The Humane Gardener PDF Download

Author: Nancy Lawson
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1616896175
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

Author: Marlene Zuk
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547549172
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
A biologist presents a “consistently delightful” look at the mysteries of insect behavior (The New York Times Book Review). Insects have inspired fear, fascination, and enlightenment for centuries. They are capable of incredibly complex behavior, even with brains often the size of a poppy seed. How do they accomplish feats that look like human activity—personality, language, childcare—with completely different pathways from our own? What is going on inside the mind of those ants that march like boot-camp graduates across your kitchen floor? How does the lead ant know exactly where to take her colony, to that one bread crumb that your nightly sweep missed? Can insects be taught new skills as easily as your new puppy? Sex on Six Legs is a startling and exciting book that provides answers to these questions and many more, examining not only the bedroom lives of creepy crawlies but also some of our own long-held assumptions about learning, the nature of personality, and what our own large brains might be for. “Smart, engaging . . . Zuk approaches her subject with such humor and enthusiasm for the intricacies of insect life, even bug-phobes will relish her account.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1465439889
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
An entertaining guide to the most successful animals on Earth--bugs! Packed with fun facts, an insect identification guide, and key information on everything from honey bees to eight-eyed jumping spiders and other amazing arthropods, this book is the perfect learning platform for young readers.

Author: Peter Holland
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191620491
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
The animal world is immensely diverse, and our understanding of it has been greatly enhanced by analysis of DNA and the study of evolution and development ('evo-devo'). In this Very Short Introduction Peter Holland presents a modern tour of the animal kingdom. Beginning with the definition of animals (not obvious in biological terms), he takes the reader through the high-level groupings of animals (phyla) and new views on their evolutionary relationships based on molecular data, together with an overview of the biology of each group of animals. The phylogenetic view is central to zoology today and the volume will be of great value to all students of the life sciences, as well as providing a concise summary for the interested general reader. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author: David R. Montgomery
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393244415
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
"Sure to become a game-changing guide to the future of good food and healthy landscapes." —Dan Barber, chef and author of The Third Plate Prepare to set aside what you think you know about yourself and microbes. The Hidden Half of Nature reveals why good health—for people and for plants—depends on Earth’s smallest creatures. Restoring life to their barren yard and recovering from a health crisis, David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé discover astounding parallels between the botanical world and our own bodies. From garden to gut, they show why cultivating beneficial microbiomes holds the key to transforming agriculture and medicine.

Author: Oliver Milman
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324006609
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
A devastating examination of how collapsing insect populations worldwide threaten everything from wild birds to the food on our plate. From ants scurrying under leaf litter to bees able to fly higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, insects are everywhere. Three out of every four of our planet’s known animal species are insects. In The Insect Crisis, acclaimed journalist Oliver Milman dives into the torrent of recent evidence that suggests this kaleidoscopic group of creatures is suffering the greatest existential crisis in its remarkable 400-million-year history. What is causing the collapse of the insect world? Why does this alarming decline pose such a threat to us? And what can be done to stem the loss of the miniature empires that hold aloft life as we know it? With urgency and great clarity, Milman explores this hidden emergency, arguing that its consequences could even rival climate change. He joins the scientists tracking the decline of insect populations across the globe, including the soaring mountains of Mexico that host an epic, yet dwindling, migration of monarch butterflies; the verdant countryside of England that has been emptied of insect life; the gargantuan fields of U.S. agriculture that have proved a killing ground for bees; and an offbeat experiment in Denmark that shows there aren’t that many bugs splattering into your car windshield these days. These losses not only further tear at the tapestry of life on our degraded planet; they imperil everything we hold dear, from the food on our supermarket shelves to the medicines in our cabinets to the riot of nature that thrills and enlivens us. Even insects we may dread, including the hated cockroach, or the stinging wasp, play crucial ecological roles, and their decline would profoundly shape our own story. By connecting butterfly and bee, moth and beetle from across the globe, the full scope of loss renders a portrait of a crisis that threatens to upend the workings of our collective history. Part warning, part celebration of the incredible variety of insects, The Insect Crisis is a wake-up call for us all.

Author: Arnold van Huis
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231166842
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Insects will be appearing on our store shelves, menus, and plates within the decade. In The Insect Cookbook, two entomologists and a chef make the case for insects as a sustainable source of protein for humans and a necessary part of our future diet. They provide consumers and chefs with the essential facts about insects for culinary use, with recipes simple enough to make at home yet boasting the international flair of the world’s most chic dishes. Insects are delicious and healthy. A large proportion of the world’s population eats them as a delicacy. In Mexico, roasted ants are considered a treat, and the Japanese adore wasps. Insects not only are a tasty and versatile ingredient in the kitchen, but also are full of protein. Furthermore, insect farming is much more sustainable than meat production. The Insect Cookbook contains delicious recipes; interviews with top chefs, insect farmers, political figures, and nutrition experts (including chef René Redzepi, whose establishment was elected three times as “best restaurant of the world”; Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations; and Daniella Martin of Girl Meets Bug); and all you want to know about cooking with insects, teaching twenty-first-century consumers where to buy insects, which ones are edible, and how to store and prepare them at home and in commercial spaces.

Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0744040507
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
Discover the amazing world of our cold-blooded friends in this book all about frogs and amphibians for kids. Embark on a fun, fact-filled dive into the world of frogs and amphibians with Everything You Need to Know About Frogs. Children will love to learn all the basics of reptile and amphibian anatomy in this beautiful and informative book on frogs. Packed with vibrant pictures and lots of fascinating facts, kids can enjoy learning all about a frog’s habitat and behavior. Discover how these amphibians survive in lakes and rivers, forests and deserts, and how these clever creatures have adapted to live in seemingly inhospitable habitats. Alongside, in between, and on top of all that, this riveting frog book also provides ideas for things to make, games to play, quizzes, and amazing facts to share with friends! Inside the pages of this frog book for children, you’ll find: A whole host of amphibians and reptiles including toads, snakes, lizards, salamanders, turtles, newts, tortoises and crocodiles. Close-ups, quizzes, and games with an exciting take on the amazing world of our cold-blooded friends. A look at these creatures from all angles – information on habitat and breeding habits, as well as oddities such as how to survive a crocodile’s attack, how a frog’s legs influenced Frankenstein, or how to play snakes and ladders. Children aged 7+ can learn all about frogs and amphibians from the very first page of this book, which combines little-known information with engaging text and an exciting design. Each page contains everything kids need to know, and everything they WANT to find out about frogs!. Complete the series This delightful frog book is part of the Everything You Need to Know series of educational books for children and also includes Everything You Need to Know About Snakes and Everything You Need to Know About Dinosaurs!

Author: Christina Latham-Koenig
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0194836428
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
American English File Second Edition retains the popular methodology developed by world-renowned authors Christina Latham-Koenig and Clive Oxenden: language + motivation = opportunity. With grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation practice in every lesson, students are equipped with a solid foundation for successful speaking. Plus - an array of digital resources provides even more choice and flexibility. Students can learn in the classroom or on the move with Online Practice. language assessment. The first goal is to explore the difference between fairness and justice in language assessment. The authors distinguish internal and external dimensions of the equitable and just treatment of individuals taking language tests which are used as gatekeeping devices to determine access to education and employment, immigrant status, citizenship, and other rights. The second goal is to show how the extent of test fairness can be demonstrated and improved using the tools of psychometrics, in particular the models collectively known as Rasch measurement. “This book will have an enormous impact on the field of language assessment. Using Rasch analysis models to explore and identify sources of unfairness, the authors make a compelling case for fairness in the design and implementation of language assessment instruments and for justice in the interpretation and use of test results. A real strength of the book is that it guides readers through analytical techniques in an accessible way.” Dan Douglas, Professor Emeritus, Applied Linguistics Program, Iowa State University.

Author: Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1982112875
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
An enthusiastic, witty, and informative introduction to the world of insects and why we—and the planet we inhabit—could not survive without them. Insects comprise roughly half of the animal kingdom. They live everywhere—deep inside caves, 18,000 feet high in the Himalayas, inside computers, in Yellowstone’s hot springs, and in the ears and nostrils of much larger creatures. There are insects that have ears on their knees, eyes on their penises, and tongues under their feet. Most of us think life would be better without bugs. In fact, life would be impossible without them. Most of us know that we would not have honey without honeybees, but without the pinhead-sized chocolate midge, cocoa flowers would not pollinate. No cocoa, no chocolate. The ink that was used to write the Declaration of Independence was derived from galls on oak trees, which are induced by a small wasp. The fruit fly was essential to medical and biological research experiments that resulted in six Nobel prizes. Blowfly larva can clean difficult wounds; flour beetle larva can digest plastic; several species of insects have been essential to the development of antibiotics. Insects turn dead plants and animals into soil. They pollinate flowers, including crops that we depend on. They provide food for other animals, such as birds and bats. They control organisms that are harmful to humans. Life as we know it depends on these small creatures. With ecologist Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson as our capable, entertaining guide into the insect world, we’ll learn that there is more variety among insects than we can even imagine and the more you learn about insects, the more fascinating they become. Buzz, Sting, Bite is an essential introduction to the little creatures that make the world go round.