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Tue Mar 4 16:45:48 EST 2008
Dangerfields of
the animal world: They just don't get no respect. So claim
entomologist Buchmann
(Hayden Bee Research Center) and Nabhan (Director of
science/Arizona-Sonora
Desert Museum) in this at once delightful and disturbing tour
d'horizon of those
for whom the flowers bloom. ``One in every three mouthfuls of food we
eat, and
of beverages we drink'' is served up to us by pollinators, notes E.O.
Wilson in
his introduction. Butterflies are out there working for us, as are the
hummingbirds and fig wasps, pygmy gliders and panurgine bees, carrying
pollen to
stigma, allowing seeds to set. Pollination is one of nature's vital
processes,
fine-tuned and mesmeric in its endless cycles, feedback loops, checks
and
balances. But as in so many other instances, humans are busy as the
bees
disrupting the process, bombing pollinators with pesticides,
fragmenting their
habitat, cutting off the nectar corridors, such that the ``current
rate of
species loss constitutes a biodiversity crisis of unprecedented
proportions.''
Buchmann provides the hard science of the pollinators' world: flower
stalk
architecture and nectar chemistry and flowering sequences; Nabhan
contributes a
felicitous dose of pleasing prose, framed as anecdotal remembrances:
He's never
happier than when poking about in a sere landscape, following the
monarch
butterflies on their winter migration, taking stock of the floral
pantries.
While this book can only be considered a preliminary investigation,
trends
indicate that pollinators may be getting ever more limited in supply
as their
world shrinks around them. Buchmann and Nabhan make the case for
increased
wildlands, intact forests, an ecological approach that prevents
pollinator
habitat from becoming islands, thus coffins, in a developed landscape.
A
cautionary tale: Kill the pollinators and you might as well kill
yourself.
Another of nature's elegant loops. (b&w illustrations) (Author tour)
--
Copyright 1996, Kirkus Associates,
Synopsis : ". . . a pleasing concoction of natural and cultural
history
illustrating how pollination works and how easily it can be disrupted.
. . .
More than the species and the land that holds them, the book suggests,
the
living world to be cherished includes everything that these creatures,
plants,
and places do--the much more vital and intangible biodiversity of
interactions
and relationships."--The New York Times Book Review.
Synopsis : Without interaction between animals and flowering plants,
the seeds
and fruits that make up nearly 80% of the human diet would not exist.
Here, the
authors explore the vital but little-appreciated relationship between
plants and
the animals they depend on for reproduction--bees, beetles,
butterflies,
hummingbirds, and countless other animals. --This text refers to the
hardcover
edition of this title
In The Forgotten Pollinators, Stephen L. Buchmann, one of the world's
leading
authorities on bees and pollination, and Gary Paul Nabhan,
award-winning writer
and renowned crop ecologist, explore the vital but little-appreciated
relationship between plants and the animals they depend on for
reproduction -
bees, beetles, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, bats, and countless
other
animals, some widely recognized and others almost unknown. Scenes from
around
the globe - examining island flora and fauna on the Galapagos,
counting bees in
the Panamanian rain forest, witnessing an ancient honey-hunting ritual
in
Malaysia - bring to life the hidden relationships between plants
animals and
demonstrates the ways in which human society affects and is affected
by those
relationships. Buchmann and Nabhan combine vignettes from the field
with
expository discussions of ecology, botany, and crop science to present
a lively
and fascinating account of the ecological and cultural context of
plant-pollinator relationships. More than any other natural process,
plant-pollinator relationships offer vivid examples of the connections
between
endangered species and threatened habitats. The authors explain how
human-induced changes in pollinator populations - caused by overuse of
chemical
pesticides, unbridled development, and conversion of natural areas
into
monocultural cropland - can have a ripple effect on disparate species,
ultimately leading to a "cascade of linked extinctions." --This text
refers to
the hardcover edition of this title Booknews, Inc. , December 1,
1996 : By
invoking Rachel Carson in the volume's first chapter, entitled,
"Silent Springs
and Fruitless Falls," Buchmann and Nabhan let readers know right away
that they
are pleading another endangered species case. The wonder of their
writing is
that they make bees, beetles, butterflies, moths, bats and other
pollinators
come vividly alive even as they emphasize that the destruction of
their habitat
will destroy them too. Readers are treated to some rare anecdotal
descriptions
from around the globe and careful scientific research into the
delicate balance
between fauna, flora, and the birds and bees. Annotation c. by Book
News, Inc.,
Portland, Or. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this
title
The publisher, Island Press/Shearwater Books , July 15, 1996 :Alert to
story in
current issue of Time Magazine The July 15th issue of Time Magazine,
on
newstands now, carries a terrific story on pollinators and the role
they play in
the production of most of our food on page 60. Additional reviews are
forthcoming in the book review sections of many major metropolitan
papers.
--This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title
Customer Comments : A reader, December 23, 1996 The world is complex
and
wonderful, especially reproduction. Ever wonder where most plants
come from?
They come from seeds. Ever wonder where seeds come from? They come
from sex.
Ever wonder what plant sex is about (or why this is an issue)? It
comes from
beetles, bees, butterflies, moths, birds, bats and winged
pseudogenitalia in
general, whether great or small. Pollination is the key to life on the
terrestrial earth. Pollination of plants is also the key to life in
much of the
aquatic part of our planet, which is about the only omission for which
the
authors might be faulted. It is a mind-expanding exercise, to be sure,
to ask
ourselves what would happen if pollinator "X" suddenly disappeared
from the
scene. Buchmann and Nabhan have taken great care both to inform us
that all
would not be lost, because pollinator "Y" or "Z" is frequently waiting
in the
wings. But in many, many cases, pollinator "X" has never been studied
and cannot
even be named, let alone conserved. --This text refers to the
hardcover edition
of this title
Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm
intergarden.com InterGarden
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden InterGarden
metalab.unc.edu/permaculture PermaSphere
metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm AGINFO
lflondon at mindspring.com london at metalab.unc.edu
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