Vernal Pools: Natural History and Conservation
Aquatic ecologist Betsy Colburn has drawn on her twenty-five years of in-depth, wide-ranging studies of Vernal Pools in compiling this valuable reference book entitled Vernal Pools: Natural History and Conservation (McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company; $25 from HF).
This book is recommended for scientist and layperson alike as it provides a comprehensive background on the natural history, ecology, and conservation of these biologically diverse and dynamic seasonal ponds. Written in an accessible style, the following audiences will find this book to be an especially important reference: landowners, naturalists, teachers, researchers, conservationists, resource managers, planners, and policy makers. Researchers may especially appreciate the extensive technical information including scientific citations and a list of suggestions for future research on each topic contained in this volume. Readers will find a wealth of information not previously available in one source.
A Primer of Ecological Statistics
Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Forest, Aaron Ellison, along with University of Vermont Biology professor, Nicholas Gotelli, has developed a very different kind of ecological reference book: A Primer of Ecological Statistics (Sinauer Associates; $35 from HF).
A Primer of Ecological Statistics explains fundamental material in probability theory and experimental design for ecologists and environmental scientists. The book is designed to serve as either a stand-alone or supplementary text for upper division undergraduate or graduate courses in ecological and environmental statistics, ecology, environmental science, environmental studies, or experimental design. The Primer also could be used for short-courses or workshops for conservation biologists and environmental managers. The book emphasizes a general introduction to probability theory and provides a detailed discussion of specific designs and analyses that are typically encountered in ecology and environmental science. Topics include probability, statistical distributions, hypothesis testing, probability values, Bayesian analysis, experimental and sampling design, data archiving, regression, analysis of variance, categorical data, and multivariate analysis. A comprehensive glossary, a mathematical appendix on matrix algebra, and extensively annotated tables and figures are included.
Forests in Time
(Second Printing for the Harvard Forest LTER Synthesis Volume)
Harvard Forest director, David Foster, and University of New Hampshire professor, John Aber, (PIs at Harvard Forest and Huberd Brook LTER sites) have combined history and science in ecological studies and environmental management in the form of Forests In Time: The Environmental Consequences of 1000 Years of Change in New England (Yale University Press; $25 from HF).
This book represents the synthesis volume for the Harvard Forest LTER program and has contributions from more than fifty authors. The authors apply an interdisciplinary approach to one of the most remarkably transformed landscapes in North America: the New England countryside. Written in accessible prose and profusely illustrated with photographs, maps, and graphs, the book relates the history of changes in New England and then explores the results of integrated ecosystem studies and experiments in this largely forested landscape.
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