biogeography

Book review – Full Fathom 5000: The Expedition of HMS Challenger and the Strange Animals It Found in the Deep Sea

8-minute read
keywords: history of science, marine biology, oceanography

The 1872–1876 expedition of HMS Challenger invented the science of oceanography. I previously discussed this remarkable voyage in my review of Doug Macdougall’s Endless Novelties of Extraordinary Interest. Since that book nourished but did not yet sate my curiosity, I vowed to read Full Fathom 5000, a promise I am making good on here. Focusing on the wondrous animals the expedition brought up from the deep, this engagingly written book provides a welcome additional angle.

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Book review – Radical by Nature: The Revolutionary Life of Alfred Russel Wallace

10-minute read
keywords: evolutionary biology, history of science

The year 2023 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Victorian naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. Best remembered as the father of biogeography, and only relatively recently pulled out of Darwin’s shadow as co-discoverer of the principle of natural selection, he was an all-round fascinating person. I have long wanted to read more about him. Evolutionary biologist, entomologist, and Darwin and Wallace scholar James T. Costa gives an in-depth, intimate, and updated story of his life. This first of three reviews will prepare me for a descent down the rabbit hole on how two scholars independently hit on the mechanism driving evolution.

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Book review – Cave Biodiversity: Speciation and Diversity of Subterranean Fauna

8-minute read
keywords: biodiversity, ecology, evolutionary biology

The deep sea is often mentioned as one of the last remaining unexplored areas on the planet, but there is another, closely related world: the subterranean realm of caves. Edited by cave ecologist J. Judson Wynne, Cave Biodiversity brings together fifteen experts in biospeleology to discuss several notable invertebrate and vertebrate groups. A scholarly yet readable overview, this is a welcome addition to the small number of books on this topic.

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Book review – Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid: How the Natural World is Adapting to Climate Change

7-minute read
keywords: climate change, ecology, popular science

If you had asked me last week how animals and plants will respond to climate change, I probably would have told you that they are expected to move towards the poles, shifting their home ranges as temperatures rise. This is indeed one possible response, but the challenges and opportunities for organisms are far more diverse and unpredictable. Biologist Thor Hanson has previously written much-praised books on feathers, seeds, and bees. Here, he gives a well-structured and terribly interesting whistle-stop tour of the nascent field of climate change biology and some of the fascinating research that is underway.

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Book review – A Natural History of the Future: What the Laws of Biology Tell Us About the Destiny of the Human Species

7-minute read
keywords: conservation biology, ecology, evolutionary biology

When considering environmental issues, the usual rallying cry is that of “saving the planet”. Rarely do people acknowledge that, rather, it is us who need saving from ourselves. We have appropriated ever-larger parts of Earth for our use while trying to separate ourselves from it, ensconced in cities. But we cannot keep the forces of life at bay forever. In A Natural History of the Future, ecologist and evolutionary biologist Rob Dunn considers some of the rules and laws that underlie biology to ask what is in store for us as a species, and how we might survive without destroying the very fabric on which we depend.

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Book review – The Earth: A Biography of Life

6-minute read
keywords: paleontology, popular science

I have previously jokingly called the “Earth biography” a rite of passage for science writers; many authors try their hand at it at some point. Fortunately, the Earth is big and time is deep, so there are numerous ways to tell this story. Here, it is palaeontologist Elsa Panciroli’s turn. Next to many unusual examples by which to tell the story of life’s evolution, her writing stands out for correcting common misconceptions and for its inspired language.

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Book review – The Sloth Lemur’s Song: Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain Present

7-minute read
keywords: archeology, paleontology, wildlife conservation

Before reading this book, I admit that my knowledge of Madagascar was shamefully rudimentary: I knew its location on the world map, the name of its capital city, and that lemurs are part of its endemic fauna. Fortunately for me, anthropologist Alison Richard, backed by her five decades of research experience, has written a natural history book in the broadest sense of the word, encompassing geology, (palaeo)climatology, botany, zoology, conservation, and much else besides. She skillfully dismantles simplistic dichotomies and is particularly passionate about challenging the dominant conservation narrative that Madagascar was a forested paradise until humans arrived. The Sloth Lemur’s Song is revelatory in more than one way and I came away with a much deeper understanding of this remarkable island.

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Book review – Mammalian Paleoecology: Using the Past to Study the Present

7-minute read
keywords: paleontology

Scottish geologist Charles Lyell quipped that the present is the key to the past. To say that the reverse also holds is more than just circular reasoning. Felisa Smith, a professor in ecology and evolutionary biology, studies extinct mammals and applies this knowledge to the present. This book is a neatly crafted package that gives the reader all the required background knowledge, while its case studies make for fascinating reading. (Spoiler alert: packrat middens are my new favourite discovery.)

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Book review – The Incredible Journey of Plants

5-minute read
keywords: botany

Italian plant neurobiologist (yes, this is a thing) Stefano Mancuso previously impressed me with The Revolutionary Genius of Plants. With The Incredible Journey of Plants, he has written a captivating collection of vignettes around the subject of plant migration. We tend not to think of plants as moving creatures because they are rooted to the ground. But this, as Mancuso shows, is where we are mistaken.

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Book review – Scientist: E. O. Wilson: A Life in Nature

9-minute read
keywords: ecology, entomology, history of science

The recent loss of famous entomologist and brilliant mind Edward O. Wilson shook me. In an attempt to find some solace I turned to Richard Rhodes’s recent biography, published only a month before. I already had this lined up for review and was looking forward to it, but this must be the saddest possible reason to prioritise reading a book. Fortunately, I found a warm and respectfully written biography that, as the title suggests, focuses foremost on the scientific achievements of Wilson.

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