Gulf of California Coastal Ecology: Insights from the Present and Patterns from the Past - Softcover

Johnson, Markes E

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1941384188 ISBN 13: 9781941384183

Publisher: Sunbelt Publications, 2016

Synopsis

This handbook on ecology and paleoecology is infused with insights on the origins and development of Mexico's Sea of Cortés during a span of more than 12 million years. It makes the connection between a beautiful shell washed onto a beach with the discovery of the same or a similar fossil shell from a nearby limestone cliff. The concept of natural history appears less often in increasingly specialized literature, nowadays, failing to draw a connection between the present and the distant past. This book makes the connection and brings the past alive. It deals with multiple and interlocking ecosystems and their fossil counterparts, providing a holistic overview on geography, ecology, and geology. Students, scholars, and outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds will find this guide an indispensable resource for exploration of virtually any stretch of coastline on the Gulf of California.

About this title

About the Author:

Markes E. Johnson is the Charles L. MacMillan Professor of Natural Science, Emeritus, at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he taught courses in historical geology, paleontology, and stratigraphy in the Geosciences Department over a 35-year career. His undergraduate education in geology concluded with a BA degree (1971) from the University of Iowa and his advanced training in paleoecology culminated with a PhD degree (1977) through the Department of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago. With 25 years of field experience in Baja California, Johnson has been a semi-annual visitor to the frontier states of Mexico where he habitually led field courses and supervised thesis projects for students from Williams College. He is an authority on the geology of ancient shorelines and the evolution of inter-tidal life through geologic time based on studies conduced around the world from Western Australia to China's Inner Mongolia to the fringe of Arctic lands across Siberia, Norway, and Canada, as well as comparatively young island groups such as the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean and the Azores, Madeira, Canary, and Cape Verde archipelagos in the North Atlantic.

Review:

Make room on your bookshelf for another classic: the authors take you through the unique coastal environments of Baja California with great descriptions, thoughtful analysis, and wonderful graphics. The book's strength is its ecosystems approach, leading from rocky shores to the denizens of the open sea. There's also a concluding chapter on sustainable development, now a key issue for the entire region. This book offers a very useful guide for understanding the biology and interactions of Baja s unparalleled marine ecosystems, leaving you intrigued and ready to head out on your own explorations. --Al Trujillo, Distinguished Teaching Professor and Textbook Author, Department of Earth, Space, and Aviation Sciences, Palomar College, San Marcos, CA

The geologic diversity of a region leads, in great part, to its biologic diversity. The Baja Peninsula and the Gulf of California are blessed with both! This book is a must read for anyone interested in discovering the geologic history and present-day ecology of a truly unique part of the world. --Michael W. Hager, Executive Director, San Diego Natural History Museum

As well-seasoned explorers of this incredible region, the authors describe in marvelous detail the coastal geo-ecology of the Gulf of California. Their approach is unique; they examine the ecology of the complex mosaic of habitats that surround the Gulf under the lens of the geologist and the scale of deep time. The result is an amazing narrative where cryptic evolutionary processes that took millions of years to develop set the stage to understand the modern urgency for conservation. --Exequiel Ezcurra, Director, University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC Mexus)

About this edition

• Publisher: Sunbelt Publications
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1941384188
• ISBN 13: 9781941384183
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 134