Author: R. J. Leis Publisher: ISBN: 9780764348976 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Stromatolites are among the oldest fossils on earth, the only fossils giving evidence of the first 85% of the history of life on Earth. The Arrowhead region of Minnesota, location of some of the most ancient rocks on the planet, is home to a considerable number of stromatolites. This reference imparts a basic, non-technical account along with 636 beautiful images of these most ancient of Earthly collectibles. Covering a diverse variety of stromatolites and the geologic objects that can resemble them, this book is a delight for both stromatophiles, as well as people curious about the early Earth.
Author: Bruce L. Stinchcomb Publisher: Schiffer Publishing ISBN: 9780764343278 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Over 670 color photos reveal the Paleozoic plants that covered the earth from 500 to 260 million years ago, well before the dinosaurs roamed the world. These plants provide some of the earliest records to the greening of planet earth. They also make fascinating, very attractive fossils, which can be considered as "nature's artwork." The fossil record provides a window into the first "forests" of the Devonian Period, followed by the peculiar plants of the Lower Carboniferous. These plants, in turn, were followed by those of the Upper Carboniferous, abundant vegetation that is responsible for almost half of the planet's coal seams. Coal swamp vegetation is followed by the more sparse Permian floras, which preceded what was the earth's most profound extinction event. Marine plants also make their appearance in the world during this period, as do various puzzling fossil tracks and burrows previously thought to be marine plant fossils. This book is for all who are curious about the ancient earth.
Author: Bruce L. Stinchcomb Publisher: Schiffer Publishing ISBN: 9780764340307 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
In this second book on Paleozoic fossils, over 840 all new specimens from this period are provided, organized by biologic (taxonomic) position. It is a real eye candy feast for fossil enthusiasts. Come and explore the fossil evidence for a world that was ancient and long gone when the dinosaurs ruled the earth. Discover the sponges, archaeocyathids (reef builders), cnidaria, worms, brachiopods, bryozoans, mollusks, arthropods, echinoderms, and chordates that populated the oceans and inhabited the land from 535 to 235 million years ago. Much of the fossil record for this era reveals marine organisms in many forms, but this is also the period when clear evidence for plants and animals appears in hard rock. While the earth presents many natural barriers to the collecting of Paleozoic fossils, the author has overcome those barriers to present readers with a formidable collection.
Author: Rachel Sussman Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 022605764X Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 305
Book Description
The Oldest Living Things in the World is an epic journey through time and space. Over the past decade, artist Rachel Sussman has researched, worked with biologists, and traveled the world to photograph continuously living organisms that are 2,000 years old and older. Spanning from Antarctica to Greenland, the Mojave Desert to the Australian Outback, the result is a stunning and unique visual collection of ancient organisms unlike anything that has been created in the arts or sciences before, insightfully and accessibly narrated by Sussman along the way. Her work is both timeless and timely, and spans disciplines, continents, and millennia. It is underscored by an innate environmentalism and driven by Sussman’s relentless curiosity. She begins at “year zero,” and looks back from there, photographing the past in the present. These ancient individuals live on every continent and range from Greenlandic lichens that grow only one centimeter a century, to unique desert shrubs in Africa and South America, a predatory fungus in Oregon, Caribbean brain coral, to an 80,000-year-old colony of aspen in Utah. Sussman journeyed to Antarctica to photograph 5,500-year-old moss; Australia for stromatolites, primeval organisms tied to the oxygenation of the planet and the beginnings of life on Earth; and to Tasmania to capture a 43,600-year-old self-propagating shrub that’s the last individual of its kind. Her portraits reveal the living history of our planet—and what we stand to lose in the future. These ancient survivors have weathered millennia in some of the world’s most extreme environments, yet climate change and human encroachment have put many of them in danger. Two of her subjects have already met with untimely deaths by human hands. Alongside the photographs, Sussman relays fascinating – and sometimes harrowing – tales of her global adventures tracking down her subjects and shares insights from the scientists who research them. The oldest living things in the world are a record and celebration of the past, a call to action in the present, and a barometer of our future.
Author: Brian R. Chapman Publisher: Texas A&M University Press ISBN: 1623498600 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 191
Book Description
The roughly 24 million acres that make up the Edwards Plateau, commonly known as the Texas Hill Country, are characterized by rolling highlands, picturesque river canyons, and beautiful springtime wildflowers. Located in the heart of Texas, this region is home to hundreds of natural springs, thousands of limestone caves, and the famous Devil’s Sinkhole. Encompassing grasslands, savannas, and woodlands, the Edwards Plateau is a unique and diverse ecological haven. Beginning with the stories of how biologists and naturalists have defined the ecological areas of the great state of Texas over time, The Natural History of the Edwards Plateau explores the formation of the region more than a billion years ago, its diverse ecosystems, and the conservation efforts to keep those ecosystems intact and thriving. With detailed descriptions and vivid pictures of the flora, fauna, and geologic features that make this area so unique, the authors also explore the ways in which people have interacted with the ecosystems over time, from natural spring water used by San Antonio’s Pearl Brewing Company to the use of bats for gunpowder and bombing raids. In their exploration of the natural history, veteran ecologists Brian R. Chapman and Eric G. Bolen remain especially conscious of the conservation and management issues that affect the natural resources of the Edwards Plateau region, revealing their deep connection to the state. Bolstered by a glossary, further reading suggestions, and an appendix of scientific terms, this is an educational and essential guide for all Texans and environmental enthusiasts.
Author: Robert Bruce Publisher: Hampton Roads ISBN: 9781571746160 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
"Specific instructions on how to dream lucidly and consciously leave one's body. Describes various methods of achieving the out-of-body state and what to do once there"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Karen Latchana Kenney Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books (Tm) ISBN: 1512483729 Category : Juvenile Nonfiction Languages : en Pages : 108
Book Description
"Some creatures can outlive humans by centuries. Readers will learn about these extreme examples of longevity in the animal kingdom, how aging happens, and what genes help animals to live so long"--
Author: J. William Schopf Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 0691237573 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 404
Book Description
One of the greatest mysteries in reconstructing the history of life on Earth has been the apparent absence of fossils dating back more than 550 million years. We have long known that fossils of sophisticated marine life-forms existed at the dawn of the Cambrian Period, but until recently scientists had found no traces of Precambrian fossils. The quest to find such traces began in earnest in the mid-1960s and culminated in one dramatic moment in 1993 when William Schopf identified fossilized microorganisms three and a half billion years old. This startling find opened up a vast period of time--some eighty-five percent of Earth's history--to new research and new ideas about life's beginnings. In this book, William Schopf, a pioneer of modern paleobiology, tells for the first time the exciting and fascinating story of the origins and earliest evolution of life and how that story has been unearthed. Gracefully blending his personal story of discovery with the basics needed to understand the astonishing science he describes, Schopf has produced an introduction to paleobiology for the interested reader as well as a primer for beginning students in the field. He considers such questions as how did primitive bacteria, pond scum, evolve into the complex life-forms found at the beginning of the Cambrian Period? How do scientists identify ancient microbes and what do these tiny creatures tell us about the environment of the early Earth? (And, in a related chapter, Schopf discusses his role in the controversy that swirls around recent claims of fossils in the famed meteorite from Mars.) Like all great teachers, Schopf teaches the non-specialist enough about his subject along the way that we can easily follow his descriptions of the geology, biology, and chemistry behind these discoveries. Anyone interested in the intriguing questions of the origins of life on Earth and how those origins have been discovered will find this story the best place to start.
Author: Brian R. Chapman Publisher: Texas A&M University Press ISBN: 1623495733 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 752
Book Description
From two veteran ecologists comes a new and sweeping exploration of the natural history of Texas in all its biological diversity and geological variation. Few states, if any, can match Texas for its myriad species, past and present, and its many distinctive landscapes, from prairie grasslands and hardwood forests to coastal lagoons and desert mountains. Beginning with the stories of how biologists and naturalists have over time defined the ecological areas of this very big state, the authors visit each of the eleven regions, including the Texas coast. They describe the dominant flora and fauna of each, explain the defining geologic features, and highlight each region’s unique characteristics, such as carnivorous plants in the Piney Woods and returning black bears in the Trans-Pecos. Throughout, the authors remain especially conscious of the conservation and management issues affecting the natural resources of each region, revealing their deep affection for and knowledge about the state. Bolstered by a glossary, further reading suggestions, a description of state symbols, and an appendix of scientific names, this is an educational and essential volume for all Texans. ECOREGIONS Piney Woods Post Oak Savanna Blackland Prairies Cross Timbers and Prairies Rolling Plains Edwards Plateau High Plains Trans-Pecos South Texas Brushland Coastal Prairies Texas Gulf Coast
Author: Joseph Seckbach Publisher: Springer ISBN: 9789400732414 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 606
Book Description
This book provides information about microbial mats, from early fossils to modern mats located in marine and terrestrial environments. Microbial mats – layered biofilms containing different types of cells – are most complex systems in which representatives of various groups of organisms are found together. Among them are cyanobacteria and eukaryotic phototrophs, aerobic heterotrophic and chemoautotrophic bacteria, protozoa, anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria, and other types of microorganisms. These mats are perfect models for biogeochemical processes, such as the cycles of chemical elements, in which a variety of microorganisms cooperate and interact in complex ways. They are often found under extreme conditions and their study contributes to our understanding of extremophilic life. Moreover, microbial mats are models for Precambrian stromatolites; the study of modern microbial mats may provide information on the processes that may have occurred on Earth when prokaryotic life began to spread.
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Author: R. J. Leis
Author: Bruce L. Stinchcomb
Author: Bruce L. Stinchcomb
Author: Rachel Sussman
Author: Brian R. Chapman
Author: Robert Bruce
Author: Karen Latchana Kenney
Author: J. William Schopf
Author: Brian R. Chapman
Author: Joseph Seckbach