The ocean's menagerie : how earth's strangest creatures reshape the rules of life / Drew Harvell.
| Author/creator | Harvell, Drew, 1954- author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | New York, NY : Viking, [2025] |
| Description | xx, 260 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | The sponge's pharmacopeia -- The coral's castle -- The sea fan's ancient defenses -- The sea slug's sting -- The giant clam's light trick -- The octopus's shape shift -- The jellyfish's light show -- The sea star's sticky skin -- Epilogue: Spineless futures in a warming, acidic ocean. |
| Abstract | "Hundred-year-old giant clams, coral kingdoms the size and shape of cities, and jellyfish that glow in the dark: ocean invertebrates are among the oldest and most diverse organisms on earth, bending our rules of land-based biology. Although often overlooked, the spineless creatures of the deep contain 600 million years of adaptation to problems of disease, energy consumption, nutrition, and defense. In The Ocean's Menagerie, world-renowned marine ecologist Dr. Drew Harvell takes us from Hawaii to the Salish Sea, from St. Croix to Indonesia, to uncover the incredible underwater "superpowers" of spineless creatures: we meet corals many times stronger than steel or concrete, sponges who create potent chemical compounds to fight off disease, and sea stars that act as gardeners for coastlines, keeping all the other nearby species in perfect balance. As our planet changes fast, the biomedical, engineering, and energy innovations of these wonderous creatures hold ever more important secrets to our own survival. The Ocean's Menagerie is a tale of biological marvels, a story of a woman's passionate connection to a career in science, and a call to arms to protect the world's most ancient ecosystems"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-260). |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Harvell, C. Drew, 1954- Ancient menagerie New York : Viking, 2025 9780593654293 |
| LCCN | 2024022113 |
| ISBN | 9780593654286 hardcover |
| ISBN | 0593654285 hardcover |
| ISBN | electronic book |
| Stock number | Penguin Group USA, Attn: Order Processing 405 Murray Hill Pkwy, East Rutherford, NJ, USA, 07073-2136 SAN 201-3975 |