The open sea

Title The open sea
its natural history
The world of plankton; Fish and fisheries
Author by Sir Alister Hardy
Publication Houghton Mifflin
Size XV, 335p, XIV, 3
Language ENG ENG
ISBN
Topics Marine biology
Fishery
Ocean ecology
Natural history--Oceans
Notes Professor Alistair Hardy is truly obsessed by animals of the sea—devotedly enthusiastic about the nature of their adaptations and life histories, brilliantly critical in the examination of their mysteries, acutely lucid (and at the same time highly artistic) in his descriptions of them in his arresting plates. To describe the relatively unknown and mysterious world of plankton is a task that the greatest of marine zoologists might boggle at. Yet the plankton is to the sea what vegetation is to the land. The study of plankton is a complex discipline which few amateur naturalists have had the privilege to enjoy. Never before has such a synthesis of knowledge been attempted in a community of animals so mysterious, yet so important. Professor Hardy has grasped this problem in a new and exciting way; and at least the common reader can discern the pattern of life that dominates two-thirds of the world’s surface. In addition to writing of the marine fish of our waters as living creatures taking their part in the general community of the sea, Sir Alister also deals with the fisheries as part of that general natural history. He deals with the animals on the sea bed, so important in supplying food for the bottom living fish, and with fish parasites. Whales and reptiles come within the book's scope, and there is a sketch of the development of fisheries research. The book ends with a discussion of the future development in the fisheries as a result of advances in technology and research. As in Part One, the 16 pages of remarkable colour illustrations are all from the author's own paintings and the 68 black and white photographs are mainly by Douglas P. Wilson. [goodreads.com]
574.92
HARD 15
42096
Available
Available
© Auroville Library | 2014-2025