The Extreme Life of the Sea
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- £18.99
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- £18.99
Publisher Description
A thrilling tour of the sea's most extreme species, written by one of the world's leading marine scientists
The ocean teems with life that thrives under difficult situations in unusual environments. The Extreme Life of the Sea takes readers to the absolute limits of the ocean world—the fastest and deepest, the hottest and oldest creatures of the oceans. It dives into the icy Arctic and boiling hydrothermal vents—and exposes the eternal darkness of the deepest undersea trenches—to show how marine life thrives against the odds. This thrilling book brings to life the sea's most extreme species, and tells their stories as characters in the drama of the oceans. Coauthored by Stephen Palumbi, one of today’s leading marine scientists, The Extreme Life of the Sea tells the unforgettable tales of some of the most marvelous life forms on Earth, and the challenges they overcome to survive. Modern science and a fluid narrative style give every reader a deep look at the lives of these species.
The Extreme Life of the Sea shows you the world’s oldest living species. It describes how flying fish strain to escape their predators, how predatory deep-sea fish use red searchlights only they can see to find and attack food, and how, at the end of her life, a mother octopus dedicates herself to raising her batch of young. This wide-ranging and highly accessible book also shows how ocean adaptations can inspire innovative commercial products—such as fan blades modeled on the flippers of humpback whales—and how future extremes created by human changes to the oceans might push some of these amazing species over the edge.
An enhanced edition is also available and includes eleven videos.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Highlighting the strangest cases in animate sea life, marine ecologist S.R. Palumbi exudes a palpable and contagious sense of delight as he enlists his writer son's help to fill the "gap in character development" in the story of the ocean's robust yet fragile ecosystems. The diversity of the Burgess Shale is evidence that, given enough space, evolution can run wild beyond imagination, with adaptions emerging to exploit every possible niche. The Palumbis dig into every corner: ancient body forms like the horseshoe crab that still exist today; inhabitants of deep hydrothermal vents whose metabolisms are based on sulfur or tolerance of extreme heat or pressure; fauna that thrives in the iciest open Arctic waters; and species with strange extremes in their reproductive cycles. By showing how each creature is so tightly tied to its environment, the authors are able to effectively demonstrate how small human-driven changes to the oceans disrupt a complex system developed over millions of years. The Palumbis encourage a childlike curiosity by showing us the amazing diversity of life down below, and perhaps our inner children will pester our grownup selves into doing what needs to be done to keep these habitats intact. Color, halftone, b&w illus.
