Categoriearchief: Boek

The Mind of a Bee

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Lars Chittka | 2022

Most of us know the hive mind—the power of bees as a fantastic collective. But do we know how uniquely intelligent bees are as individuals?

In The Mind of a Bee, scientist and author Lars Chittka draws from decades of research, including his pioneering work, to argue that bees have remarkable cognitive abilities. He shows they are profoundly smart, have distinct personalities, can recognise flowers and human faces, exhibit basic emotions, count, use simple tools, solve problems, and learn by observing others. They may even possess consciousness.

Taking readers deep into the sensory world of bees, Chittka illustrates how bee brains are unparalleled in the animal kingdom for the sophistication packed into their tiny nervous systems. He looks at their innate behaviours and how their evolution as foragers may have contributed to their keen spatial memory. Chittka also examines the psychological differences between bees and humans, as well as the ethical dilemmas that arise in conservation and laboratory settings because bees feel and think. Throughout, he touches on the fascinating history behind studying bee behaviour.

Exploring an insect whose sensory experiences rival those of humans, The Mind of a Bee reveals the singular abilities of some of the world’s most incredible creatures.

Bibliography

Chittka, L. (2022) The Mind of a Bee. Princeton, USA: Princeton University Press.

Habitats of the World

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A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists

Iain Campbell, Ken Behrens, Charley Hesse, and Phil Chaon | Princeton University Press

Accurately identifying and understanding habitats in detail is essential to any birder, naturalist, outdoor enthusiast, or ecologist who wants to get the most out of their experiences in the field. Habitats of the World is the first field guide to the world’s major land habitats—189.

Using the format of a natural history field guide, this compact, accessible, and comprehensive book features concise identification descriptions. It is richly illustrated—including more than 650 colour photographs of habitats and their wildlife, 150 distribution maps, 200 diagrams, and 150 silhouettes depicting each habitat alongside a human figure, providing an immediate grasp of its look and scale.

Each major habitat has an illustrated “climate box” that allows easy habitat comparisons. Thirty other illustrated boxes clearly explain complex phenomena affecting habitats—from plate tectonics and mountain formation to fire regimes and climate change. Requiring no scientific background, Habitats of the World offers quick and reliable information for anyone who wants a deeper understanding and appreciation of the habitats around them, whether in their own backyard or while travelling anywhere in the world.

  • Covers 189 of the world’s major land habitats.
  • It provides all the information you need to quickly and accurately identify and understand habitats worldwide.
  • This book features concise text, more than 650 colour photographs of habitats and their wildlife, an up-to-date distribution map for each habitat, and hundreds of helpful diagrams and illustrations.

Bibliography

Campbell, I., Behrens, K., Hesse, C., & Chaon, P. (2023). Habitats of the World: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists. Princeton University Press.

The Man Who Organized Nature

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The Life of Linnaeus

Gunnar Broberg (translation Anna Paterson)| 2023, Princeton University Press

A new biography offers a vivid portrait of Linnaeus’s life and work. Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), the father of modern biological taxonomy, formalised and popularised the system of binomial nomenclature used to classify plants and animals. Linnaeus himself classified thousands of species; the simple and immediately recognisable abbreviation “L” is used to mark his classifications.

This biography, by the leading authority on Linnaeus, offers a vivid portrait of Linnaeus’s life and work. Drawing on a wide range of previously unpublished sources—including diaries and personal correspondence—and new research, it presents revealing and original accounts of his family life, the political context in which he pursued his work, and his eccentric views on sexuality.

The Man Who Organized Nature describes Linnaeus’s childhood in a landscape of striking natural beauty and how this influenced his later work. Linnaeus’s Lutheran pastor father, knowledgeable about plants and an enthusiastic gardener, helped foster an early interest in botany.

The book examines the political connections that helped Linnaeus secure patronage for his work and untangle his ideas about sexuality. These were not, as often assumed, an attempt to naturalise gender categories but more likely reflected the laissez-faire attitudes of the era. Like many other brilliant scientists, Linnaeus could be moody and egotistical; the book describes his human failures and medical and scientific achievements. Written in an engaging and accessible style, The Man Who Organized Nature—one of the only biographies of Linnaeus to appear in English—provides new and fascinating insights into the life of one of history’s most consequential and enigmatic scientists.

Read the article How Carl Linnaeus Set Out to Label All of Life by the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing winner journalist Kathryn Schulz: “A new biography  …attempts to provide the fullest possible account of his life yet fails to grapple with the fundamental question it raises: if categorization is crucial to making sense of the world, how should we classify Carl Linnaeus?”

Bibliography 

Broberg, G. (2023) The Man Who Organized Nature: The Life of Linnaeus. Oxford, UK: Princeton University Press

Extinct & Endangered

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Insects in Peril

Levon Biss and American Museum of Natural History | 2022, Harry Abrams

Pay attention to insects. Many pollinate plants. Some recycle plant and animal matter into the soil. They are food for countless other living things—and for one another, often keeping pest populations in check. Whether beetles, bees or butterflies, insects help natural ecosystems stay healthy.

But the evidence is clear: many insect species are in decline. The ones featured here are vulnerable, imperilled—or have already disappeared—and human changes to the land and climate are primary reasons.

Extraordinary images are at once our most familiar and our most mysterious fellow creatures. They seem indestructible, but on a global scale, insect species are quietly disappearing in today’s sixth mass extinction of life.

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