Among Whales

Among Whales PDF Author: Roger Payne
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
Taking readers on a journey across the spectrum of life to discover the answers to the larger questions of life on Earth, an eminent field biologist addresses a wide range of subjects--from the purpose of the brain to the possibilities of peaceful cohabitation among the world's creatures. 9 charts.

Among Whales

Among Whales PDF Author: Roger Payne
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 442

Get Book Here

Book Description
Taking readers on a journey across the spectrum of life to discover the answers to the larger questions of life on Earth, an eminent field biologist addresses a wide range of subjects--from the purpose of the brain to the possibilities of peaceful cohabitation among the world's creatures. 9 charts.

Spying on Whales

Spying on Whales PDF Author: Nick Pyenson
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735224587
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
“A palaeontological howdunnit…[Spying on Whales] captures the excitement of…seeking answers to deep questions in cetacean science.” —Nature Called “the best of science writing” (Edward O. Wilson) and named a best book by Popular Science, a dive into the secret lives of whales, from their four-legged past to their perilous present. Whales are among the largest, most intelligent, deepest diving species to have ever lived on our planet. They evolved from land-roaming, dog-sized creatures into animals that move like fish, breathe like us, can grow to 300,000 pounds, live 200 years and travel entire ocean basins. Whales fill us with terror, awe, and affection--yet there is still so much we don't know about them. Why did it take whales over 50 million years to evolve to such big sizes, and how do they eat enough to stay that big? How did their ancestors return from land to the sea--and what can their lives tell us about evolution as a whole? Importantly, in the sweepstakes of human-driven habitat and climate change, will whales survive? Nick Pyenson's research has given us the answers to some of our biggest questions about whales. He takes us deep inside the Smithsonian's unparalleled fossil collections, to frigid Antarctic waters, and to the arid desert in Chile, where scientists race against time to document the largest fossil whale site ever found. Full of rich storytelling and scientific discovery, Spying on Whales spans the ancient past to an uncertain future--all to better understand the most enigmatic creatures on Earth.

Narwhals

Narwhals PDF Author: Todd McLeish
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295804696
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Among all the large whales on Earth, the most unusual and least studied is the narwhal, the northernmost whale on the planet and the one most threatened by global warming. Narwhals thrive in the fjords and inlets of northern Canada and Greenland. These elusive whales, whose long tusks were the stuff of medieval European myths and Inuit legends, are uniquely adapted to the Arctic ecosystem and are able to dive below thick sheets of ice to depths of up to 1,500 meters in search of their prey-halibut, cod, and squid. Join Todd McLeish as he travels high above the Arctic circle to meet: Teams of scientific researchers studying the narwhal's life cycle and the mysteries of its tusk Inuit storytellers and hunters Animals that share the narwhals' habitat: walruses, polar bears, bowhead and beluga whales, ivory gulls, and two kinds of seals McLeish consults logbooks kept by whalers and explorers and interviews folklorists and historians to tease out the relationship between the real narwhal and the mythical unicorn. In Colorado, he visits climatologists studying changes in the seasonal cycles of the Arctic ice. From a history of the trade in narwhal tusks to descriptions of narwhals' vocalizations as heard through hydrophones, Narwhals reveals the beauty and thrill of the narwhal and its habitat, and the threat it faces from a rapidly changing world. Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHwaqdKyLCQ&list=UUge4MONgLFncQ1w1C_BnHcw&index=9&feature=plcp

The Lives of Hawai‘i’s Dolphins and Whales

The Lives of Hawai‘i’s Dolphins and Whales PDF Author: Robin W. Baird
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824865936
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Ocean currents, winds, and rainfall all work together to create a marine oasis around the Hawaiian Islands, providing a home for many species of dolphins and whales normally found in the deep oceans of the world. The Lives of Hawai`i’s Dolphins and Whales opens a window into the world of these mysterious creatures with stories and observations from author Robin W. Baird’s work over the last seventeen years. The book includes exceptional full-color photographs of each species, life history descriptions, conservation threats, and maps showing sighting locations and movements of tagged individuals among the islands and offshore. While the well-known resident spinner dolphins and visiting humpback whales are covered, the ten species of lesser-known open-ocean dolphins and whales that are resident to the marine slopes of the islands are highlighted as well. Among these are endangered false killer whales, deep-diving Cuvier’s and Blainville’s beaked whales, abundant spotted dolphins, coastal bottlenose dolphins, cryptic dwarf sperm whales, family units of short-finned pilot whales, and social melon-headed whales. Baird also describes thirteen species of dolphins and whales that are found in offshore waters or are seasonal or occasional visitors to Hawaiian waters, including killer whales, the iconic sperm whale, and even blue whales and North Pacific right whales. More is known about the social organization and natural history of many of these marine mammals in Hawai`i than anywhere else in the world. For all of the species discussed, Baird presents data obtained from long-term photo-identification studies, with distinctive individuals tracked through time and space; for many of them, he includes findings from studies using genetics and satellite tagging. He also provides information on predators and prey, social organization, diving, and night-time behavior, along with suggestions on how to tell some of the more difficult to identify species apart. The book closes by focusing on conservation issues, both success stories and challenges, engaging readers to consider ways to protect Hawai`i’s unique assemblage of resident dolphins and whales.

Into Great Silence

Into Great Silence PDF Author: Eva Saulitis
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807014362
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Science entwines with matters of the human heart as a whale researcher chronicles the lives of an endangered family of orcas Ever since Eva Saulitis began her whale research in Alaska in the 1980s, she has been drawn deeply into the lives of a single extended family of endangered orcas struggling to survive in Prince William Sound. Over the course of a decades-long career spent observing and studying these whales, and eventually coming to know them as individuals, she has, sadly, witnessed the devastation wrought by the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989—after which not a single calf has been born to the group. With the intellectual rigor of a scientist and the heart of a poet, Saulitis gives voice to these vital yet vanishing survivors and the place they are so loyal to. Both an elegy for one orca family and a celebration of the entire species, Into Great Silence is a moving portrait of the interconnectedness of humans with animals and place—and of the responsibility we have to protect them.

Isabel of the Whales

Isabel of the Whales PDF Author: Hester Velmans
Publisher: Yearling
ISBN: 030753300X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Eleven-year-old Isabel is a “plain old” girl living in Provincetown, Massachusetts, who believes that she is destined to accomplish something special. When her fifth-grade class goes on a whale-watch field trip, something amazing happens: Dozens of different species of whales surround the boat, bumping the deck and sending Isabel flying into the ocean. Isabel is shocked to hear the whales speaking to her—she is a mermaid, they tell her, a “Chosen One” who has the ability to turn from a human into a whale and back again. She is destined to live among the whales long enough to learn their ways, and teach them about the human world. Living among her pod is fun, at first, but Isabel has an important mission. She will change the whales’ future forever, and learn a lot about herself in the process.

The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins

The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins PDF Author: Hal Whitehead
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226895319
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
Drawing on their own research as well as scientific literature including evolutionary biology, animal behavior, ecology, anthropology, psychology and neuroscience, two cetacean biologists submerge themselves in the unique environment in which whales and dolphins live. --Publisher's description.

Sperm Whales

Sperm Whales PDF Author: Hal Whitehead
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226895181
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
Famed in story as "the great leviathans," sperm whales are truly creatures of extremes. Giants among all whales, they also have the largest brains of any creature on Earth. Males can reach a length of sixty-two feet and can weigh upwards of fifty tons. With this book, Hal Whitehead gives us a clearer picture of the ecology and social life of sperm whales than we have ever had before. Based on almost two decades of field research, Whitehead describes their biology, behavior, and habitat; how they organize their societies; and how their complex lifestyles may have evolved in this unique environment. Among the many fascinating topics he explores is the crucial role that culture plays in the life of the sperm whale, and he traces the consequences of this argument for both evolution and conservation. Finally, drawing on these findings, Whitehead builds a general model of how the ocean environment influences social behavior and cultural evolution among mammals as well as other animals. The definitive portrait of a provocative creature, Sperm Whales will interest animal behaviorists, conservationists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists as well as marine mammalogists.

A Book About Whales

A Book About Whales PDF Author: Andrea Antinori
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
ISBN: 9781419735028
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Teaches young readers everything they need to know about the largest mammals on earth: how they have evolved over millions of years, what and how they eat, their migration patterns, and more.

Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations

Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations PDF Author: Carl C. Gaither
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461411130
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 2800

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Book Description
This unprecedented collection of 27,000 quotations is the most comprehensive and carefully researched of its kind, covering all fields of science and mathematics. With this vast compendium you can readily conceptualize and embrace the written images of scientists, laymen, politicians, novelists, playwrights, and poets about humankind's scientific achievements. Approximately 9000 high-quality entries have been added to this new edition to provide a rich selection of quotations for the student, the educator, and the scientist who would like to introduce a presentation with a relevant quotation that provides perspective and historical background on his subject. Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations, Second Edition, provides the finest reference source of science quotations for all audiences. The new edition adds greater depth to the number of quotations in the various thematic arrangements and also provides new thematic categories.