Dispersal Biology of Desert Plants (Adaptations of Desert Organisms)

Book Description

Dispersal processes have important effects on plant distribution and abundance. Although adaptations to long range dispersal (telechory) are by no means rare in desert plants, many desert plant species do not possess any features to promote dispersal (atelechory), while others have structures that hamper dispersal (antitelechory). The high frequency with which atelechorous and antitelechorous mechanisms are present in plants inhabiting arid areas indicates the importance of these adaptations. Among the benefits derived from these adaptations are the spreading of germination over time, the provision of suitable conditions for germination and subsequent seedling establishment, and the maintenance of a reservoir of available seeds (seed bank). This book describes the ways and means - anatomical, morphological and ecological - by which dispersal in desert plants has evolved to ensure the survival of these species in their harsh and unpredictable environment.

Sea-Beans from the Tropics: A Collector's Guide to Sea-Beans and Other Tropical Drift on Atlantic Shores

Average customer rating:

Sea Bean Bible
Excellent Guide Book
Each shell is provided with a lengthy introduction

Sea-Beans from the Tropics: A Collector's Guide to Sea-Beans and Other Tropical Drift on Atlantic Shores

Manufacturer: Krieger Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1575241811

Book Description

Atlantic Coast beaches offer a variety of souvenirs and curiosities to those beachgoers that care to look. Shells have long been treasured finds, and their descriptions are well documented in a variety of books and guides. But what about the other things found on the beach? These are the things that drift in the ocean and are carried in with the winds: sea-beans, spirula, mermaid's purses, and other tropical treasures. This book references them in a convenient form for the beachcomber, while keeping the oceanographer and botanist in mind. Interesting descriptions of each sea-bean species, or other drift treasure, and 175 color photographs make this book a valuable collector's guide. Perry and Dennis provide the results of a 30-year study on sea-bean flotation tests. No other book combines personal experience, use of color photography identifications, and the scientific field of botany into a complete, friendly user's guide for identifying sea-beans and other drift from the sea.

Customer Reviews:

Sea Bean Bible.......2007-07-27

I love this book. It is a fantastic resource, complete with color photos. An absolutely essential book to have if you live by the sea. You will be able to identify the cool beans you find along the shore with this book. I have learned a tremendous amount about drift seeds from reading this book. Highly recommended. Enjoy & Happy Beaning! :)

Excellent Guide Book.......2007-05-12

Excellent guide book with photos and text. Helped me identify the beans that I have collected on the beaches of Key Biscayne.

Each shell is provided with a lengthy introduction.......2004-01-14

Co-produced by Edward L. Perry and John V. Dennis, Sea-Beans From The Tropics is an impressive collector's guide to the tropical drift commonly found on the shores of the Atlantic ocean. Full-color photographs illustrate each entry ranging from bald cypress, to white inkberry. Each shell is provided with a lengthy introduction covering such topics as the nature of ocean currents and how to grow and polish sea beans rounds out this informative, fascinating, detailed, "user friendly" guide.

Dialogues of Dispersal: Gender, Sexuality, and African Diasporas

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Dialogues of Dispersal: Gender, Sexuality, and African Diasporas
Sandra Gunning , and Tera W. Hunter
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1405126817

Book Description

From Brazil to Germany, New York to Ghana, Dialogues of Dispersal examines the intersections of gender and sexuality within Afro-diasporic communities. This interdisciplinary volume covers a broad chronological sweep, ranging from eighteenth-century slavery to twentieth-century social movements. The contributors provide innovative analyses of religion, popular culture, identity, maternalism, sartorial practices, and transnational networks. They interrogate colour and class issues, highlight the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, and explore the politics of narration, performance and recognition.Dialogues of Dispersal marks a distinct departure from previous work in African Diaspora studies in its sustained analysis of how gender and sexuality complicate circuits of exchange. In the process, the volume underscores how diasporas are at once overlapping spheres of human experience and constructed sites of connection and engagement.

New Diasporas: The Mass Exodus, Dispersal and Regrouping of Migrant Communities (Global Diasporas , No 2)

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New Diasporas: The Mass Exodus, Dispersal and Regrouping of Migrant Communities (Global Diasporas , No 2)
Nicholas Van Hear , and Nicholas Van Hear
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0295977132

Our Place in the Cosmos: The Unfinished Revolution

Average customer rating:

No comfort for creationists here, but not much else, either
Ah, now THIS BOOK IS MORE LIKE IT!! :-)
A fascinating, cogent polemic
A book so weak in arguments...
Darwinism totters.

Our Place in the Cosmos: The Unfinished Revolution
Fred Hoyle , and Chandra Wickramasinghe
Manufacturer: J.M. Dent & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

No comfort for creationists here, but not much else, either.......2005-08-29

Some previous reviewers of this book seem to think it supports creationism, but they cannot have read it with any care. Very early in the book, the authors make it perfectly plain what they think of creationism: "the creationist is a sham religious person who has no true sense of religion... It is the facts we see in the world around us that must be seen to constitute the word of God. Documents, whether the Bible, the Quoran or those writings that held such force for Velikovsky, are only the words of men. To prefer the words of men to those of God is what one can mean by blasphemy." This is their religious argument against creationism, and later on they make it clear that there are strong scientific arguments against it as well: they accuse creationists of blocking valid questions, and of selecting only those observations that seem to support their case, ignoring everything else. No one who actually read the book, or the authors' earlier writings on biology, could possibly think that they were creationists. Amazingly, however, the lawyers for the creationist side in the US Federal Court in 1981 did manage to think this, and went to the expense of bringing Chandra Wickramasinghe all the way from Wales to Arkansas, only to hear him testify that "one would have to be crazy to believe [that the universe is just 10000 years old]."

Unfortunately, however, the relatively infrequent attacks on creationists provide the only worthwhile parts of the book. The rest of it consists of a dogmatic and weakly argued case against an oversimplified travesty of what modern biologists actually think. They have only the most superficial knowledge of biology, and appear to think that the opinions of physicists need to be taken seriously simply because they are physicists, not because they have actually bothered to study in detail the subject they want to pontificate about. Almost at the beginning of the book they remind us that a figure of "no less stature than Kelvin" was hostile to Darwinism, but they neglect to tell their readers (who can hardly expect to know without being told) that Kelvin's main argument was one that every scientist todays accepts to be false: he thought the earth might be as young as 25 million years old, and that it could not be more than 400 million years old, anyway much too young for Darwinian evolution to have occurred. Kelvin, indeed, is a notable example of the sort of senior scientist who has great confidence in his opinions about matters he knows little about: "heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible", he thought, and "radio has no future".

Hoyle and Wickramasinghe, arguing in just the manner of the creationists that they despise, think that the existence of bacteria with an amazingly high tolerance to enormous doses of radioactivity prove that they could not have evolved on earth, where the conditions necessary for natural selection of this tolerance exist nowhere in nature. There is already an element of dishonesty in this argument, as by no means all bacteria tolerate exposure to high levels of radioactivity, and those that can, such as Deinococcus radiodurans, are the exception rather than the rule. A more important problem is their suggestion that biologists just brush examples like this aside because they go against their dogma. It is not clear whether this suggestion is dishonest, or simply the result of not bothering to check how biologists have dealt with this, but in any case it is false. Considerable effort has gone into explaining how Deinococcus radiodurans can have arrived at the properties that it has: it turns out that in natural conditions this organism needs to survive long periods of extreme desiccation, during which it (like any other desiccated bacterium) suffers much the same sort of genetic damage as that produced by exposure to radiation.

The essential claim of Hoyle and Wickramasinghe is that life evolved elsewhere in the universe, and that the earth is continuously receiving new samples of bacteria and viruses from comets and other sources in space. In their earlier writings they were clearly confused about the differences between bacteria and viruses. By the time they wrote this book they had this more or less sorted out, but some relics are still there. They seem to think that their arguments and evidence for the robustness of [some] bacteria allow them to claim that viruses can survive space travel, and they show no awareness of the fact that viruses can only reproduce inside a host, so that human-specific viruses need human inhabitants of comets in order to culture them. In fact they go much further, and seem willing to entertain the idea that an animal as large as a bee could survive arrival on earth as a passenger inside a meteorite.

Among the criteria in a web site describing how to recognize scientific crackpots is a suggestion of "40 points for comparing yourself to Galileo, suggesting that a modern-day Inquisition is hard at work on your case, and so on". True to form, Hoyle and Wickramasinghe assure us right at the beginning of the book that rather than the inquisition of Galileo being a thing of the past, "society has not improved since the sixteenth century in any important respect." However, as they must surely know, Galileo was imprisoned for his views, but no one has been imprisoned for questioning Darwinism.

Ah, now THIS BOOK IS MORE LIKE IT!! :-).......2002-06-21

In this controversial book, Fred Hoyle asserts that life on Earth may originally be of extraterrestrial origin. This isn't as stupid as it sounds. The infrared spectrum of comets & galaxies are surprisingly similar to that obtained from viruses/bacteria found on Earth. Most bacteria on Earth are remarkably resistant to extremes in temperature found in outer space; they will continue to thrive after being exposed to temperatures of only a few degrees above absolute zero. Yet the Earth NEVER gets that cold, and according to the theory of evolution they shouldn't evolve to be this impervious to extremely cold conditions. He attributes the periodic influenza epidemics to the passing of the Earth through the tails of nearby comets in orbit. This is quite a claim!

But Hoyle provides all the convincing scientific evidence necessary to prove his point - there are just the right amount of relevant figures, which reveal all the data that brings him to this conclusion. The style of writing is unpretentious and not overcomplicated, and it flows very well. The proposition is very original, and I doubt you'll find another book like this. Revolutionary.

A fascinating, cogent polemic.......2001-08-02

While most of us assume the truth of Darwinism - and may even have read whole books by exponents like Richard Dawkins - it can be shocking to realize how many gnarly bits there are that we just don't quite understand. For instance: how did some assumed (and so far undiscovered) common ancestor give rise to bears and horses? In theory, random mutations happen all the time, and a tiny percentage of them are beneficial. But if no such mutation yields a new variant that cannot interbreed with the main species, how do new species arise? And if it does, how can the new variant survive unless - by some unbelievable coincidence - another identical mutant of the opposite sex is born at the same time and place?

One of the hallmarks of a great mind is the confidence to ask questions that the rest of us would be ashamed to ask for fear of exposing ourselves to ridicule. This book forcefully argues that today's scientific orthodoxy can be every bit as stifling and irrational as the religious dogmatism of previous centuries. Surely it is wrong that certain opinions simply cannot be held by practising scientists - if they want to keep their jobs and have their papers published, at any rate?

"Our Place in the Cosmos" advances a variety of ideas, all of which are stimulating, although some are more convincing than others. The authors make no bones about the fact that some of their thoughts are speculative - they are only two scientists, backed up up by a small team of researchers, and they have limited time and means. In stark contrast, they claim that the entire community of Darwinian biologists has laboured for 150 years without finding conclusive evidence in the fossil record.

The book's most convincing hypothesis is that the universe is stuffed with microorganisms. The comparison of infrared flux from the galactic centre with that from dry E. coli shows a striking similarity, suggesting the existence of interstellar clouds made up of bacteria - dehydrated of course, but potentially viable when introduced to a suitable ecological niche. It is explained that bacteria can survive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, whereas airless bodies like the Moon swat them like bugs on a windshield. There is also evidence to show that respiratory diseases could be spread by such infalling bacteria (and viruses), whose arrival can be synchronized with the passage of comets.

It is impossible to do justice to this thrilling book in a review. If you enjoy scientific thrillers - with the added spice of an apparent conspiracy to ignore the work of misunderstood geniuses - get hold of a copy of "Our Place in the Cosmos". Anyone who enjoyed Fred Hoyle's SF novels - notably "The Black Cloud", "Ossian's Ride" and "A for Andromeda" - will recognize some key themes.

A book so weak in arguments..........2000-04-07

I gave 2 stars only because it has a couple of good things, as to deserve something over the least. It tells you to be aware and don't believe everything, and to try different alternatives. Besides, it shows a theory that has been told by other people about the possibility of life arising from space in meteorites. Up to here fine, but... It is not conceivable that Carl Sagan had recommended to read this man (that is why I bought this book)in the demon haunted world, when Hoyle uses any trick to arrange anything to suite his words. He describes in the 3rd chapter how he supposes that the cosmic soup experiment by Ulrey was done, when everybody knos that technical papers show step by step how they were made... there is no need tu make assumptions. Besides, in that same chapter he describes how electricity used to extract hydrogen from water is produced by humans, as the basis to say that urea cannot be produced by inorganic means. The book is so full of such incongruencies to attempt to make us believe his hypothesis that I would reccomend to save time and read something useful.

Darwinism totters........1999-04-26

I used to wonder at statements like "the theory of relativity changed the world". They never made sense to me -- how could scientific revolutions affect one's personal philosophy? Now I know, because I've just experienced one. I used to believe in the Darwinist theory of evolution because the alternative -- the Bible -- was too ludicrous/painful. But some parts of Darwinism seemed really shaky and required a religious amount of faith on my part to believe them, which defeated the purpose. Salvation (eek, what an abused word) came in the form of Hoyle and Wick, who have not only shot down Darwinism, but have also put forward an excellent case which deserves serious consideration from the experts. I hope it gets it. A useful book to read, even if you're like me and the biology bits go over your cerebrum. Someone ought to condense this book into something more palatable.

Average customer rating:

Great for VERY specific type of child
Juneau 2nd grader
Strange word choices; does not work as a board book
not the best for intended age group
LOVE IT!!!

The Tiny Seed

Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 088708155X

Book Description

Dazzlingly colorful collage illustrations and a simple but dramatic text tell the fascinating story of the life cycle of a flower in terms of the adventures of a tiny seed.

Carried aloft by the autumn wind, the tiny seed, along with other bigger seeds, travels far over the world. the journey is perilous: one of the bigger seeds is burned by the sun; another falls into the ocean; still another is eaten by a bird. Even after those that are left have landed on fertile ground and begun to grow, danger is near: one small plant is stepped on; one little flower is picked; but the tiny seed keeps growing almost unnoticed. Young readers will cheer at the happy outcome of this exciting tale. And they will long remember the heartening message of the tiny seed's steadfast perserverance in the face of many hazards and obstacles until its final joyful success.

Customer Reviews:

Great for VERY specific type of child.......2007-08-16

My son has been fascinated with this book. He understands so much more than I gave him credit for. He's only 2.5 years old, but he's EXTREMELY verbal and very bright when it comes to books. However, I agree with the english teacher/mommy that it is NOT for the average toddler. I think a bright preschooler or for the child who is fascinated with plants and flowers, it is quite appropriate. I can see an OLDER child in first, second or third grade getting more out of it science wise, but that doesn't mean that a toddler can't enjoy it. I remember reading books and understanding more and more of the details as I got older, which made it a "new" book for me with each passing year, if that makes sense. I re-discovered the story or read it in a new way with more life experience with which to process it. So with that in mind, I think it's a terrific book overall. I do not find it at all disturbing that a seed should drown or burn up. It's a fact of life that seeds don't all survive. If you think of it in terms of humans, sure it's disturbing, but I think that's a paralell that cannot and will not be drawn by a toddler, preschooler or even a young elementary school child. In my view, the English teacher is reading too much into that and reading the book from the viewpoint of an adult with a whole lot more life experience. HOWEVER, I totally agree that the book ends abruptly, which is why I add my own ending when I read it to my child which goes something like this, "and off the seeds sail in the wind to hopefully become beautiful plants and flowers NEXT spring. The end." I'm kind of surprised nobody told Eric Carle or his publisher that the ending was too abrupt. But it's not a big deal. Eric Carle's biggest hits with my son have been "Head to Toe", "The Very Hungry Catepillar," and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," as well as this title. The rest have been a flop. Luckily we check them out at the library and do a test run on them first. :)

Juneau 2nd grader.......2007-03-21

Did you know that the tallest sunflower in the world is 25 feet tall? Well,now you know. This book, The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, might give you an idea how that happened. This book may also give your girl or boy a message, that if you're strong you can do almost everything.

Strange word choices; does not work as a board book.......2006-07-25

I understand the power of overcoming adversity, but as the seeds travel, one of the "drowns," one dies in the desert, one is eaten by a bird...I think it is a disturbing little book, actually. It certainly should never have been made into a board book. There are too many words on the page to keep the attention of a toddler or preschooler. The ending seems abrupt as well. I haven't been impressed with the Carle books I have read.

not the best for intended age group.......2005-07-25

I think this book is fine, but not for the preschool crowd. I would use it with older children -- elementary age -- to discuss the life cycle of an annual, the role of the seasons, and the challenges of reproduction which must be overcome by all plants. The Tiny Seed introduces us to many of the hazards faced by seeds and seedlings as they attempt to grow (from falling in water and drowning, being eaten by birds or mice, being overshadowed by large weeds, being stepped on by children, and more) and shows how the ideal environment is a necessity. It covers the role of sunshine and rain, how the seed swells and bursts open, how the plant develops as it grows, and how it produces and disperses its seeds to carry on the next generation. It's not a book for small children, though, since its mostly non-fiction tone is dry, the phrases are stilted, and it doesn't read aloud well. I find it difficult to "cheer on" the tiny seed; where others see him as a hero facing difficult odds, I think the book is too grimly determined to be educational and becomes boring for the youngest child. If you want a book to introduce a unit on seed dispersal, this is the one. If you want to talk with your three year old about the cycle of the seasons, you'd be better off with the Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter collection by Gerda Muller.

LOVE IT!!!.......2003-08-23

I absolutely adore this book! It is soooooo well written! Its pictures are absolutely beautiful! This book is a must for anyone with children! It is just that good! You should buy this book right away! I PROMISE that you will LOVE it too!

Average customer rating:

Wonderful introduction to nature's wonders

What Kinds of Seeds Are These?
Heidi Roemer
Manufacturer: Northword Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1559719559

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful introduction to nature's wonders.......2006-11-01

I am a former children's library assistant who was always looking for more non-fiction books for read-aloud during storytimes. This book would have been perfect! It is perfect! With a delicious sounding rhyming text, this books explores the miracle of seeds. The words just roll off the tongue delighting reader and listener alike. It's also a wonderful book for early science. This book is chock full of interesting facts, including a few I didn't know. The back of the book even offers fun activities for the budding naturalist or scientist. The illustrations match the text both with accuracy and humor (such as the dog stuck with those pesky burrs.)Author/poet, Heidi Roemer, has a gift for words and offers youngsters, teachers, librarians, and parents a wonderful resource for encouraging all to go out and explore nature. Oh, and I disagree with the recommended age for this book. I think it should be from 3 - 12.

World Guide to Tropical Drift Seeds and Fruits

Average customer rating:

Good Sea Bean Book
Nice enough?

World Guide to Tropical Drift Seeds and Fruits
Charles R. Gunn , and John V. Dennis
Manufacturer: Krieger Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1575241471

Book Description

This guide is for amateurs and professionals who find pleasure and excitement in beachcombing for stranded tropical seeds and fruits (sea-beans) on beaches ranging from Norway and Holland to South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and South Florida. Included are over 100 accurately and beautifully illustrated line drawings of the common sea-bean. These drawings, along with a key and detailed descriptions, make it possible for the first time to correctly identify a sizable number of tropical drift fruits and seeds from beaches around the world. Also contained in this guide is a section on planting and growing these seeds and fruits, many of which are from common plants of the tropics. Much useful information on polishing sea-beans and making them into artifacts of various kinds is also provided, as sea-beans are commonly fashioned into jewelry and keepsakes in many parts of the world. Readers will be fascinated by the histories of these tropical seeds and fruits.

Customer Reviews:

Good Sea Bean Book .......2007-07-27

This is a good book. It is scientific & complete with excellent drawings of sea beans. It is a must for any sea bean collector.

Nice enough?.......2002-12-29

A 1976 classic, reprinted at the occasion of the 1999 Sea-Bean Symposium. As reprints go this is quite good, with a sturdy cover. The book consists of a general part (Introduction, History, Currents & Beaches, Collecting & Uses, Key) and a catalog. The latter, which comprises just over half the book, consists for each entry of a page (or less) of text and a page (sometimes three) of line-drawings. The line-drawings are not of top quality but adequate.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Teaching Tool.......2001-04-20

I am a second grade teacher and have used this book with my class. It is an excellent teaching tool to help students understand the growth cycle of a dandelion. This book shows the journey of 7 dandelion seeds. No two take the same path but most grow into dandelion plants. Students see dandelions all around during the summer but probably don't know much about how they grow or about a their stages of life. I lent this book to teachers who even found out things about dandelions that they did not know prior to reading! It is an excellent resource to go along with a study of plants. The story is delightful but teaches as well. I strongly reccomend this story to teach about plants or just for reading enjoyment!

Best Book Yet!.......2000-03-28

I'm pregnant and have been in search for a good book to read to my baby while still in the womb. Mission completed...and successful! My search was done when I came across this wonderful book, along with the Dandelion Seed, another great one. Simple, cute, and entertaining, this book was exactly what I wanted, and I'm sure my child will cherish this book for years to come.

Average customer rating:

All about Tennessee Wildflowers
Jan W. Midgley
Manufacturer: Sweetwater Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Product Description

This book covers Native Plants, Forest Types and Communities, Wildflower Basics, Cultivation, Propagation, Native Grasses, Pollination, Seed Development, Dispersal and Plant Profiles.

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