This book is the first user-friendly regional guide devoted to ants—the “little things that run the world.” Lavishly illustrated with more than 500 line drawings, 300-plus photographs, and regional distribution maps as composite illustrations for every species, this guide will introduce amateur and professional naturalists and biologists, teachers and students, and environmental managers and pest-control professionals to more than 140 ant species found in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. The detailed drawings and species descriptions, together with the high-magnification photographs, will allow anyone to identify and learn about ants and their diversity, ecology, life histories, and beauty. In addition, the book includes sections on collecting ants, ant ecology and evolution, natural history, and patterns of geographic distribution and diversity to help readers gain a greater understanding and appreciation of ants.

The first comprehensive natural history guide to the Connecticut River and its environs, with more than 750 illustrations The Connecticut River, New England's longest and most historic river, originates in northern New Hampshire and wends more than four hundred miles to Long Island Sound. It forms the border between Vermont and New Hampshire and widens significantly as it makes its way through Massachusetts and Connecticut. The Connecticut River Valley is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the eastern United States, and more than two million people live in the watershed. Renowned naturalist Patrick J. Lynch offers readers an expansive guide to this majestic region with more than 750 original maps, photographs, and illustrations. Organized around environments rather than particular locations, the book includes geological overviews and descriptions of common plants and animals. Lynch also explains the landscape's environmental history as well as the effects of centuries of human interventions and the growing fallout from climate change. This indispensable guide not only brings the Connecticut River's ecology and pivotal role in American history to life but instills a deeper appreciation for the river's diverse and abundant beauty.

Presents an illustrated field guide to the plants, wildlife, night sky, and natural environments of New England.

Ants are familiar to every naturalist, ecologist, entomologist, and pest control operator. The identification of the 233 species of Florida ants is technically difficult, and information on Florida ants is dispersed among hundreds of technical journal articles. This book uses detailed and beautiful scientific drawings for convenient identification. To most Florida biologists ants are currently the most inaccessible group of conspicuous and intrusive insects. This book solves the twin problems of ant identification and the extraordinary fragmentation of natural history information about Florida ants.

A richly illustrated natural history of ants, covering their diversity, ecology, anatomy, behavior, and more Plentiful and familiar, ants make up an estimated one-third of the world’s insect biomass and can be found in virtually every part of the globe, from rain forest canopies to city sidewalks. But their importance is about more than numbers: ants are fundamental species in a range of habitats and their interactions with plants, fungi, and other animals ensure the survival of many fragile and complex ecosystems. This beautifully illustrated book explores the extraordinary diversity of ants and offers insights into their elaborate social systems, investigating the key collective and competitive behaviors that operate within their varied colony structures. Featuring exceptional close-up photographs and clearly organized thematic chapters, the book covers anatomy, evolution, life cycle, ecology, and other important topics. Each chapter also features profiles of standout genera, chosen for their fascinating characteristics, including Leafcutter Ants, who build nests containing up to 7,000 chambers; Pugnacious Ants whose colonies can destroy populations of crabs within hours; and Honeypot Ants whose worker caste store food in their stomachs for other colony members to consume. Drawing on current research, Ants offers an inviting and accessible introduction to these remarkable insects. Includes more than 200 stunning color photographs, plus infographics and diagrams Presents full profiles of 42 iconic genera from across the world Features clearly structured thematic chapters

Never has there been a president less content to sit still behind a desk than Theodore Roosevelt. When we picture him, he's on horseback or standing at a cliff’s edge or dressed for safari. And Roosevelt was more than just an adventurer—he was also a naturalist and campaigner for conservation. His love of the outdoor world began at an early age and was driven by a need not to simply observe nature but to be actively involved in the outdoors—to be in the field. As Michael R. Canfield reveals in Theodore Roosevelt in the Field, throughout his life Roosevelt consistently took to the field as a naturalist, hunter, writer, soldier, and conservationist, and it is in the field where his passion for science and nature, his belief in the manly, “strenuous life,” and his drive for empire all came together. Drawing extensively on Roosevelt’s field notebooks, diaries, and letters, Canfield takes readers into the field on adventures alongside him. From Roosevelt’s early childhood observations of ants to his notes on ornithology as a teenager, Canfield shows how Roosevelt’s quest for knowledge coincided with his interest in the outdoors. We later travel to the Badlands, after the deaths of Roosevelt’s wife and mother, to understand his embrace of the rugged freedom of the ranch lifestyle and the Western wilderness. Finally, Canfield takes us to Africa and South America as we consider Roosevelt’s travels and writings after his presidency. Throughout, we see how the seemingly contradictory aspects of Roosevelt’s biography as a hunter and a naturalist are actually complementary traits of a man eager to directly understand and experience the environment around him. As our connection to the natural world seems to be more tenuous, Theodore Roosevelt in the Field offers the chance to reinvigorate our enjoyment of nature alongside one of history’s most bold and restlessly curious figures.

Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field, Second Edition provides a comprehensive manual on animal behavior lab activities. This new edition brings together basic research and methods, presenting applications and problem-solving techniques. It provides all the details to successfully run designed activities while also offering flexibility and ease in setup. The exercises in this volume address animal behavior at all levels, describing behavior, theory, application and communication. Each lab provides details on how to successfully run the activity while also offering flexibility to instructors. This is an important resource for students educators, researchers and practitioners who want to explore and study animal behavior. The field of animal behavior has changed dramatically in the past 15 - 20 years, including a greater use and availability of technology and statistical analysis. In addition, animal behavior has taken on a more applied role in the last decade, with a greater emphasis on conservation and applied behavior, hence the necessity for new resources on the topic. - Offers an up-to-date representation of animal behavior - Examines ethics and approvals for the study of vertebrate animals - Includes contributions from a large field of expertise in the Animal Behavior Society - Provides a flexible resource that can be used as a laboratory manual or in a flipped classroom setting

Beautifully illustrated and approachable, this is the only California-specific, statewide book devoted to all groups of insects. Completely revised for the first time in over 40 years, Field Guide to California Insects now includes over 600 insect species, each beautifully illustrated with color photographs. Engaging accounts focus on distinguishing features, remarkable aspects of biology, and geographical distribution in the state. An accessible and compact introduction to identifying, understanding, and appreciating these often unfamiliar and fascinating creatures, this guide covers insects that readers are likely to encounter in homes and natural areas, cities and suburbs, rural lands and wilderness. It also addresses exotic and invasive species and their impact on native plants and animals. Field Guide to California Insects remains the definitive portable reference and a captivating read for beginners as well as avid naturalists.

Every ecosystem is a complex organization of carefully mixed life forms; a dynamic and particularly sensible system. Consequently, their progressive decline may accelerate climate change and vice versa, influencing flora and fauna composition and distribution, resulting in the loss of biodiversity. Climate changes effects are the principal topics of this volume. Written by internationally renowned contributors, Biodiversity loss in a changing planet offers attractive study cases focused on biodiversity evaluations and provisions in several different ecosystems, analysing the current life condition of many life forms, and covering very different biogeographic zones of the planet.

The first volume devoted to anthropogenic effects on interactions between ants and flowering plants, considered major parts of terrestrial ecosystems.