Island Press Field Notes

Did you know that pandas used to roam parts of Tennessee and feed on the bamboo  that grew there? Cool, right? Check out this week's #ForewordFriday selection from "distinguished elder of conservation biology" and "marvelous guide," Reed Noss. His new book, Forgotten Grasslands of the South, is an unforgettable journey through the history and natural history of the once biologically rich and abundant grasslands of the southern US.

Salamanders, fish and perhaps even humans are evolving fast in response to toxic chemicals. Is that bad? In the hemlock and oak forests of northeastern Connecticut, Steve Brady stood thigh deep in black muck and scooped up a handful of spotted salamander eggs. A Yale PhD student, he had once fancied himself zipping across tropical waters in a Zodiac boat or scanning rainforest canopies in search of exotic birds. Instead, he had just planted his budding career as an evolutionary biologist in a muddy ditch.

Everyone knows that sea otters are adorable, and larger numbers of people are learning that they play a key role in maintaining ecosystem diversity by preventing sea urchin populations from turning into kelp-forest mowing swarms that leave “urchin barrens” in their wake.

This excellent post at The Fisheries Blog  uses a vist to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's kelp forest to explain the concept of trophic downgrading. The post references the seminal Science report on the topic co-authored by James A.