NEW IN

NATURE:

Marine Life

A Reef in Time
J.E.N. Veron
Veron presents the geological history of the Great Barrier Reef, the biology of coral reef ecosystems, and a primer on what we know about climate change. He concludes that most coral reefs will be dead from mass bleaching and irreversible acidification within the coming century unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed. If we don't have the political will to confront the plight of the world's reefs, he argues, current processes already in motion will become unstoppable, bringing on a mass extinction the world has not seen for 65 million years.
Paperback November 2009
The Urban Whale
Edited by Scott D. Kraus
Edited by Rosalind M. Rolland
In 1980 a group of scientists censusing marine mammals in the Bay of Fundy was astonished by the sight of 25 right whales. Until that time, scientists believed the North Atlantic right whale was extinct or nearly so. The sightings electrified the research community, spurring a quarter century of exploration, which is documented here. The authors present current knowledge about the biology and plight of right whales and offer hope for the eventual salvation of this endangered whale.
Paperback October 2009
Sharks and Rays of Australia
Peter R. Last
John D. Stevens

The waters around Australia, the world’s smallest continent, are home to the greatest diversity of sharks and rays on Earth. Fully 100 of these sea creatures (along with their little-known relatives, the chimaerids) have been named or described since the first edition of this book—the biggest revision of the Class Chondrichthyes since the time of Linneaus. This second edition of Sharks and Rays of Australia brings more than 300 of these species to life in newly commissioned, full-color illustrations.

Hardcover May 2009

See also: All Books in NATURE.