When The Marine Biological Laboratory set out to publish, through The University of Chicago Press, a series of books that would make available to the wider reading public examples of the types of research undertaken at the institution, as well as portraits of how such research is undertaken there, giving the series the title Convening Science was clearly the most logical choice.
Like the other volumes in Princeton’s The Lives of the Natural World series, “The Lives of Sharks” presents its subjects in a habitat arranged structure that features representative species presented in lively and accessible text that explains shark biology, behavior, and ecology, all of which material is extensively supported by vivid, captivating photos and well-drawn, informative illustrations.
Like its predecessors in its series, “The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives” provides and extensively full color photo and drawing illustrated structure, and follows a habitat themed organization featuring representative species with explanations of their biology and life history along with overviews of the habitat’s ecology that should make the book very appealing to beginning naturalists and new-comers to the subject of cephalopods.
If you’ve been reading The Well-read Naturalist for very long, you’ve likely discovered that one of my favourite authors presently writing on the subject of marine biology is the very aptly-named Dr. Helen Scales. From her “Spirals in Time” and “Poseidon’s Steed” to her “Eye of the Shoal” and “The Brilliant Abyss,” I’ve found myself repeatedly delighted by both what I’ve learned as well as how much I enjoyed learning it through her lively and superbly wrought writing. Now to these she has added a new book to share her knowledge and love of the sea and the creatures within it with her readers: “Around the Ocean in 80 Fish & Other Sea Life.”