Böcker utgivna av Pelagic Publishing

Covering all aspects of Painted Stork ecology, behaviour, conservation and their relationship with humans, this accessible and lavishly illustrated monograph contains a wealth of insights.

A unique collection of contributions from leading authorities on countryside and landscape history, this book honours the memory of Oliver Rackham. Ranging all over Europe from Bialowieza Forest in Poland to the Mediterranean, and across the world from New England to northern Japan, the many perspectives make for a diverse and cogent conversation.

Logs, stones and the like provide an interesting interface between the damp depths of the soil and the drier open ground surface, offering refuges for a fascinating array of animals. This book is the ideal tool to unlock that hidden world.

This informed, incisive and passionate commentary analyses what is wrong with certain ways we do wildlife conservation but explores some of its many successes too.

The trillions of miles we drive each year are just as destructive to our natural environment as any of the better known threats, such as habitat loss or intensive farming. Traffication does for road traffic what Silent Spring did for agrochemicals: awakening us from our collective road-blindness and opening up a whole new chapter in conservation.

Cutting-edge microbiome research is changing our understanding of reality. It is increasingly evident that microbes are the very glue that holds ecosystems together. This topical and original book counters the prevailing narrative of microbes as the bane of society, along the way providing much-needed clarity on the beneficial role they play.

With Poole Harbour as its case study, this book examines the question of sustainable development in the coastal estuarine/marine context. Key themes include historical background, ecology, fisheries, water quality, and environmental regulation and legislation. Is it possible to get a balance between the environment and socio-economic benefits?

Birdwatching in Britain has grown increasingly dependent on burning fossil fuels. Regularly driving long distances to birding hotspots and frequent flying to see exotic species are seen as perfectly normal. In the face of the climate crisis, however, a growing number of birders are reassessing the way they enjoy and study birds. In this timely book, 30 contributors-from young birdwatchers to professional ornithologists-explain why and how they are shifting to climate-friendlier approaches. Low-carbon birding, they argue, is a legitimate and valuable way of enjoying birds. Furthermore, in itself this can bring many joys, some of them unexpected.From first encounters with hawfinches to focusing in on birdsong, from the Kalahari to the Hebrides, the stories told here are not about heroic efforts to save the planet. They are simply accounts of everyday humanity in unprecedented times-ordinary people with doubts and concerns about how to live a decent life and act responsibly in a rapidly warming world. The authenticity of their voices is a testament to the moment of awakening to the climate crisis in British ornithology. Above all, Low-Carbon Birding is an urgent call for birders to leave a better legacy in the skies and across the living world.

On rocky coastlines, receding tides leave standing pools that have long held a fascination for the amateur seashore naturalist, revealing glimpses of colourful and curious marine plants and animals. Animal diversity is far greater in the sea than in terrestrial or freshwater habitats, and the hugely varied fauna of rock pools reflects that fact. Rock pools also undergo dramatic shifts in temperature, salinity and pH, making such habitats crucibles of adaptation and change. This Naturalists' Handbook offers a comprehensive introduction to this captivating world, with chapters covering rock-pool ecology, seaweeds, animals, identification and guidelines for possible fieldwork and further study.Also presented are detailed keys to all the main groups likely to be encountered when rockpooling around Britain and Ireland - from sea squirts to chitons, from anemones to sea spiders, from amphipods to fishes.Rock poolsis an indispensable tool in discovering these kaleidoscopic habitats and their multitudinous inhabitants.

Many photographers wish to capture stunning and memorable images of the natural world, yet the whole process can be a challenge. Not only does getting the perfect shot require a complex mixture of skill and luck, but there is little practical advice available on how to find wildlife to photograph. This unique book describes a straightforward system for how to successfully locate wildlife, the most difficult aspect of wildlife photography. The patience and persistence have to come from you, but equipped with the right fieldcraft there is far more chance of getting the results - and the special moments - you are looking for.Individual chapters offer guidance on how to photograph birds, mammals, butterflies and dragonflies, as well as reptiles and some of our more elusive species. The particularities of various habitat types are discussed, and there are tips on equipment, technical specifications and how to make a good portable hide. While sharing some of her most successful and beautiful images, the author also gives useful examples of when things didn't quite work out - reflecting on how things could have been done differently to get a better outcome. With the help of this book you'll soon be taking the photographs you've always dreamed of, sometimes.

Time outdoors is always well spent. It raises the spirits, sparks the imagination and, as research increasingly shows, measurably improves our physical and mental wellbeing. Rhythms of Nature celebrates this fundamental relationship with the natural world, and considers some ways we might rediscover it.After a career in conservation, Ian Carter moves to a secluded farmhouse tucked away in the low hills of mid-Devon between Exmoor and Dartmoor.Here he tries new approaches to exploring the local countryside. He learns the edible species, follows streams (wherever they may lead) and slips unseen through private estates. He experiments with rewilding the garden, goes on night-time rambles and watches the changing seasons in super high definition.Following on from the author's acclaimed Human, Nature, this engaging and thought-provoking book offers simple suggestions for how to enliven a sense of wonder in our surroundings. A paean to the 'neglected' and untidy places that can enrich our lives, it will appeal to anyone wishing to develop a deeper connection with wildlife or who has a desire to seek out the wilder corners of our landscape.

A comprehensive study on the natural history and cultural symbolism of an unusual woodpecker. Detailed information is presented on the species' origins, taxonomy, anatomy, appearance, calls, distribution, conservation status, habitats, movements, breeding, diet and relationships. With a chapter on its closest relative, the Red-throated Wryneck.

Estuarine and coastal waters are acknowledged points of anthropogenic impact. For practitioners, academics and students in the field of coastal science and policy, this book examines and exemplifies current and future challenges: from upper estuaries to open coasts and adjacent seas; from tropical to temperate latitudes; from Europe to Australia.

A comprehensive identification and reference guide to the brown seaweeds (Phaeophyceae) of Britain and Ireland with detailed descriptions of their distribution, ecology, structure, reproduction and taxonomy, supported by over 300 compound plates of line drawings and descriptions.

This landmark volume reviews the amphibian fauna of Caribbean islands, their decline and conservation. Individual chapters are devoted to each island, considering the measures used to protect their amphibians through legislation or the setting aside of nature reserves.

All landscapes are built on rock: from hard stone for building with, to the softest clay or sand. Each piece of rock is a storehouse of prehistorical information; even a simple pebble from the garden has its own complex tale to tell. Geology is the great detective science that can unlock these secrets. In this entertaining and eye-opening book, the authors take a deep dive - quite literally - into their home county of Essex.We are all living in an ice age, an ongoing event that has hugely affected Essex over the last 3 million years. Yet this county was born more than 500 million years ago. Our story begins when the land we know as Essex was part of a large continent close to the South Pole, tracing the geological processes that continue to shape the countryside around us. The form of the land, boulders on village greens, road cuttings, cliffs, stones in church walls - they can all bring geology to light in unexpected and fascinating ways.Aimed at a general readership with no scientific background but equally appealing to the seasoned geologist, chapters progress from fundamentals to intricate details of geological investigations and cutting-edge research. Richly illustrated with photographs and colour diagrams, here the geology of a county is visualised and brought to life as never before, along with pertinent environmental insights in the light of climate change that is happening now.

This highly illustrated, comprehensive guide features hair scale impressions and characteristics for all terrestrial carnivorous mammals found in Canada. An ideal reference and monitoring resource, including range maps and key identification characteristics, as well as superb images.

As well as the better-known plants, dragonflies and birds, sphagnum moss supports a unique community of microscopic animals and plants which inhabit its leaves and crevices.

High above the mountaintops on the Isle of Mull, a huge bird is soaring. Its all-encompassing gaze records people in its Hebridean territory far below, but they are of no interest. The eagle is about its business: concentrating on the deer and fidgety hares out grazing in the morning sun, the urgent push of thermals beneath its wings, a threatening weather front way out at sea, and the restless chick back in its eyrie. This is Mull in its glory. This is what the excited, watching people have travelled so far to witness. They train their binoculars and admire, perhaps envy, the eagle with its vast freedom, knowing that such a self-willed being is part of another world - almost.This book guides the reader through that world. With superb illustrations and illuminating text, we are led to the wild side of Mull. Every facet of the island's natural history is considered, its diverse species and many stories - past, present and future. Along the way we are reminded that wildness is not somehow separate from the human world but influenced, and shared, by nature and people together.Here is the tale of a precious and unique place, a seaborne landscape that displays an uncommon biodiversity and rare wildlife experiences, although today it also faces its greatest challenges. Most of all, this book is testimony to the power of wild places and the duty we have to learn from and protect them.

Today, 'virgin forests' are only to be found at a few sites unreachable by humans, and even then they are affected by climate change, atmospheric pollution and species extinctions. This book aims to help understand the web of connections relating to ancient trees and woodlands, and to offer techniques to ensure their effective conservation.

This guide provides descriptions of when the bat species resident in Britain and Ireland use natural and human-made rock habitats, how they use them, and the environments each species occupies therein. For the first time it brings together findings from historical scientific investigations, useful photographic accounts and open-access biological records, along with a rich seam of new data - all in a practical and user-friendly structure. The book encompasses:Descriptions of the features that a climber, caver or professional ecologist might encounter on and in rock habitats where bats roost.Recording criteria for both the physical and environmental attributes of different features and situations.Identification of suitability thresholds against which the recorded information can be compared to assess the likelihood that a specific feature might be exploited by a particular bat species.Suggestions for how to avoid mistakes and difficulties when performing a survey.The intention is that using this book will help generate standardised biological records which can feed into the fully accessible online database atwww.batrockhabitatkey.co.uk. These data will be analysed to search for patterns that can increase the confidence in the suitability thresholds and help build roost features that deliver the environment each species really needs. As well as offering many new insights, this book allows the reader to participate in cutting-edge research.

An essential guide to assist those surveying for water voles, whether as a professional ecological consultant, a researcher or simply an interested amateur. This book provides detailed descriptions of all the habitats used by water voles, including ideal habitats as well as less typical places, with annotated photos to help the surveyor home in on just the right areas to look. It also contains a comprehensive photographic reference guide to assist in the correct identification of water vole field signs, and explains how to distinguish them from those of similar species. Tips on where and how to search for field signs are also provided, along with guidance on how best to record survey data.

Insects are often overlooked because they are small or ignored because they are deemed trivial, and many are dismissed as nuisance pests. But their numbers and diversity are mind-numbing, and under even a modest hand lens they are beautiful or bizarre.Insects dominate the centre ground of all terrestrial and most aquatic ecosystems. They inform us of the conservation value of ancient woodland and chalk downland. They help monitor the purity or pollution levels of ponds, streams and rivers. And they can demonstrate the effects of climate change, acting as warning lights to alert us to the damage that humans are doing to the world. Recent insectageddon headlines are starting to make people sit up and take more notice.What better way to promote an interest in these fascinating creatures than by poetizing them? This cornucopia of discordant nonsense, with some quite frankly dubious rhyming clashes, is offered up so that entomological outreach will at least benefit from their shock value.

The authors make this much-needed Naturalists' Handbook accessible by confining themselves to aphids living on broad-leaved trees. This has reduced the problems of identification to manageable proportions.