Ecology is a consistent thread that runs through many of my books about nature and wildlife. Individual kinds of animal are interesting, but it's equally interesting to get an impression of how different kinds of animals fit together in a natural ecosystem. My books on ecology fall into these general categories:
| General conservation | Wildlife management | Public & private parks |
These books all discuss general conservation topics.
AFRICAN NATURE NOTES AND REMINISCENCES
Selous, Frederick Courtney
c.1993, St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0-312-09241-5
ANCIENT FORESTS
Middleton, David
c.1992, Chronicle Books
ISBN: 0-87701-814-6
An examination of the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. Middleton focuses on the trees themselves, but also goes into some detail on the ecosystem that surrounds the trees. I was particularly interested by the unique "hanging gardens," miniature ecosystems that grow in the forest canopy.
KRAKATAU: THE DESTRUCTION AND REASSEMBLY OF AN ISLAND ECOSYSTEM
Thornton, Ian
c.1996, Harvard Univ.
ISBN: 0-674-50572-7
Krakatau, also known as Krakatoa, may be the most studied island ecosystem ever known. In 1883, the original island was annihilated by a gigantic volcanic explosion. Since then, bits of the island have been slowly recolonized by life, and nearly every step in the process of recolonization has been carefully studied.
DIVERSITY AND THE TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
Terborgh, John
c.1992, W. H. Freeman
ISBN: 0-7167-5030-9
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY
Pianka, Eric R.
c.1974, Harper & Row
ISBN: 0-06-045226-9
GRAZING IN TEMPERATE ECOSYSTEMS
Putman, R. J.
c.1986, Timber Press
ISBN: 0-88192-071-1
MOUNT ST. HELENS: THE ERUPTION & RECOVERY OF A VOLCANO
Carson, Rob
c.1990, Sasquatch Books
ISBN: 0-912365-32-3
A detailed account of the 1979-81 eruptions at Mount Saint Helens, and of the ways the devastated region recovered after the blast eruption of 1980.
THE TRUE STATE OF THE PLANET
Bailey, Ronald (ed.)
c.1995, Free Press, The
ISBN: 0-02-874010-6
A collection of scientific papers intended to counter extreme environmentalists' claims about the terrible condition our planet is in.
WHY BIG FIERCE ANIMALS ARE RARE
Colinvaux, Paul
c.1979, Princeton Univ. Press
ISBN: 0-691-02364-6
WILD HUNTERS: PREDATORS IN PERIL
Hummel, Pettigrew, Murray
c.1991, Roberts Rinehart
ISBN: 1-879373-27-0
This book discusses the need to preserve North American predator species: bears, wolves, cougars, and wolverines.
These books all discuss methods of wildlife management, including hunting of various kinds and by various methods.
BLOODTIES: NATURE, CULTURE, AND THE HUNT
Kerasote, Ted
c.1993, Random House
ISBN: 0-394-57609-8
LAST CHANCE TO SEE
Adams, Douglas & Carwardine, Mark
c.1990, Harmony Books
ISBN: 0-517-58215-5
Douglas Adams's account of traipsing to various out-of-the-way places in search of a variety of rare and vanishing species of animals. I like this book a lot. Not because it's in any great scientific depth -- it isn't. Adams isn't a scientist. He was along on these trips as a simple observer-writer. What he brings to the experience is a talent for writing, a quirky sense of humor including a well-developed sense of the absurd, and a deep appreciation for the things he saw that often gets lost in the dry, formal writing typical of many scientists.
THE PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
Gilbert, Frederick, PhD
c.1992, Krieger
ISBN: 0-89464-438-6
These books are about parks of all kinds and at all levels: national, state, local, privately held.
PLAYING GOD IN YELLOWSTONE: THE DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA'S FIRST NATIONAL PARK
Chase, Alston
c.1987, Harcourt Brace
ISBN: 0-15-672036-1
Yellowstone National Park was the first entry in America's national park system. In this book, Chase describes its history and in the process shows how the park has been so totally mismanaged that the managers destroyed much of what the park was established to preserve: the wildlife of the area. Chase doesn't pull any punches in his descriptions and analysis. A deeply troubling book, but one that should be read by anyone interested in the national parks and how to preserve and conserve our wildlife.
PRESERVING EDEN: THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
Grove, Noel
c.1992, Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
ISBN: 0-8109-3663-1
It's been said of the Nature Conservancy that they protect land the old-fashioned way: they buy it. Sometimes they get it donated to them. This is a history of the Nature Conservancy, how it works and what it has accomplished in its efforts to preserve wild lands in their original condition.
WILDERNESS U.S.A.
c.1973, National Geographic Society
ISBN: 0-87044-116-7
One of the NGS's large 'specialty' books. This one is about the American system of parks and forests that preserve some part of the old American wilderness.
