Ebook186 pages2 hours
Plankton: Wonders of the Drifting World
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
Ask anyone to picture a bird or a fish and a series of clear images will immediately come to mind. Ask the same person to picture plankton and most would have a hard time conjuring anything beyond a vague squiggle or a greyish fleck. This book will change that forever.
Viewing these creatures up close for the first time can be a thrilling experience—an elaborate but hidden world truly opens up before your eyes. Through hundreds of close-up photographs, Plankton transports readers into the currents, where jeweled chains hang next to phosphorescent chandeliers, spidery claws jut out from sinuous bodies, and gelatinous barrels protect microscopic hearts. The creatures’ vibrant colors pop against the black pages, allowing readers to examine every eye and follow every tentacle. Jellyfish, tadpoles, and bacteria all find a place in the book, representing the broad scope of organisms dependent on drifting currents.
Christian Sardet’s enlightening text explains the biological underpinnings of each species while connecting them to the larger living world. He begins with plankton’s origins and history, then dives into each group, covering ctenophores and cnidarians, crustaceans and mollusks, and worms and tadpoles. He also demonstrates the indisputable impact of plankton in our lives. Plankton drift through our world mostly unseen, yet they are diverse organisms that form ninety-five percent of ocean life. Biologically, they are the foundation of the aquatic food web and consume as much carbon dioxide as land-based plants. Culturally, they have driven new industries and captured artists’ imaginations.
While scientists and entrepreneurs are just starting to tap the potential of this undersea forest, for most people these pages will represent uncharted waters. Plankton is a spectacular journey that will leave readers seeing the ocean in ways they never imagined.
Viewing these creatures up close for the first time can be a thrilling experience—an elaborate but hidden world truly opens up before your eyes. Through hundreds of close-up photographs, Plankton transports readers into the currents, where jeweled chains hang next to phosphorescent chandeliers, spidery claws jut out from sinuous bodies, and gelatinous barrels protect microscopic hearts. The creatures’ vibrant colors pop against the black pages, allowing readers to examine every eye and follow every tentacle. Jellyfish, tadpoles, and bacteria all find a place in the book, representing the broad scope of organisms dependent on drifting currents.
Christian Sardet’s enlightening text explains the biological underpinnings of each species while connecting them to the larger living world. He begins with plankton’s origins and history, then dives into each group, covering ctenophores and cnidarians, crustaceans and mollusks, and worms and tadpoles. He also demonstrates the indisputable impact of plankton in our lives. Plankton drift through our world mostly unseen, yet they are diverse organisms that form ninety-five percent of ocean life. Biologically, they are the foundation of the aquatic food web and consume as much carbon dioxide as land-based plants. Culturally, they have driven new industries and captured artists’ imaginations.
While scientists and entrepreneurs are just starting to tap the potential of this undersea forest, for most people these pages will represent uncharted waters. Plankton is a spectacular journey that will leave readers seeing the ocean in ways they never imagined.
Related to Plankton
Related ebooks
Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAt the Water's Edge: Fish with Fingers, Whales with Legs, and How Life Came Ashore but Then Went Back to Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Planet of the Bugs: Evolution and the Rise of Insects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World's Most Coveted Fish Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Life of Sharks: A Leading Marine Biologist Reveals the Mysteries o Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime: The Oceans' Oddest Creatures and Why They Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Flight of the Iguana: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extraordinary Insects: The Fabulous, Indispensable Creatures Who Run Our World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cambrian Ocean World: Ancient Sea Life of North America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Sea without Fish: Life in the Ordovician Sea of the Cincinnati Region Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sea Otter Conservation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDarwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plastic Pollution and Marine Conservation: Approaches to Protect Biodiversity and Marine Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Survivors: The Animals and Plants that Time has Left Behind (Text Only) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea's Biodiversity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Freshwater Ecology: Concepts and Environmental Applications Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Re-Origin of Species: a second chance for extinct animals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Extreme Life of the Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Biology and Ecology of Giant Kelp Forests Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Marine World: A Natural History of Ocean Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe World Is Blue Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Revolutionary Genius of Plants: A New Understanding of Plant Intelligence and Behavior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Science & Mathematics For You
The Big Book of Hacks: 264 Amazing DIY Tech Projects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Letter to Liberals: Censorship and COVID: An Attack on Science and American Ideals Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Gulag Archipelago: The Authorized Abridgement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Stone Unturned: The True Story of the World's Premier Forensic Investigators Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential--and Endangered Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/518 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters--And How to Get It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lies My Gov't Told Me: And the Better Future Coming Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Suicidal: Why We Kill Ourselves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Systems Thinker: Essential Thinking Skills For Solving Problems, Managing Chaos, Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work - and Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunt for the Skinwalker: Science Confronts the Unexplained at a Remote Ranch in Utah Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/52084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oppenheimer: The Tragic Intellect Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Free Will Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Plankton
Rating: 4.45 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
10 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Plankton - Christian Sardet
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1