Danna Staaf's Books

Monarchs of the Sea: The Extraordinary 500-Million-Year History of Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

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Monarchs of the Sea: The Extraordinary 500-Million-Year History of Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

From the author of Nursery Earth, a “nimble, fast, surprising, smart, and weird in the very coolest sense of the word” (Sy Montgomery) exploration of the sometimes enormous, often bizarre creatures that ruled the seas long before the first dinosaurs—a Science Friday Book Club Pick Cephalopods, Earth’s first truly substantial animals, are still among us: Their fascinating family tree features squid, octopuses, nautiluses, and more. The inventors of swimming, cephs presided over the sea for millions of years. But when fish evolved jaws, cephs had to step up their game (or end up on the menu). Some evolved defensive spines. Others abandoned their shells entirely, opening the floodgates for a tidal wave of innovation: masterful camouflage, fin-supplemented jet propulsion, and intelligence we’ve yet to fully measure. In Monarchs of the Sea, marine biologist Danna Staaf unspools how these otherworldly creatures once ruled the deep—and why they still captivate us today. Publisher’s Note: Monarchs of the Sea was previously published in hardcover as Squid Empire.

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Page Count

276

Publisher

The Experiment, LLC

Published Date

ISBN 10

1615197419

ISBN 13

9781615197415

The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives

A Natural History of Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

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The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives

A Natural History of Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

An engaging and beautifully illustrated introduction to some of the world’s most interesting and charismatic marine creatures Dive deep into the fascinating world of cephalopods—octopuses, squid, cuttlefish, and the mysterious nautilus—to discover the astonishing diversity of this unique group of intelligent invertebrates and their many roles in the marine ecosystem. Organized by marine habitat, this book features an extraordinary range of these clever and colorful creatures from around the world and explores their life cycles, behavior, adaptations, ecology, links to humans, and much more. With stunning photographs and illustrations as well as profiles of selected species, The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives is a comprehensive, authoritative, and inviting introduction to the natural history of these charismatic creatures.

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Page Count

289

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0691252335

ISBN 13

9780691252339

Squid Empire

The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

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Squid Empire

The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

Before there were mammals on land, there were dinosaurs. And before there were fish in the sea, there were cephalopods-the ancestors of modern squid and Earth's first truly substantial animals. Cephalopods became the first creatures to rise from the seafloor, essentially inventing the act of swimming. With dozens of tentacles and formidable shells, they presided over an undersea empire for millions of years. But when fish evolved jaws, the ocean's former top predator became its most delicious snack. Cephalopods had to step up their game. Many species streamlined their shells and added defensive spines, but these enhancements only provided a brief advantage. Some cephalopods then abandoned the shell entirely, which opened the gates to a flood of evolutionary innovations: masterful camouflage, fin-supplemented jet propulsion, perhaps even dolphin-like intelligence. Squid Empire is an epic adventure spanning hundreds of millions of years, from the marine life of the primordial ocean to the calamari on tonight's menu. Anyone who enjoys the undersea world-along with all those obsessed with things prehistoric-will be interested in the sometimes enormous, often bizarre creatures that ruled the seas long before the first dinosaurs.

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Page Count

256

Publisher

University Press of New England

Published Date

ISBN 10

1512601284

ISBN 13

9781512601282

Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World

By: Danna Staaf

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Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World

By: Danna Staaf

From the author of Monarchs of the Sea, a first-of-its-kind journey into the hidden world of baby animals—hailed as “a gobsmacking delight!” (Sy Montgomery, New York Times–bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus) It’s time to pay attention to baby animals. From egg to tadpole, chick to fledgling, they offer scientists a window into questions of immense importance: How do genes influence health? Which environmental factors support—or obstruct—life? Entire ecosystems rest on the shoulders (or tentacles, or jointed exoskeletons) of animal babies. At any given moment, babies represent the majority of animal life on Earth. In Nursery Earth, researcher Danna Staaf invites readers into the sibling (and, sometimes, clashing) fields of ecology and developmental biology. The tiny, hidden lives that these scientists study in the lab and in the wild reveal some of nature’s strangest workings: A salamander embryo breathes with the help of algae inside its cells. The young grub of a Goliath beetle dwarfs its parents. The spotted beak of a parasitic baby bird tricks adults of other species into feeding it. Mouse embryos can absorb cancerous cell grafts—and develop into healthy adults. Our bias toward adult animals (not least because babies can be hard to find) means these wonders have long gone under-researched. But for all kinds of animals, if we overlook their babies, we miss out on the most fascinating—and consequential—time in the lives of their species. Nursery Earth makes the case that these young creatures are not just beings in progress but beings in their own right. And our planet needs them all: the maggots as much as the kittens!

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Page Count

364

Publisher

The Experiment, LLC

Published Date

ISBN 10

1615199330

ISBN 13

9781615199334

The Lady and the Octopus

How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology

By: Danna Staaf

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The Lady and the Octopus

How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology

By: Danna Staaf

Jeanne Villepreux-Power was never expected to be a scientist. Born in 1794 in a French village more than 100 miles from the ocean, she pursued an improbable path that brought her to the island of Sicily. There, she took up natural history and solved the two-thousand-year-old mystery of how of the argonaut octopus gets its shell. In an era when most research focused on dead specimens, Jeanne was determined to experiment on living animals. And to keep sea creatures alive for her studies, she had to invent a contraption to hold them—the aquarium. Her remarkable life story is told by author, marine biologist, and octopus enthusiast Danna Staaf.

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Page Count

139

Publisher

Carolrhoda Books ®

Published Date

ISBN 10

1728468493

ISBN 13

9781728468495

The Lady and the Octopus

How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology

By: Danna Staaf

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The Lady and the Octopus

How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology

By: Danna Staaf

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Page Count

139

Publisher

Carolrhoda Books ®

Published Date

ISBN 10

1728468493

ISBN 13

9781728468495

The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives

A Natural History of Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

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The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives

A Natural History of Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

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Page Count

289

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0691252335

ISBN 13

9780691252339

Squid Empire

The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

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Squid Empire

The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods

By: Danna Staaf

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Page Count

256

Publisher

University Press of New England

Published Date

ISBN 10

1512601284

ISBN 13

9781512601282

Book's by Danna Staaf

Monarchs of the Sea: The Extraordinary 500-Million-Year History of Cephalopods

Monarchs of the Sea: The Extraordinary 500-Million-Year History of Cephalopods

The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives

The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives

Squid Empire

Squid Empire

Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World

Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World

The Lady and the Octopus

The Lady and the Octopus

The Lady and the Octopus

The Lady and the Octopus

The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives

The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives

Squid Empire

Squid Empire

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