The island of Madagascar hosts a large number of frogs with at least 315 described species, and many others still to be named. Northern Madagascar is rich in species, due to the heterogeneity of landscapes, including a large number of habitat types a...

Land bridges are the causeways of biodiversity. When they form, organisms are introduced into a new patchwork of species and habitats, forever altering the ecosystems into which they flow; and when land bridges disappear or fracture, organisms are se...

A lyrical tribute to the diversity of trees, their physical beauty, their special characteristics and uses, and their ever-evolving meanings Since the beginnings of history trees have served humankind in countless useful ways, but our relationship wi...

If you are a morani (warrior), you have your spear at the ready – you could be the hero, but you will have to wait until the morning light before you can go out and prove yourself. If it is a lion, you want to be the first to spear it – and if the li...

When Richard Nixon signed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, eighty million acres were flagged as possible national park land. Field expeditions were tasked with recording what was contained in these vast acres. Under this decree, five...

From the moment when we first open our homes – and our hearts – to a new pet, we know that one day we will have to watch this beloved animal age and die. The pain of that eventual separation is the cruel corollary to the love we share with them, and...

Everything that lives will die. That's the fundamental fact of life. But not everyone dies at the same age: people vary wildly in their patterns of aging and their life spans – and that variation is nothing compared to what's found in other animal an...

In its essence, science is a way of looking at and thinking about the world. In "The Life of a Leaf", Steven Vogel illuminates this approach, using the humble leaf as a model. Whether plant or person, every organism must contend with its immediate ph...

The landscape of southwestern Wyoming around the ghost town of Fossil is beautiful but harsh; a dry, high mountain desert with cool nights and long, cold winters inhabited by a sparse mountain desert community. But during the early Eocene, more than...

This book is a comprehensive guide to the natural history of the North Slope, the only arctic tundra in the United States. The first section provides detailed information on climate, geology, landforms, and ecology. The second provides a guide to the...