Civilization And The Limpet

Description

In the spirit of Lewis Thomass Lives of a Cell or the many works of Stephen Jay Gould, zoologist Martin Wells takes us on a journey to explore the wonders of marine life.. Written during a long sea voyage from England through the Mediterranean, Civilization and the Limpet unveils many fascinating phenomena of undersea life. Wells captures with exquisite detail how limpets, like bees, navigate by the stars; how the brainless sea urchin makes a myriad of critical survival decisions every day; how deserted islands teem with an incredible abundance of animal life; and why deep-diving whales never get the bends. Elegant and finely crafted, Civilization and the Limpet will enlighten, amuse, and awe anyone interested in the natural world.

Martin Wells is an old hand at marine biology for both work and play. A Reader in the Zoology Department at Cambridge University, Wells has been delighting radio, TV, and live" audiences for decades. He is the author of three academic books on invertebrate physiology, and the trade science book, You and Me and the Animal World.