienced nudibranch experts Bernard Picton and Christine Morrow provide an accessible and authoritative photographic identification guide for anyone interested in finding and identifying nudibranchs in the coastal waters of Britain, Ireland and Northwest Europe.
- Covers more than 195 species, each on its own two-page spread
- Includes in situ photos to aid finding nudibranchs under water and on the shore
- Features photos of nudibranchs’ distinctive spawn coils and studio photos showing detailed anatomy
- Presents key distinguishing features and essential information on size, habitat, diet and distribution
