Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid
The Fraught and Fascinating Biology of Climate Change
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
*A New York Times Editor's Choice pick
*Shortlisted for the 2022 Pacific Northwest Book Awards
A beloved natural historian explores how climate change is driving evolution
In Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, biologist Thor Hanson tells the remarkable story of how plants and animals are responding to climate change: adjusting, evolving, and sometimes dying out. Anole lizards have grown larger toe pads, to grip more tightly in frequent hurricanes. Warm waters cause the development of Humboldt squid to alter so dramatically that fishermen mistake them for different species. Brown pelicans move north, and long-spined sea urchins south, to find cooler homes. And when coral reefs sicken, they leave no territory worth fighting for, so aggressive butterfly fish transform instantly into pacifists.
A story of hope, resilience, and risk, Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid is natural history for readers of Bernd Heinrich, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and David Haskell. It is also a reminder of how unpredictable climate change is as it interacts with the messy lattice of life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Biologist Hanson (Buzz) takes readers under the wings of birds, into the shade of spruce trees, and underground to learn about 55-million-year-old fossils in this exciting exploration of nature's response to climate change. "Understanding biological responses to climate change can help us find our place within it," Hanson writes. "Simply put, if bush crickets, bumblebees, and butterflies can learn to modify their behaviors, then it stands to reason that we can too." As he moves across time and habitats, he visits Walden Pond, where temperatures have risen an average 4.3 degrees Fahrenheit since Thoreau's time; watches Alaskan grizzly bears take a pass on salmon in favor of elderberries; and observes saplings along the Des Moines River migrating to safer terrain than that populated by old growth. Hanson introduces readers to an array of scientists documenting these changes and conducts his own often humorous experiments: during a failed fossil hunt in a childhood stomping ground, he's "a middle-aged stranger in a pandemic mask, carrying a backpack and a hammer," and decides "it was time to leave." With contagious curiosity, Hanson nimbly avoids pedantic, moralistic admonishments. Nature-lovers will be thrilled to see science so vividly described, and will marvel at the incredible ingenuity of creatures across the globe.
Customer Reviews
Expect the unexpected
Trees climbing mountains. Lizards evolving in weeks and months to withstand hurricanes. Grizzly bears abandoning salmon for berries.
Thor Hanson brings an insatiable curiosity, along with a healthy dose of storytelling and humor, to the subject of how life is adapting, in real time, to a changing planet.
It’s fascinating. And it’s made me realize that I’d better throw out the “expected range” advice in all of my older birding books. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the world around us.