566 Southeastern Naturalist Vol. 5, No.3
566
Book Reviews of the Southeastern Naturalist, Issue 5/3, 2006
Marine Mammal Research: Conservation
Beyond Crisis. John E. Reynolds III,
William F. Perrin, Randall R. Reeves,
Suzanne Montgomery, and Timothy J.
Ragen (Eds.). 2005. The Johns Hopkins
University Press, Baltimore, MD. 223 pp.
$50, hardcover. ISBN 0801882559. With
contributions from leading scientists, and
edited by a team of accomplished marine
mammal experts, this text provides an upto-
date assessment of the threats facing
marine mammals. Major threats, discussed
in separate chapters, include fisheries
bycatch, infectious disease, environmental
contaminants, algal blooms, and
anthropogenic sound. Recommendations
for further research and mitigation efforts
are proposed. Looking beyond the threats,
the contributors map out a scientifically
based plan for recovery of marine mammal
populations, and argue for a more
proactive approach to marine mammal
protection that identifies and mitigates
potential threats before they have an adverse
effect. This is an essential book for
marine mammal researchers, oceanographers,
regulators, and anyone called to
help in the effort to save marine mammals
from extinction. S.E.
100 Caterpillars: Portraits From the
Tropical Forests of Costa Rica. Jeffery
C. Miller, Daniel H. Janzen, and Winifred
Hallwachs. 2006. Harvard University
Press, Cambridge, MA. 264 pp. $39.95,
hardcover. ISBN 0674021908. This volume
combines art and science, presenting
100 full-page color photographs of an
amazing diversity of caterpillars in the
first half of the book, followed by short
essays on the known ecology, biology,
and behavior of the caterpillars and the
butterflies they become in the second
half. S.E.
A Guide to the Birds of the Southeastern
States: Florida, Georgia, Alabama,
and Mississippi. John H. Rappole. 2006.
University Press of Florida, Gainesville,
FL. 366 pp. $24.95, softcover. ISBN
0813028612. Touted as the only singlesource
reference to the birds of the southeastern
United States, this guide provides
information on 376 species of birds, with
420 color photos and 379 maps. It lacks
an identification key, and this, combined
with the fact that the photos are small and
the birds often blend in with their background,
makes it of limited use for identification
purposes. However, the succinct
species descriptions, which include habitat
preference, range, abundance and distribution,
vocalizations, and other identifying
features, all provide essential information
for birders and naturalists. A useful
reference for anyone with an interest
in the birds of this region. S.E.
Mammals From the Age of Dinosaurs:
Origins, Evolution, and Structure.
Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, Richard L.
Cifelli, and Zhe-Xi Luo. 2004. Columbia
University Press, New York, NY. 630 pp.
$195, hardcover. ISBN 0231119186. This
is a text-book sized volume, with many
drawings of skeletal structures and teeth,
that draws upon the fossil record to provide
the most up-to-date and complete
picture of Mesozoic mammalian evolution
since the last major work on the subject
in 1979. Five years in the making,
this text is comprehensive and based on a
large body of published scientific work.
The first four chapters are of a general
nature, dealing with aspects of the origin,
evolution, and distribution of mammals.
The next ten chapters then closely examine
the systematics of the major groups of
Mesozoic mammals, with a final chapter
on phylogenetic relationships. This is a
valuable synthesis of what is known about
early mammals, and it will undoubtedly
become the classic reference on the subject.
Of particular interest to professional
mammalogists and students. S.E.
2006 Book Reviews 567
Freshwater Fishes of Mexico. Robert
Rush Miller, with the collaboration of
W.L. Minckley and Steven Mark Norris.
2005. The University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, IL. 490 pp. $75, hardcover.
ISBN 0226526046. This volume is the
life’s work of Robert Rush Miller, who
spent more than 50 years studying the
fishes of Mexico’s inland waters. Altogether,
more than 500 species are included
in this encyclopedia of Mexican
ichthyology. It is extensively illustrated
with black-and-white photographs, color
plates, line drawings, and maps, and contains
family and species keys for identification.
Early chapters provide fascinating
and informative accounts of the environments
of Mexico, historical ichthyogeography,
and a history of ichthyology
in Mexico. Species accounts include
life-history details, abundance and distribution,
and additional remarks on related
species. This is a valuable contribution to
fisheries science that is sure to become a
standard and widely used reference. S.E.
Tropical Forest Ecology: The Basis for
Conservation and Management.
Florencia Montagnini and Carl F. Jordan.
2005. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 295 pp.
$169, hardcover. ISBN 3540237976. This
is a much needed textbook on the causes
of tropical deforestation and the forestry
techniques needed for management and
restoration. Thousands of research studies
in the past 30 years have shown that tropical
forests are more susceptible to disturbance
than temperate forests, but much of
the forestry techniques that are relied
upon for management have been based on
research done in temperate forests. This
text addresses this issue by compiling evidence
of the unique nature of tropical ecosystems,
and examining what this means
for sound and sustainable forestry management.
Major sections address the importance,
characteristics, classification,
deforestation, and management of tropical
forests, as well as the issues behind
plantation and agroforestry systems. The
concluding section discusses approaches
for sustainable management of tropical
forests. This book will be a useful management
resource for foresters or a
supplementary text for those studying
tropical rainforest ecology. S.E.
The Florida Manatee: Biology and
Conservation. Roger L. Reep and Robert
K. Bonde. 2006. University Press of
Florida, Gainesville, FL. 189 pp. $34.95,
hardcover. ISBN 081302949X. Written
by two long-time manatee researchers,
this book is a detailed account of what is
known about this unique and mysterious
marine mammal. These large and placid
herbivores have been listed as an endangered
species for over 25 years, and much
of what is known of their biology has
been discovered in that time. This book
discusses manatee evolution, biology, the
unique aspects of their physiology, and
the complexities of their long-distance
migrations. The discussion of manatee
brains and behavior is fascinating and detailed,
as one of the authors is a neuroscientist.
Aspects of conservation and human
interactions with manatees are also
discussed. The text is accessible to nonprofessionals
and is well augmented with
color photographs, maps, and line drawings.
S.E.
Cusco Amazónico: The Lives of Amphibians
and Reptiles in an Amazonian
Rainforest. William E. Duellman. 2005.
Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.
433 pp. $74.95, hardcover. ISBN
0801439973. The rainforests of the Amazon
Basin are home to an amazing diversity
of plant and animal life, much of
which has only recently been described.
In this lavishly illustrated volume, 151
species of Amazonian amphibians and
reptiles are described in detail by a scientist
who has spent much of his career
studying the herpetofauna of this region.
Identification keys are supplemented with
236 color plates and 42 line drawings,
including many of tadpoles, as well as
568 Southeastern Naturalist Vol. 5, No.3
maps, charts, and graphs. Many of the
species described here are restricted to
very specific habitats; others have a wide
distribution. Community ecology, reproduction,
feeding behavior, and other lifehistory
details are discussed for each species,
including, for the frogs and toads, a
description of their vocalizations. A
crowning achievement and a lasting
record of a unique but threatened ecosystem.
S.E.
Arthropods of Tropical Forests:
Spatio-temporal Dynamics and Resource
Use in the Canopy. Yves Basset,
Vojtech Novotny, Scott E. Miller, and
Roger L. Kitching (Eds.). 2003. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
474 pp. $130, hardcover. ISBN
0521820006. The contributions in this
text expose the reader to a broad range of
insect-related topics and a diversity of
tropical habitats worldwide. The information
presented here by 79 authors represents
some of the most recent research on
tropical forest canopy insect assemblages,
and patterns of spatial and temporal distribution,
resource use, and host specificity.
This is a scholarly, scientific text,
well referenced to the literature, and with
many charts and graphs, but with few
photographs. It will be an important and
valuable resource for community ecologists,
entomologists, botanists, and any
researcher working in the tropical
rainforests. S.E.
Darwin: Discovering the Tree of Life.
Niles Eldredge. 2005. W.W. Norton and
Company, New York, NY. 256 pp. $35,
hardcover. ISBN 0393059669. It took
Darwin twenty years to fully formulate
his theory of natural selection and present
it to the public. This book presents the
story of Darwin’s intellectual and philosophical
journey from the time of his lifechanging
voyage on the Beagle to the
publication of his world-changing theory
in On the Origin of Species. Eldridge is a
respected evolutionary biologist, as well
as curator of the recent (2005–06) American
Museum of Natural History exhibit on
Darwin. He presents a compelling defense
of evolution that is especially relevant
today in the face of renewed attempts
by creationists to impose their religiously
based anti-Darwinian views as
scientific theory in public classrooms.
Darwin recognized the challenge his
theory posed to religious beliefs, while
remaining a spiritually devout man.
Based on his journal and notebook writings,
this book presents a well written and
insightful examination of the man and his
theory. S.E.
Tropical Forests: Regional Paths of Destruction
and Regeneration in the Late
Twentieth Century. Thomas K. Rudel.
2005. Columbia University Press, New
York, NY. 231 pp. $32.50, softcover.
ISBN 023113195X. A worldwide tour of
the changes that have occurred to tropical
rain forests in the past twenty years, with
regional-level analyses of the historical,
social, economic, and environmental factors
contributing to losses and restoration.
From Central America and the Caribbean,
to the Amazon Basin, and on to the
jungles of Africa and South Asia, Rudel
chronicles the story of large-scale destruction
and attempts at regeneration. He
uses scientific accounts and the stories of
people directly involved with the fate of
the rainforests to make an argument for
the use of a regional approach to analyzing
the causes of rainforest destruction.
Relevant to anyone with an interest in
patterns of land use and change. S.E.
Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic,
Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic
Variation in the History of Life.
Eva Jablonka and Marion J. Lamb. 2005.
The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 462 pp.
$34.95, hardcover. ISBN 0262101076.
For over fifty years, scientific understanding
of Darwin’s theory of natural selection
has been based on a gene-centered,
mechanistic view. This book pre2006
Book Reviews 569
sents a major challenge to this paradigm,
where the gene, though still of prime importance,
is joined by three other inheritance
systems that the authors believe have
strongly shaped natural selection, particularly
in Homo sapiens. In their view, epigenetic
(non-DNA) transmission of traits,
behavioral learning, and symbol-based
inheritance (language) are elements in a
complex system that have interacted with
genes to shape human biology and evolution.
This means that we can become active
participants in the evolution of our
own species, ultimately guiding our biological
evolution in a desired direction.
This is a major paradigm shift that has and
will continue to generate debate on an
important topic. Written in a lively and
engaging style, this book is a must read
for any serious student of evolutionary
theory. S.E.
Mammals From the Age of Dinosaurs:
Origins, Evolution, and Structure.
Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, Richard L.
Cifelli, and Zhe-Xi Luo. 2004. Columbia
University Press, New York, NY. 630 pp.
$195, hardcover. ISBN 0231119186. This
is a text-book sized volume, with many
drawings of skeletal structures and teeth,
that draws upon the fossil record to provide
the most up-to-date and complete
picture of Mesozoic mammalian evolution
since the last major work on the subject
in 1979. Five years in the making,
this text is comprehensive and based on a
large body of published scientific work.
The first four chapters are of a general
nature, dealing with aspects of the origin,
evolution, and distribution of mammals.
The next ten chapters then closely examine
the systematics of the major groups of
Mesozoic mammals, with a final chapter
on phylogenetic relationships. This is a
valuable synthesis of what is known about
early mammals, and it will undoubtedly
become the classic reference on the subject.
Of particular interest to professional
mammalogists and students. S.E.
Wildflowers of Tennessee the Ohio Valley
and the Southern Appalachians.
Dennis Horn and Tavia Cathcart. 2005.
Lone Pine Publishing, Auburn, WA. 496
pp. $22.95, softcover. ISBN 1551054280.
Over 1250 plant species are featured and
arranged phylogenetically by family. A
color key, consisting of thumbnail photographs
of flowers arranged by color, can
be useful for quick reference. Dichotomous
keys are provided for 12 plant families:
buttercup, mustard, heath, saxifrage,
rose, pea, parsley, mint, figwort, aster,
lily, and orchid. Each plant entry includes
a color photograph, a general description,
a description of leaf arrangement, flower
type, bloom period, fruit type, and habitat,
and a list of similar species. Notes
concluding each entry include information
about how the plant got its name (scientific
or common), medicinal uses, and
invasiveness. A glossary with line drawings
and a combined index for common
and scientific names conclude this handy
field guide. C.R.
On Bobwhites. Fred S. Guthery. 2006.
Texas A&M University Press, College
Station, TX. 213 pp. $18.95, softcover.
ISBN 13: 9781585445387. Quail have
been a favorite game bird for hundreds of
years, and as a result, they have been
much studied by scientists and naturalists.
This book pulls together the author’s research
and a large body of research done
by other scientists to provide information
on virtually every aspect of bobwhite
quail biology and management. A wide
range of topics are presented here, including
bobwhite evolution, vocalizations,
breeding, disease, predation, management
issues, habitat, and more. Guthery, a leading
expert on this species, focuses much
of his work on the Southwest, but the
information is general enough to be applied
to bobwhite quail populations wherever
they are found. This is not a technical,
scholarly text with cited references,
but rather an accessible and practical
book written for hunters and wildlife
570 Southeastern Naturalist Vol. 5, No.3
managers. Informative, useful, and easy to
understand. S.E.
Birds of Shenandoah National Park,
Blue Ridge Parkway, and Great Smoky
Mountains National Park: A Field
Guide. Ernest Preston Edwards. 2006.
The McDonald and Woodward Publishing
Company, Blacksburg, VA. 141 pp.
$19.95, softcover. Covering 336 species,
this region-specific guide is convenient
and packable. Color images illustrate
male and female adult plumage for most
species. Habitat preferences, resident or
transient status, and additional descriptive
or geographic notes are provided for each.
Birds that may be seen occasionally or
rarely in the region are shown in a special
section. A list of stray or accidental species,
a checklist, and an index to the common
names are also provided. This is a
good book for a beginning observer in this
region. C.R.
Birds of the Carolinas. Second Edition.
Eloise f. Potter, James F. Parnell, Robert
P. Teulings, and Ricky Davis. The University
of North Carolina Press, Chapel
Hill, NC. 416 pp. $24.95, softcover. ISBN
0807856711. This standard reference
book covers 460 species that have been
recorded in the two states since 1900.
Each entry details the bird’s range including
recent reports of sightings outside the
reported range, nesting habits, feeding
habits, and a description that highlights
identifying characteristics. A color photograph
accompanies most. An extensive
section describing bird habitats and typical
species will be helpful to the beginner.
The authors also mention specific locations
for bird watching in this section. A
glossary, list of further reading , and index
to common name conclude the guide. C.R.
Time and Complexity in Historical
Ecology: Studies in the Neotropical
Lowlands. William Balée and Clark L.
Erickson. 2006. Columbia University
Press, New York, NY. 417 pp. $80, hardcover.
ISBN 0231135629. An exploration
of people and their interaction with the
landscapes they inhabit beginning with
the Holocene period and going through
the present with implications for the future.
Areas addressed include genetic
modification of plant and animal species,
landscape engineering, agricultural experimentation,
fire history, linguistic development,
and material culture, to name
a few. The geographic range of the text
includes tropical portions of central and
south America and is limited to lands
lower than 500 meters elevation, usually
heavily forested. A few of the topics explored
are fruit trees in Amazonia, political
economy in Central Amazonia, domesticated
landscapes of the Bolivian
Amazon, and microvertebrate synecology
in the forested neotropics. Notes and references
are provided for each of the
twelve chapters, and an index concludes
the text. C.R.
Reconstructing Earth: Technology and
Environment in the Age of Humans.
Braden Allenby. 2005. Island Press,
Washington, DC. 201 pp. $24.95,
softcover. ISBN 1597260150. In this set
of essays, Braden asks why, if polls show
that a majority of people worldwide are
concerned about the environment, so little
progress has been made on ratifying treaties
and laws designed to protect the environment?
He examines the evolution, and
lack thereof, of the environmental movement
since the 1970s, arguing that some
of the early strategies and approaches
adopted by the movement may be obsolete
and dysfunctional. Throughout, he offers
a way forward, an approach that embraces
complexity, technological innovation, and
systems engineering. Ultimately, he rejects
the notion that we can return to a
pristine state of nature. We have created
an anthropogenic world, one in which we
are so intertwined with our environment
that we are called upon to utilize an “earth
systems engineering and management capability”
to achieve our environmental
objectives. S.E.
2006 Book Reviews 571
The Extravagant Universe: Exploding
Stars, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating
Cosmos. Robert P. Kirshner. 2002.
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
291 pp. $19.95, softcover. ISBN
06911742X. In this enjoyable account of a
research team's quest to understand the
nature of the universe, Kirshner gives the
reader an insider's view of cutting-edge
atronomy. He provides both the historical
background and the scientific basics of
cosmic change to set the stage and place
the work in a meaningful context. The
writing style is relaxed and approachable,
making complex topics understandable to
those outside the field without oversimplifying
them. Kirshner also instills the book
with a sense of the personalities involved
and the drama felt by him and his colleagues
as the evidence they gather leads
them to some fascinating and startling
revelations about the origins and fate of
the universe we live in. Black and white
and color photos and figures throughout
complement the text. Detailed notes provided
for each chapter direct the reader
where to go for more information about
particular points and topics. Highly recommended.
K.G.
Arthropods of Tropical Forests:
Spatio-temporal Dynamics and Resource
Use in the Canopy. Yves Basset,
Vojtech Novotny, Scott E. Miller, and
Roger L. Kitching (Eds.). 2003. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, UK.
474 pp. $130, hardcover. ISBN
0521820006. The contributions in this
text expose the reader to a broad range of
insect-related topics and a diversity of
tropical habitats worldwide. The information
presented here by 79 authors represents
some of the most recent research on
tropical forest canopy insect assemblages,
patterns of spatial and temporal distribution,
resource use, and host specificity.
This is a scholarly, scientific text, well
referenced to the literature, and with many
charts and graphs but few photographs. It
will be an important and valuable resource
for community ecologists, entomologists,
botanists, and any researcher working in
the tropical rainforests. S.E.
Nature-Friendly Communities: Habitat
Protection and Land Use Planning.
Christopher Duerksen and Cara Snyder.
2005. Island Press, Washington, DC. 421
pp. $29.95, softcover. ISBN 1559638656.
In communities all across the United
States, local citizens have shown their
commitment to conservation and a healthy
environment by embracing public policy
that encourages protection of farmland,
wildlife habitat, water resources, and
more. This optimistic, can-do book details
the success of communities as diverse as
Eugene, OR and Sanibel Island, FL at fostering
the growth of communities that live
in harmony with their local ecosystems,
rather than at odds with it. The case studies
presented here show the many benefits
of nature-friendly communities and provide
examples of how other communities
can join this growing trend. This is an
inspiring book with information that is
practical, useful, and above all, timely.
S.E.
Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography
of the Earth. Marcia Bjornerud. 2005.
Westview Press, Cambridge, MA. 237 pp.
$26, softcover. ISBN 081334249X. This
text is a superbly written overview, from a
geologist's perspective, of the planet we
live on. Bjornerud's beautiful prose make
this book both a literary and scientific
standout. She gives the reader a lot of
solid information about the planetary
structure and processes that have created
and continue to shape the earth, and does
it in a way that instills a deep sense of
wonder and respect for the world we live
in. The geologic evidence and the tools
scientists use to intrerpet them are clearly
presented. The important role of biological
processes in the earth's development is
explained along with the implications of
humans’ growing global impact. Scientific
terms explained in the glossary are
572 Southeastern Naturalist Vol. 5, No.3
bold formatted the first time they are mentioned
in the text, a helpful feature for
those without a geology background. Detailed
notes provided for each chapter direct
the reader where to go for more information
about particular points and topics.
Highly recommended. K.G.
The Tangled Field: Barbara
McClintock’s Search for the Patterns of
Genetic Control. Nathaniel C. Comfort.
2001. Harvard University Press, Cambridge,
MA. 337 pp. $43.95, softcover.
ISBN 0674011082. A biography of Nobel
Prize winning geneticist Barbara
McClintock. Comfort sets out to dismantle
a number of myths surrounding
this innovative female scientist who studied
corn genetics and discovered that
genes were transposable. He does this
through a chronology organized thematically.
Two chapters are devoted to her
first forty years in which she used a low
power lens, and the following three recount
her life and discoveries with a high
power lens and her ideas about pattern and
control. He concludes with several chapters
that recount the reception her ideas
about controlling elements received and
the accolades she received for her discovery
of transposable elements instead. Extensive
notes are provided. C.R.
Maine Mosses, Sphagnaceae–
Timmiaceae. Bruce Allen. 2005. The
New York Botanical Garden Press, New
York, NY. 419 pp. $75, hardcover. A brief
introduction describes history, climate,
physiography and history of moss collectors
in the state. A key to the genera of
mosses relies on Crum (1983) and borrows
from Ireland (1983) and Vitt and
Buck (1992). Each of the 23 families is
given a general description followed by
keys to the species of individual genera.
Species descriptions include naming authority
and synonyms. A detailed description
of the species and notes about habitat
and references to collections from each
county in Maine are provided. Notes
about taxonomy and easily confused species
complete each entry. Illustrations of
distinctive characters are large and clear.
A literature cited section and an index to
scientific names conclude the volume. An
indespensible reference for folks serious
about the study of mosses in this region.
C.R.
Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Human-
environment Interactions in Forest
Ecosystems. Emilio F. Moran and
Elinor Ostrom (Eds.). 2005. The MIT
Press, Cambridge, MA. 442 pp. $35,
softcover. ISBN 0262134535. With the
goal of providing literature covering fundamental
concepts of land use and land
cover, this text was developed for teachers
and students of how the physical and social
sciences interact within the forest
ecosystem. It presents findings from a
large-scale research project that includes
scientist from the disciplines of anthropology,
biology, economics, and sociology
to name a few. Work taking place in
twelve countries at over eighty locations
is reported. The text is divided into five
sections: human-environment interactions
and introduction and theories, conceptual
foundations of human-environment analyses,
methods for studying land use
change, case studies, and an epilogue outlining
new directions in research. A glossary,
list of references, and index are provided.
C.R.
Book Reviewers: S.E. = Stephen Eddy,
C.R. = Cathy Rees, K.G. = Keith Goldfarb
Suggestions of books for the book review section are welcome. Please send title,
author, and publisher information, as well as publication date and ISBN number to
Fred Olday at fred@eaglehill.us. Thank you!