B1 Noteworthy Books 2013 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 20, No. 3 Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast: A Field Guide. Peter Del Tredici. 2010. Cornell University Press, Ithica, NY. 392 pp. $29.95, softcover. ISBN 9780801474583. Characterized by an abundance of pavement, reflected heat, polluted air, and contaminated soil, our cities and towns may seem harsh and unwelcoming to vegetation. However, there are a number of plants that manage to grow spontaneously in sidewalk cracks and roadside meridians, flourish along chainlink fences and railroad tracks, line the banks of streams and rivers, and emerge in the midst of landscape plantings and trampled lawns. On their own and free of charge, these plants provide ecological services including temperature reduction, oxygen production, carbon storage, food and habitat for wildlife, pollution mitigation, and erosion control on slopes. Around the world, wild plants help to make urban environments more habitable for people. Peter Del Tredici’s lushly illustrated field guide to wild urban plants of the northeastern United States is the first of its kind. While it covers the area bounded by Montreal, Boston, Washington, DC, and Detroit, it is broadly applicable to temperate urban environments across North America. The book covers 222 species that flourish without human assistance or approval. Rather than vilifying such plants as weeds, Del Tredici stresses that it is important to notice, recognize, and appreciate their contribution to the quality of urban life. Indeed their very toughness in the face of heat islands, elevated levels of carbon dioxide, and ubiquitous contamination is indicative of the important role they have to play in helping humans adapt to the challenges presented by urbanization, globalization, and climate change. The species accounts—158 main entries plus 64 secondary species—feature descriptive information including scientific name and taxonomic authority, common names, botanical family, life form, place of origin, and identification features. Del Tredici focuses especially on their habitat preferences, environmental functions, and cultural significance. Each entry is accompanied by original full-color photographs by the author which show the plants’ characteristics and growth forms in their typical habitats. Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast will help readers learn to see these plants—the natural vegetation of the urban environment—with fresh appreciation and understanding. Weeds of the Northeast. Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal, and Joseph M. Ditomaso. 1997. Cornell University Press, Ithica, NY. 408 pp. $29.95, softcover. ISBN 9780801483349. Here, at last, is a lavishly illustrated manual for ready identification of 299 common and economically important weeds in the region south to Virginia, north to Maine and southern Canada, and west to Wisconsin. Based on vegetative rather than floral characteristics, this practical guide gives anyone who works with plants the ability to identify weeds before they flower. A dichotomous key to all the species described in the book is designed to narrow the choices to a few possible species. Identification can then be confirmed by reading the descriptions of the species and comparing a specimen with the drawings and photographs. A fold-out grass identification table provides diagnostic information for weedy grasses in an easy-to-use tabular key. Specimens with unusual vegetative characteristics, such as thorns, square stems, whorled leaves, or milky sap, can be rapidly identified using the shortcut identification table. The first comprehensive weed identification manual available for the Northeast, this book will facilitate appropriate weed management strategy in any horticultural or agronomic cropping system and will also serve home gardeners and landscape managers, as well as pest management specialists and allergists. The Eagle Watchers: Observing and Conserving Raptors around the World. Ruth E. Tingay and Todd E. Katzner. 2010. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. 264 pp. $29.95, hardcover. ISBN 9780801448737. Eagles have fascinated humans for millennia. For some, the glimpse of a distant eagle instantly becomes a treasured lifelong memory. Others may never encounter a wild eagle in their lifetime. This book was written by people who have dedicated years to the study of eagles, to provide an insider’s view for all readers, but especially those who have never been up close and personal with these magnificent yet often misunderstood creatures. In their stories, twenty-nine leading eagle researchers share their remarkable field experiences, providing personal narratives that don’t feature in their scientific publications. They tell of their fear at being stalked by Grizzly Bears, their surprise at being followed by the secret police, their embarrassment when accidentally firing mortar rockets over a school gymnasium, Noteworthy Books Received by the Northeastern Naturalist, Issue 20/3, 2012 Noteworthy Books 2013 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 20, No. 3 B2 and their sense of awe at tracking eagles via satellite. The reader experiences the cultural shock of being guest of honor at a circumcision ceremony, the absurdity of sharing an aquatic car with the Khmer Rouge, and the sense of foreboding at being press-ganged into a frenzied tribal death march through the jungle. The Eagle Watchers covers twenty-four species on six continents, from well known (Bald Eagle; Golden Eagle), to obscure (Black-and-chestnut Eagle; New Guinea Harpy Eagle), and from common (African Fish Eagle) to critically endangered (Philippine Eagle; Madagascar Fish Eagle). The diverse experiences vividly described in this book reveal the passion, dedication, and sense of adventure shared by those who study these majestic birds and strive for their conservation. Featuring stunning color photographs of the eagles, information on raptor conservation, a global list of all eagle species with ranges and conservation status, and a color map of the sites visited in the book, The Eagle Watchers will appeal to birders, conservationists, and adventure travelers alike. To further support the conservation programs described in this book, all royalties are being donated to two leading nonprofit organizations for raptor conservation training and fieldwork: Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Intern Program and the National Birds of Prey Trust. Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States. John L. Capinera, Ralph D. Scott, and Thomas J. Walker. 2004. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. 280 pp. $29.95, softcover. ISBN 9780801489488. In much of North America, crickets and katydids provide the soundtrack to summer nights, and grasshoppers frequent the fields and roadsides of midsummer days. Although insects from this group have long been the bane of those who make their living from the land, grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets are themselves crucial food sources for many species of birds, reptiles and amphibians, and other creatures. Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States introduces readers to the biology, behavior, and ecological significance of one of the most obvious (abundant, large, and colorful) and important (ecologically and economically significant) insect groups in North America, the order Orthoptera. A simple, illustrated identification guide assists the reader in distinguishing among the various groups and narrows down the options to expedite identification. The book treats more than a third of the species found in the United States and Canada in brief, easy-to-understand sections that provide information on distribution, identification, ecology, and similar species. Distribution maps accompany each profile, and 206 species are pictured in color. Black-and-white drawings highlight distinguishing characteristics of some of the more difficult-to-identify species. This is the first treatment of North American grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets to portray the insects in full color, and it will be the first time many amateur naturalists and students have the opportunity to see the amazing and colorful world of Orthoptera, because many are cryptically colored (their bright colors evident only in flight) or cryptic in behavior (nocturnal in their habits). John L. Capinera, Ralph D. Scott, and Thomas J. Walker designed their book for amateur naturalists who wish to know the local fauna, for students who seek to identify insects as part of entomology and natural history courses, and for professional biologists who need to identify invertebrates. This invaluable field guide will be a useful supplement for laboratory and field activities and a reference for classrooms at every level. The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change. Philip Conkling, Richard Alley, Wallace Broecker, and George Denton. 2011. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 232 pp. $29.95, hardcover. ISBN 9780262015646. Viewed from above, Greenland offers an endless vista of whiteness interrupted only by scattered ponds of azure-colored melt water. Ninety percent of Greenland is covered by ice; its ice sheet, the largest outside Antarctica, stretches almost 1000 miles from north to south and 600 miles from east to west. But this stark view of ice and snow is changing—and changing rapidly. Greenland’s ice sheet is melting; the dazzling, photogenic display of icebergs breaking off Greenland’s rapidly melting glaciers has become a tourist attraction. The Fate of Greenland documents Greenland’s warming with dramatic color photographs and investigates Greenland’s climate history for clues about what happens when climate change is abrupt rather than gradual. Geological evidence suggests that Greenland has already been affected by two dramatic changes in climate: the Medieval Warm Period, when warm temperatures in Northern Europe enabled Norse exploration and settlements in Greenland; and the Little Ice Age that B3 Noteworthy Books 2013 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 20, No. 3 followed and apparently wiped out the settlements. Greenland’s climate past and present could presage our climate future. Abrupt climate change would be cataclysmic: the melting of Greenland's ice shelf would cause sea levels to rise twenty-four feet worldwide; lower Manhattan would be underwater and Florida’s coastline would recede to Orlando. The planet appears to be in a period of acute climate instability, exacerbated by carbon dioxide we pour into the atmosphere. As this book makes clear, it is in all of our interests to pay attention to Greenland. A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming. Paul N. Edwards. 2010. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 552 pp. $27.95, softcover. ISBN 9780262518635. Global-warming skeptics often fall back on the argument that the scientific case for global warming is all model predictions, nothing but simulation; they warn us that we need to wait for real data, “sound science”. In A Vast Machine Paul Edwards has news for these skeptics: without models, there are no data. Today, no collection of signals or observations—even from satellites, which can “see” the whole planet with a single instrument— becomes global in time and space without passing through a series of data models. Everything we know about the world’s climate we know through models. Edwards offers an engaging and innovative history of how scientists learned to understand the atmosphere—to measure it, trace its past, and model its future. Edwards argues that all our knowledge about climate change comes from three kinds of computer models: simulation models of weather and climate; reanalysis models, which recreate climate history from historical weather data; and data models, used to combine and adjust measurements from many different sources. Meteorology creates knowledge through an infrastructure (weather stations and other data platforms) that covers the whole world, making global data. This infrastructure generates information so vast in quantity and so diverse in quality and form that it can be understood only by computer analysis—making data global. Edwards describes the science behind the scientific consensus on climate change, arguing that over the years data and models have converged to create a stable, reliable, and trustworthy basis for establishing the reality of global warming. The Rediscovery of the Wild. Peter H. Kahn, Jr. and Patricia H. Hasbach (Eds.). 2013. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 280 pp. $25.00, softcover. ISBN 9780262518338. We often enjoy the benefits of connecting with nearby, domesticated nature—a city park, a backyard garden. But this book makes the provocative case for the necessity of connecting with wild nature—untamed, unmanaged, not encompassed, self-organizing, and unencumbered and unmediated by technological artifice. We can love the wild. We can fear it. We are strengthened and nurtured by it. As a species, we came of age in a natural world far wilder than today’s, and much of the need for wildness still exists within us, body and mind. The Rediscovery of the Wild considers ways to engage with the wild, protect it, and recover it—for our psychological and physical well-being and to flourish as a species. The contributors offer a range of perspectives on the wild, discussing such topics as the evolutionary underpinnings of our need for the wild; the wild within, including the primal passions of sexuality and aggression; birding as a portal to wildness; children’s fascination with wild animals; wildness and psychological healing; the shifting baseline of what we consider wild; and the true work of conservation. Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature. Vaclav Smil. 2012. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 312 pp. $19.95, hardcover. ISBN 9780262018562. The biosphere— the Earth’s thin layer of life—dates from nearly four billion years ago, when the first simple organisms appeared. Many species have exerted enormous influence on the biosphere’s character and productivity, but none has transformed the Earth in so many ways and on such a scale as Homo sapiens. In Harvesting the Biosphere, Vaclav Smil offers an interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere’s stores of living matter, from prehistory to the present day. Smil examines all harvests—from prehistoric man’s hunting of megafauna to modern crop production—and all uses of harvested biomass, including energy, food, and raw materials. Without harvesting of the biomass, Smil points out, there would be no story of human evolution and advancing civilization; but at the same time, the increasing extent and intensity of present-day biomass harvests are changing the very foundations of civilization’s well-being. In his detailed and Noteworthy Books 2013 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 20, No. 3 B4 comprehensive account, Smil presents the best possible quantifications of past and current global losses in order to assess the evolution and extent of biomass harvests. Drawing on the latest work in disciplines ranging from anthropology to environmental science, Smil offers a valuable long-term, planet-wide perspective on human-caused environmental change. Saving Global Fisheries: Reducing Fishing Capacity to Promote Sustainability. J. Samuel Barkin and Elizabeth R. DeSombre. 2013. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. 288 pp. $29.00, hardcover. ISBN 9780262018647. The Earth’s oceans are overfished, despite more than fifty years of cooperation among the world’s fishing nations. There are too many boats chasing too few fish. In Saving Global Fisheries, J. Samuel Barkin and Elizabeth DeSombre analyze the problem of overfishing and offer a provocative proposal for a global regulatory and policy approach. Existing patterns of international fisheries management try to limit the number of fish that can be caught while governments simultaneously subsidize increased fishing capacity, focusing on fisheries as an industry to be developed rather than on fish as a resource to be conserved. Regionally based international management means that protection in one area simply shifts fishing efforts to other species or regions. Barkin and DeSombre argue that global rather than regional regulation is necessary for successful fisheries management and emphasize the need to reduce subsidies. They propose an international system of individual transferable quotas that would give holders of permits an interest in the long-term health of fish stocks and help create a sustainable level of fishing capacity globally. Life Along the Delaware Bay: Cape May, Gateway to a Million Shorebirds. Lawrence Niles, Joanna Burger, and Amanda Dey. 2012. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ. 176 pp. $32.95, hardcover. ISBN 9780813552460. The Delaware Bay is the second largest and most diverse bay on the East Coast. It has a rich cultural history, has played an important role in the region’s commerce and tourism, and has spectacular and vital natural resources. Birdwatchers gather along its shores to watch the spectacle of thousands of spawning Horseshoe Crabs, the dense flocks of migrant shorebirds, the fall hawk migration, and the huge migration of Monarch Butterflies. Life Along the Delaware Bay focuses on the area as an ecosystem, the Horseshoe Crab as a keystone species within that system, and the crucial role that the bay plays in the migratory ecology of shorebirds. An abundance of horseshoe crabs spawning on the Delaware Bay beaches results in an abundance of eggs brought to the surface, providing a source of high-quality food and bringing hundreds of thousands of shorebirds to the bay to forage in late May and early June. A dramatic decline in Horseshoe Crabs has resulted in a rapid and dramatic decline in birds, particularly the Red Knot. This decline has sounded an alarm throughout the world, prompting a host of biologists to converge on the bay each spring, to understand the biology and conservation of Red Knots and other shorebirds. Lawrence Niles, Joanna Burger, and Amanda Dey examine current efforts to protect the bay and identify new efforts that must take place to ensure it remains an intact ecological system. Over three hundred stunning color photographs and maps capture the beauty and majesty of this unique treasure—one that must be protected today and for generations to come. Prairie Directory of North America: The United States, Canada, and Mexico, Second Edition. Charlotte Adelman and Bernard Schwartz. 2013. Oxford University Press, New York, NY. 688 pp. $49.95, softcover. ISBN 9780195366952. The first single, comprehensive source for locating North American public prairies, grasslands, and savannas, Prairie Directory of North America is a guide unlike any other. First published in 2001, the book uniquely catalogs the continent’s most well-known prairie sites by country and state for easy reference. With the addition of over three hundred newly located, preserved, or restored sites, the second edition is the prairie enthusiast’s ideal guide to locating countless North American sites—from the well-documented to the remote. Readers can use the guide to plan both convenient visits to close-to-home prairies and journeys to sites well across the continent. Also included is an expanded state-by-state index, ideal for locating specific prairies in any given state. The victim of destructive plowing and construction at the hands of European settlers, North American grassland ecosystems that once spanned the entire continent have suffered degradation and fragmentation. With the Prairie Directory as a B5 Noteworthy Books 2013 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 20, No. 3 guide, however, ecologists, environmental scientists, and tourists can experience the essence of this ancient ecosystem and, in some locations, even its vastness. The book lists tiny, hidden half-acre prairies spared by the plow as well as popular sites covering millions of acres. It documents prairies hidden deep in forests or in plain sight in American Indian reservations. The only one of its kind, this book will allow readers to experience the prairie as a colorful, fragrant, wildlife-rich North American landscape. Shipwreck at Cape Flora: The Expeditions of Benjamin Leigh Smith, England’s Forgotten Arctic Explorer. P.J. Capelotti. 2013. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, AB. 300 pp. $41.95, softcover. ISBN 9781552387054. Benjamin Leigh Smith discovered and named dozens of islands in the Arctic but published no account of his pioneering explorations. He refused public accolades and sent stand-ins to deliver the results of his work to scientific societies. Yet, the Royal Geographic Society's Sir Clements R. Markham referred to him as a polar explorer of the first rank. Traveling to the Arctic islands that Leigh Smith explored and crisscrossing England to uncover unpublished journals, diaries, and photographs, archaeologist and writer P.J. Capelotti details Leigh Smith’s five major Arctic expeditions and places them within the context of the great polar explorations in the nineteenth century. Fragile Web What Next for Nature? Jonathan Silvertown (Ed.). 2010. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. 192 pp. $25.00, softcover. 9780226757810. Biodiversity is as close as your breakfast table. Your cereal and coffee are the products of at least a dozen species of plants and animals. And believe it or not, you are related to your morning meal—all life on earth is descended from a common ancestor, giving new meaning to the old saying “You are what you eat.” Making clear why the future of biodiversity matters, Fragile Web—which takes its name from the delicate mechanism that holds all life together—unites a team of international experts to explore the wonder of the natural world. Drawing on the very latest research, the book explains what biodiversity is and explores its evolution, from 3.5 billion years ago to the present day. It discusses the importance of the world’s ecosystems and how directly or indirectly humans are responsible for the fate of nature. Crucially, it also examines what can be done to protect the natural world and why it matters. Although we cannot undo all that we have done, ignoring the current crisis facing biodiversity could fundamentally change the lives of future generations. Fully illustrated with color photographs, diagrams, and maps, and edited by celebrated ecologist Jonathan Silvertown, this book is a timely snapshot of the state of life on Earth. From the plant and animal products that make up our breakfast to the ecosystems that help to produce clean water, our very survival depends upon the variety of plant and animal life on our planet. The year 2010 has been declared by the United Nations the “International Year of Biodiversity”, and Fragile Web will be an essential guidebook for our time. Major Evolutionary Transitions in Flowering Plant Reproduction. Spencer C.H. Barrett (Editor). 2008. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. 216 pp. $32.50, softcover. ISBN 9780226038162. The first volume to address the study of evolutionary transitions in plants, Major Evolutionary Transitions in Flowering Plant Reproduction brings together compelling work from the three areas of significant innova - tion in plant biology: evolution and adaptation in flowers and pollination, mating patterns and gender strategies, and asexual reproduction and polyploidy. Spencer C.H. Barrett assembles here a distinguished group of authors who address evolutionary transitions using comparative and phylogenetic approaches, the tools of genomics, population genetics, and theoretical modeling, and through studies in development and field experiments in ecology. With special focus on evolutionary transitions and shifts in reproductive characters—key elements of biological diversification and research in evolutionary biology—Major Evolutionary Transitions in Flowering Plant Reproduction is the most up-to-date treatment of a fast-moving area of evolutionary biology and ecology. The Genus Betula: A Taxonomic Revision of Birches. Kenneth Ashburner and Hugh A. McAllister. 2013. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. 300 pp. $112, hardcover. ISBN 9781842461419. The stunning Betula, or birch trees, are notoriously difficult to identify despite being one of the major contributors to the beautiful fall foliage famous in eastern North America. With many wrongly named birches Noteworthy Books 2013 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 20, No. 3 B6 appearing in nurseries and arboreta, this new book, the first ever written on the genus, is an important and much-needed work. The Genus Betula covers all known birches found in North America, Europe, and Asia, along with keys for accurate identification. Chapters include a look at the breeding, cultivation, conservation, and morphology of all species, including several little-known species wonderful for garden and landscape use. The authors present previously unpublished data on recent molecular work and fossils, providing a cytotaxonomic and phylogeographic revision of the Betula genus. The book is accompanied by exquisite specimens of botanical art, including full-color paintings by Josephine Hague, making it a valuable tool for arboriculturists as well as professional and amateur gardeners. The Myth of Progress. Tom Wessels. 2013. University Press of New England. 176 pp. $22.95, hardcover. ISBN 9781611684162. In this compelling and cogently argued book, Tom Wessels demonstrates how our current path toward progress, based on continual economic expansion and inefficient use of resources, runs absolutely contrary to three foundational scientific laws that govern all complex natural systems. It is a myth, he contends, that progress depends on a growing economy. Wessels explains his theory with his three laws of sustainability: (1) the law of limits to growth, (2) the second law of thermodynamics, which exposes the dangers of increased energy consumption, and (3) the law of self-organization, which results in the marvelous diversity of such highly evolved systems as the human body and complex ecosystems. These laws, scientifically proven to sustain life in its myriad forms, have been cast aside since the eighteenth century, first by Western economists, political pragmatists, and governments attracted by the idea of unlimited growth, and more recently by a global economy dominated by large corporations, in which consolidation and oversimplification create large-scale inefficiencies in both material and energy usage. Wessels makes scientific theory readily accessible by offering examples of how the laws of sustainability function in the complex systems we can observe in the natural world around us. He shows how systems such as forests can be templates for developing sustainable economic practices that will allow true progress. Demonstrating that all environmental problems have their source in a disregard for the laws of sustainability that is based on the myth of progress, he concludes with an impassioned argument for cultural change. Kentucky’s Natural Heritage: An Illustrated Guide to Biodiversity. Greg Abernathy, Deborah White, Ellis L. Laudermilk, and Marc Evans. 2010. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. 200 pp. $39.95, hardcover. ISBN 9780813125756. Kentucky’s abundance of plant and animal life, from the bottomland swamps in the west to the rich Appalachian forests in the east, is extraordinary as well as beautiful. Glades, prairies, forests, wetlands, rivers, and caves form a biologically diverse patchwork that is unique to the state. Kentucky’s Natural Heritage: An Illustrated Guide to Biodiversity provides an essential reference to the remarkable natural history of the commonwealth and is a rallying call for the conservation of this priceless legacy. Kentucky’s ecosystems teem with diverse native species, some of which are found nowhere else in the world. Kentucky's Natural Heritage brings these sometimes elusive creatures into close view, from Black-throated Green Warblers to Lizard SkinLiverworts. The aquatic systems of the state are home to Rainbow Darters, Ghost Crayfish, Salamander Mussels, and an impressive array of other species that constitute some of the greatest levels of freshwater diversity on the planet. Kentucky's Natural Heritage presents a persuasive argument for conservation of the state’s biodiversity. Organized by a team from the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, the book is an outgrowth of the agency’s focus on biodiversity protection. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees, Second Edition. David More and John White. 2013. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 832 pp. $49.95, hardcover. ISBN 9780691158235. Popular, award-winning, and unrivaled for its coverage and beauty, this is a magnificent illustrated guide to nearly 2000 tree species and cultivars found in North America and Europe. David More spent over a decade painting these illustrations from real specimens, and fellow tree expert John White’s informative text describes key facts about each. The result is an extraordinary reference that will continue to be prized by nature enthusiasts, gardeners, landscapers, and foresters. B7 Noteworthy Books 2013 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 20, No. 3 The Warbler Guide. Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle. 2013. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 560 pp. $29,95, softcover. ISBN 9780691154824. Warblers are among the most challenging birds to identify. They exhibit an array of seasonal plumages and have distinctive yet oft-confused calls and songs. The Warbler Guide enables you to quickly identify any of the 56 species of warblers in the United States and Canada. This groundbreaking guide features more than 1000 stunning color photos, extensive species accounts with multiple viewing angles, and an entirely new system of vocalization analysis that helps you effectively learn songs and calls. The Warbler Guide revolutionizes birdwatching, making warbler identification easier than ever before. Wetland Landscape Characterization: Practical Tools, Methods, and Approaches for Landscape Ecology, Second Edition. Ricardo D. Lopez, Debra K. Lopez, John G. Lyon and Lynn K. Lyon. 2013. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 308 pp. $139.95, hardcover. ISBN 9781466503762. Wetlands are, by their very nature, ephemeral and transitional, which makes them challenging to characterize. Yet the need for characterizing wetlands continues to grow, particularly as we develop a better understanding of the wealth of ecosystem services that they provide. Wetland Landscape Characterization: Practical Tools, Methods, and Approaches for Landscape Ecology shows how wetland characterization tools, methods, and approaches can be integrated to more effectively address twentyfirst- century wetland issues. The book explains how to locate, identify, and map the extent of wetlands to learn more about their importance to society and the larger landscape. It examines jurisdictional, regulatory, and practical applications from the scientific, engineering, and lay perspectives. Fully updated, the second edition reflects an emerging infrastructural, ecosystem goods-and-services perspective to better assist readers who may encounter these concepts and challenges as they assess and characterize wetlands. Examples and case studies illustrate a variety of situations and solutions, highlighting the use of current techniques to assess, inventory, and monitor natural resources under changing conditions. These examples offer lessons and ideas for the issues encountered every day by wetland landscape ecology practitioners. The book also refers readers to additional resources to help them solve specific challenges. Insects and Sustainability of Ecosystem Services. Timothy D. Schowalter. 2013. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 362 pp. $99.95, hardcover. ISBN 9781466553903. With few exceptions, insects are perceived in industrialized countries as undesirable pests. In reality, relatively few insects interfere with us or our resources. Most have benign or positive effects on ecosystem services, and many represent useful resources in non-industrialized countries. Challenging traditional perceptions of the value of insects, Insects and Sustainability of Ecosystem Services explores the ways insects affect the ecosystem services we depend upon. It also fosters an appreciation for the amazing diversity, adaptive ability, and natural roles of insects. The book discusses how the ways in which we manage insects will determine an ecosystem’s capacity to continue to supply services. It reviews aspects of insect physiology, behavior, and ecology that affect their interactions with other ecosystem components and ecosystem services, emphasizing critical effects of insects on the sustainability of ecosystem processes and services. The author examines the integration of insect ecology with self-regulatory aspects of ecosystems that control primary production, energy and nutrient fluxes, and global climate—functions that underlie the sustainability of ecosystem services. Clearly, we need environmental policies that meet needs for pest control where warranted, but do not undermine the important contributions of insects to sustaining ecosystem processes and services. With in-depth coverage of the multiple, often compensatory, effects of insects on various resources or ecosystem services and on the consequences of control tactics for those resources or services, Insects and Sustainability of Ecosystem Services recommends changes in perspectives and policies regarding insects that will contribute to sustainability of ecosystem services. Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, 7th Edition. Lawrence M. Page, Héctor Espinosa- Pérez, Lloyd T. Findley, Carter R. Gilbert, Robert N. Lea, Nicholas E. Mandrak, Richard L. Mayden, and Joseph S. Nelson. 2013. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD. 243 pp. $60.00, hardcover. ISBN 9781934874318. This authoritative reference provides an accurate, up-to-date checklist of common and scientific names for all described and taxonomically valid Noteworthy Books 2013 Northeastern Naturalist Vol. 20, No. 3 B8 fish species living in fresh and marine waters of North America. This edition reflects numerous taxonomic changes that have occurred since 2004 and includes 3875 species and 260 families. Provides the rationale and methodology for common name allocation, history of changes from the previous edition, and extensive references. Designing Wildlife Habitats. John Beardsley (Editor). 2013. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 304 pp. $50.00, softcover. ISBN 9780884023852. The vision of a garden shared peacefully by humans and animals is a familiar, but elusive, landscape trope. Whether threatened by habitat destruction or climate change, displaced by urbanization or invasive species, poisoned by industrial toxins, or hunted to extinction, many wild animals have failed to thrive in the company of people. There is growing scientific consensus that we are in the midst of the sixth great extinction in earth history— and the first caused by human activities. What agency can landscape architects and garden designers have in conserving or restoring wildlife diversity? Designing Wildlife Habitats gathers essays by designers, scientists, and historians to explore how they might better collaborate to promote zoological biodiversity and how scientific ambitions might be expressed in culturally significant and historically informed design. Established conservation practices within ecology have begun to shape landscape architecture, and current initiatives in ecosystem services, restoration ecology, and designer-generated ecological experiments provide an enlarged role for landscape architects in the creation of productive habitats. Design has become increasingly instrumental to both the appearance and the ecological function of landscapes. Mammal Teeth: Origin, Evolution, and Diversity. Peter S. Ungar. 2010. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. 320 pp. $95.00, hardcover. ISBN 9780801896682. In this unique book, Peter S. Ungar tells the story of mammalian teeth from their origin through their evolution to their current diversity. Mammal Teeth traces the evolutionary history of teeth, beginning with the very first mineralized vertebrate structures half a billion years ago. Ungar describes how the simple conical tooth of early vertebrates became the molars, incisors, and other forms we see in mammals today. Evolutionary adaptations changed pointy teeth into flatter ones, with specialized shapes designed to complement the corresponding jaw. Ungar explains tooth structure and function in the context of nutritional needs. The myriad tooth shapes produced by evolution offer different solutions to the fundamental problem of how to squeeze as many nutrients as possible out of foods. The book also highlights Ungar’s own path-breaking studies that show how microwear analysis can help us understand ancient diets. The final part of the book provides an in-depth examination of mammalian teeth today, surveying all orders in the class, family by family. Ungar describes some of the more bizarre teeth, such as tusks, and the mammal diversity that accompanies these morphological wonders. Mammal Teeth captures the evolution of mammals, including humans, through the prism of dental change. Synthesizing decades of research, Ungar reveals the interconnections among mammal diet, dentition, and evolution. His book is a must-read for paleontologists, mammalogists, and anthropologists. Damselfly Genera of the New World: An Illustrated and Annotated Key to the Zygoptera. Rosser W. Garrison, Natalia von Ellenrieder, and Jerry A. Louton. 2010. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. 528pp. $125.00, hardcover. ISBN 9780801896705. In this companion volume to Dragonfly Genera of the New World, Rosser W. Garrison, Natalia von Ellenrieder, and Jerry A. Louton provide a comprehensive, fully illustrated guide to the damselflies of North, Central, and South America. This illustrated reference contains original, up-to-date keys to 125 genera of Zygoptera; descriptive text for each genus; distribution maps; and highly detailed diagnostic illustrations. Each account lists all known species and generic synonyms, information on the status of classification, and references to larval descriptions. Featuring more than 2500 illustrations and based on the authors’ personal observations, Damselfly Genera of the New World is an indispensable resource for entomologists, limnologists, and naturalists. The Northeastern Naturalist welcomes submissions of review copies of books that publishers or authors would like to recommend to the journal’s readership and are relevant to the journal’s mission of publishing information about the natural history of the northeastern US. Accompanying short, descriptive summaries of the text are also welcome.