Marine Habitats Books

My 1st grader hates to put it down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. In his kindergarten class the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books out loud, not to give her a break, but to promote reading out loud. Great books!

In this story, Jack and Annie go to the beach and find a mini-submarine. They explore the ocean and learn about coral reefs. Coral reefs are made of skeletons of tiny sea creatures. Jack and Annie look out the big window of the submarine and see two dolphins. Annie names them Sukie and Sam. When they look at the submarine's computer, they find out that the submarine is cracked. They are being squeezed by an octopus. They start to swim to shore because of the cracks, but when they look back, they see a fin and think that it might be a shark. When they realize they are looking at the dolphins, they ride on the dolphins backs. The dolphins take them safely to shore and they go back home in the magic treehouse.

I liked this book a lot because it has a happy ending. I like dolphins and I wish I could ride on one like Jack and Annie. I recommend this book to kids who like dolphins and who like to read about magic. This book is also good because it teaches you about the coral reef. This is a great book to read during the summer. -by JG.

If anyone is looking for a good book, here's one!
Feel the detail spray into your mind with excitement.

This book is very, very exciting!

Enjoy!

Dolphins at Daybreak takes place at the Magic Treehouse, on an island and out at sea. Morgan le Fay, the master librarian, sends Jack and Annie to an island to look for three riddles. They go there in the Magic Treehouse. The first riddle they found was a pearl inside an oyster. Jack and Annie need to fins the riddles because they want to be master librarians like Morgan. A mini-submarine takes Jack and Annie to find the next riddle. It has cracks init and begins to leak.There are two dolphins nearby that save Jack and Annie from drowning. They also save them from a hungry shark. When they returned to the Treehouse, Jack and Annie found out that the Oyster was the correct riddle that they needed. Jack and Annie were on their way to becoming master librarians. I like the book !



This review is by Maryrose Wintroath

The magic tree house is back, and with it is Morgan le Fay. She has a quest for Jack and Annie, they must solve a strange riddle. And so, the two youngsters are off to a tropical island, where they learn about the sea and its aquatic life.

This book is the ninth in Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series, and the first in a four-part mini-series. This is a fun book, richly illustrated, and teaching while at the same time entertaining. I think that this is a great book, and a fine addition to a great series. Give your young reader a treat, and get him or her this book!

Loved this book ...spent a week at the Bald Head Island Conservancy which operates a nationally recognised Sea Turtle Protection program and is the only non governmental agency in N.Carolina allowed to conduct turtle identification and satellite tracking of sea turtles. The book was an excellent resource and adjunct to the teaching of the sea turtle biologists at the Conservancy. Plus the illustrations are beautiful!!

This book is amazing! Beautiful Pictures!! Our family saved baby sea turtles on a vacation. Bought this book for my ten year old's (very high level reader) non-fiction book report because she fell in love with the species. It was huge and very textbook-like but beautifully written and understandable. Talks generally about sea turtles. Talks about the parts of a turtle, the reproductive cycle, and about all the different types of sea turtles. Talks about the dangers they are in. I am very happy with the purchase and my daughter was truly inspired.

I purchased this book for my High School Freshman as a Honors Lit non-fiction book project. She made a beautiful powerpoint presentation and Website with quizzes. This book was fabulous. At first I thought it would be a tough kind of informational book to read, but it was not! It was written in layman terms and easy to read. The pictures are nothing less than gorgeous. There is so much information packed in this book it was hard to decide what to leave out! Also this book would be a beautiful coffee table book because the quality and pictures are wonderful. There was plenty of information about conservation and even though my daughter has always loved turtles now she is an activist and has joined a save the sea turtles foundation. This book was a godsend and a pleasure to read.

This book is full of fantastic photos and a wealth of detailed information. A must for anybody interested in sea turtles.

This book is beautiful. From one of the top sea turtle conservationists. It covers almost everything there is to know about sea turtles. The diagrams of turtle anatomy really help to understand these creatures. It is also great that Spotila profiles some of the dedicated conservationists working to protect the turtles. The pictures are stunning. The books large pages do the pictures and the turtles justice. After reading the book, you feel as if you have been initiated into the world of sea turtles. And, an added bonus, a portion of the royalties will be donated to Leatherback Trust. In short, if you like sea turtles, buy this book.

Not a typical how-to-fish book although there is some advice on fly selection. Mostly deals with when and where to find fish in the various habitats which are described in detail (marsh, mangrove, surf, etc.) Essential reading if you want to understand the habits and food preferences of the coastal species you are targeting.

I don't know how many times I've read that the angler should know his quarry, study their habits, etcetera, only to find that there wasn't any actual information about such habits in the book! The reason for this is that it is difficult for anglers to amass such knowledge in anything shorter than a full lifetime, and even then he's only aware of a tiny fraction of the fish's ecology. That's an indispensible part of the experience of fishing, of course. For those of us who like it to take place within a wider breadth of real knowledge about fish, however, there are books like this one. Dr. Adams has compiled a wealth of interesting information from the scientific literature on the ecology of the fish we love to pursue, and presents it engagingly and in a well-organized way in this book. Much of it is applicable worldwide, not just to the areas covered. You will start thinking about fish and fishing in a deeper way after reading this book.

Fisherman's Coast is a unique balance of angling techniques, personal anecdotes and environmental information. Aaron J. Adams seems to mentor his readers of all ages and experience through fish behavior and life cycles, and fishes' and anglers' reliance on and relationship to healthy sea grass, mangroves, salt marshes and other warm-water habitats. As an educator, I hope my students and their families will translate Mr. Adams' approach to their own locales, and use it when visiting southeastern and gulf coast states, and/or the Carribean. How generously he shares his scientific knowledge and personal experience with his readers. Only fish - possibly - know more than Mr. Adams.

Aaron Adams, a Ph.D. in marine ecology, has given his readers a way of discovering and defining "good spots"--not with GPS numbers, but with a systematic understanding of coastal marine ecosystems and how gamefish fit within them. He puts the emphasis where it belongs and provides a model for others to follow in other books (I hope). The prose is clean and clear--no small achievement for a scientist writing in his area of expertise. Some useful photos are included. One could have wished for more), but there are enough examples to communicate the connectedness of life--and the responsibillity we have to protect it.

This book is not an easy read but it is well worth the effort. If you are looking for a "go here and do this" study guide this book is probably not for you.

If you want to understand the habits and habitats of fish you'd like to catch so you can figure out the how-when-where for yourself you will find this book extremely helpful. I have only fished Florida's inshore a couple of times on my own and while I enjoyed the experience I had no clue as to what to look for. When I go back now I will be much better prepared because of this book.

Everything was as advertised. I am pleased with my product, and will shop here again.

These two authors have a list of credits to impress anyone. I suppose in some ways they could, therefore, sit back on their laurels and allow their reputations to sell their work. But not so! I could not find one single underwater image in this book which was not of the highest standard. From photographs of Divers and Sharks right down to the finest macro-photography, this is a book to show all budding underwater photographers how it should be done.

That said, this is not a book about photographs - it is a guide to the Marine Life of the Caribbean, Bahamas and Florida. "What do you mean the Caribbean, Bahamas AND Florida - surely it's all the Caribbean" I hear some people say. But they're the sort of people who think whales are just big fish.

For those who are confused, the Bahamas are in the Atlantic Ocean and Florida is in the Gulf of Mexico. So, having sorted that out, we now understand (and appreciate!) the accuracy of the title.

Resembling something like a colourful version of a telephone directory, this book is packed with factual and accurate information laid out in a way that will not disappoint anyone who buys it. If you like "technical" it's here but if you like "technical made easy to understand" - it's also here.

Whilst I could have done without that photo of the diver hugging the Shark (picky, picky I know), this still remains an altogether excellent book and almost the only one you will need on your next trip south.

NM

This is my latest addition to my "diving book collection". I am a recent diving convert (the very best sport ever), and find myself reading this book constantly (more looking at the pics I suppose, which are gorgeous!). If you are looking for a fantastic book to invest in...LOOK NO FURTHER...BUY IT, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!

I'm a scuba instructor, and have spent years looking for the perfect book to use in fish identification and underwater naturalist courses. When I found this book, I stopped looking! It is the perfect combination,and makes everything understandable to the beginner, yet still informative to us old pros! The photo tips also come in very handy in teaching photography and videography... no Caribbean diver can afford not to have this book... I mean it!

A well written, informative, easy to understand book. Not only do you receive a reference guide, you get biology lessons, photo tips, and great overviews of reef systems. This book is perfect for scuba divers!

"The editors have successfully defined and filled this niche. The book has two distinctive viewpoints. First, all of the chapters focus on issues relating to conservation. For example, sensory systems are covered because such knowledge is relevant for the later chapters to deal with net entanglement and noise pollution...this provides an often subtle, but refreshing alternative viewpoint to most other recent books on marine mammals."

"This book is generally of high editorial standard... I intend to recommend the book as background reading for my course and to use some chapters as the basis for restructuring some of my lectures... If you are interested in marine mammals this book will certainly be a very useful addition to your library."- by Helen Marsh, James Cook University

"Let's cut to the chase, this book is simply an outstanding read regarding the evolution, behavior, health, and conservation of marine mammals... the following five topics are covered in a very complete fashion: (1) life history and ecology; (2) sensory systems; (3) survey and study techniques; (4) health, parasites, and pathogens; and (5) conservation and management. No one of these sections in necessarily better than the other, as they are all provide excellent summaries of the available literature. The text is written in a style appropriate for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. One of the things I found particularly appealing about the book is that the editors clearly emphasized to each of the contributing authors that they should include some of the cutting edge questions, where future research needs to be directed to move the various fields forward. Therefore, the text is replete with ideas and suggestions for Masters and Ph.D. level research. In addition, I think the editors, who obviously worked closely with the authors of each chapter, found the right balance between emphasizing the underlying discipline...and the wonderment of knowledge about marine mammals... this is a textbook that belongs in the bookshelves of practicing marine mammal biologists and academics interested in vertebrate biology. In addition, I highly recommend this book to graduate students interested in applying the tools of a particular discipline to a specific hypothesis that can be tested using marine mammal data. As far as textbooks go, this text has "legs" and I would venture to guess that its useful shelf-life will exceed 10 years in most disciplines covered." - Douglas P. DeMaster, National Marine Mammal Laboratory

I received this book almost a month ago, and ever since I've been using it to write my paper on MPA. My masters thesis is about marine mammal management in Indonesia, and this book helps me put many things in perspective.

I even recommend this book to my supervisor (she will buy it from Amazon as well!) and the uni library for collection. My friend in the next room is borrowing the book for a while for her thesis as well.

I say Hoyt has done a good job. This might be the first comprehensive book about MPA for cetaceans, and it sure worth 5 stars!

In this excellent and definitive book, the author makes clear that Marine Protected Areas, even in the earliest stages of full evaluation, offer a realistic and informed approach to immediate and future marine conservation. Whilst the science and logisitcs are complex, the theory behind MPAs is simple. Its an holistic approach to conservation in which single factors are considered cumulatively, rather than individually. So for example, the effects of all human activities in one area (say, fishing, recreational boating and waste management) are considered all together, not just for one particular species but on the entire ecosystem in question, from whale to coral reef to microorganism. The emphasis is strongly on the management of human activities. Truly effective MPAs require difficult and unpopular decisions, such as the zoning of areas where human presence is limited and, in some cases, prohibited. We are accustomed to plundering the seas without thought, for economic and recreational benefit. For the world in general to embrace MPAs to their fullest extent will require a huge shift in thinking and greater cooperation between nations and understanding between cultures.
This book cuts through the multiplicity of labels attached to areas of protection for marine life and lays bare the precise meaning of each. Such labels generally make it easy for us to imagine that, in those protected sanctuaries at least, cetaceans are saved. But large whales being protected from commercial hunting in one area does not necessarily mean they will not be killed in the name of science or suffer a fatal strike from a ship, and goes absolutely nowhere towards protecting smaller cetaceans from dying in a fishing net.
Land-based conservation has the advantage of being relatively stable and focused on discreet areas. To paraphrase the author, one can't simply erect a fence at sea and put up a Keep Out sign. Marine protected areas need to be fluid to take into account the fact that critical habitats for cetaceans change with the season, their migratory movements and the dispersal of their prey. Further, our very definition of critical habitat must be questioned and expanded: what good a protected area for calving if there is no safe area for socialising and mating?
This is an exhaustively researched, fascinating, thought-provoking and hugely useful book. It is both reference and reading material in one. For those involved in the conservation of cetaceans it must already be a compulsory handbook and for the layreader it is a revealing and readable account of the considerable progress of our conservation experts and of the huge task still ahead. A massive achievement marking a milestone in marine protection.

Anyone involved in running for a congressional seat, working on a congressional election or just interested in national politics will find this book enormously interesting. It's short. It's down to earth. It's up-to-date. And, it's one of the best on the subject. Professor Jacobson's book features pertinent analysis of national survey data plugged into long-term electoral trends. It covers all you need to know about how to make a run for Congress, calculating your odds and the chances of knocking off an incumbent. It is a unique blend of academic effort and practicality that is continually useful. It is the very best on what to expect in congressional elections for the U.S. House and Senate.

This is one of the best and most valuable political science texts I have ever read - and, as a political science major, self-confessed politics junkie and activist, I've read most of them. Gary Jacobson's research is unmatched and his findings are essential to anyone who wants to get involved in Congressional campaigns. His assessment of the role of money in such campaigns is astounding and discomforting. While the going gets dry at times, overall the book is a good read with very practical applications today.

--Bill Arnone

If you are one of those lay readers who is endlessly curious and not put off by rather intense discussions of "the adaptive value of sclerophylly in mediterranean ecosystems", this book may really be for you. Although I suspect most ecotourists, one target audience, will lack the stamina for it, the book really does a fine job of conveying the excitement of the region in relatively jargon-free prose. The formatting also does much to lure the more casual reader with its adept use of illustrations, boxes, and subheads to break up the text. I was delighted to discover just how much the authors eschewed simple description in favor of spotlighting what is truly intriguing about the Mediterranean ecosystem.

Some of the highlights for me include: the description of the drying up and reflooding of the Mediterranean during the Miocene; the unusual incidence of species endemism and its relationship not only to topographical diversity but to unusual geological substrates; the profiles of curious creatures such as the blind cave salamander and Etruscan shrew; the range of adaptations to diverse environments, such as the case of the Turkish hippo that crossed over to Cyprus 100,000 years ago and dwindled to the size of a pig; the fascinating coevolution of figs and wasps; and most of all, the manifold impact that humans have had upon the region for the past 10,000 years (chapter 8). The authors conclude with a look at what can be done to sustain the biodiversity of this fascinating region.

I took this book out of a vacation spot library, and was very pleasantly surprised. It is good, careful science nicely presented. The focus is on questions, the answers or possible answers, and the evidence. It covers the entire ecology of mangrove areas, including flora and fauna. Surprisingly, the term mangrove refers to plants which do well in tidal, brackish area, and covers a wide range of species and even families. Not just the plants, but the fauna exhibit convergent evolution; thus, there are even two species of shrimp which spend their lives on trees above the water line in the mangroves. Some other interesting facts: young tadpoles are vegetarians, whereas frogs are totally carnivorous. Some epiphytes get a significant portion of their nutrients from ant droppings.

There are parallel chapters on sea grasses and mangroves, but I did not have time to read the sea grass chapters.

The truth behind many hot environmental topics is discussed in this book and also displayed using many graphs and charts. Everything from the dolphin-tuna controversy to the seal and sea lion over-population problem in the Northwest and how they effect salmon is covered in this one book. This book is fabulous and gives insite from every angle imaginable. Unfortunately, there are no color plates.