What bird makes the smallest nest in the world? How big was the largest prairie dog town? Why does a goby share its home with a shrimp? Animals need homes to protect themselves from the weather, to hide from hunters, and to provide a safe nursery for their young. Home Makers explores the rich variety of animal homes to be found around the world, from the seabeds to the mountaintops. Some animals find shelter where they can. Others build enormous homes that completely change the landscape. This book examines some of the amazing building materials animals use, and the skills they have developed to create their homes.
Looks at poisonous spiders, describing their physical features, habitats, ability to make silk, and the various ways they hunt their prey, including spinning webs, setting trapdoors, biting, spitting, camouflage, and mimicry.
Looks at small size invertebrates, describing their physical features and adaptations for survival, and including such creatures as centipedes, mites, ticks, fleas, lice, sea spiders, and water bears.
Looks at flying insects, describing their physical features and defense mechanisms, and including such creatures as bumblebees, paper wasps, shorthorn grasshoppers, and blowflies.
The story of introduced species in Texas is long (hogs were introduced by European settlers in the 1500s) and fraught with controversy. In Unnatural Texas? The Invasive Species Dilemma, Robin W. Doughty and Matt Warnock Turner introduce the “big hitters” of invasive species in the state. They profile the usual suspects—feral hogs, salt cedar, and fire ants—and also lesser known invasives, such as cats and sparrows. Blending natural and environmental history with geography, this book is a much-needed, balanced exploration of invasive species in Texas. The distinctions between native and invasive are not hard and fast, and perceptions of what is invasive have changed over the centuries. A striking example, free-ranging cats—domestic, stray, and feral—can wreak havoc on small mammal and bird populations. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for invasives, and removal or complete eradication may not be possible or even desirable. The dilemma of what to do about invasive species also raises moral, social, economic, and cultural questions. This engaging introduction to the concept of invasive species in Texas will provide context for readers and will educate people on this important issue facing the state.
Tin cans were first produced in London in 1813. But they had to be opened with a hammer and chisel, because the can opener wasn't invented until 1855! Check out other amazing engineering innovations, such as a popular soft drink originally sold as a "brain tonic," an 18th-century battery called a voltaic pile, and a design from 1596 for the first flushing toilet. Fact-packed text and fun illustrations reveal clever discoveries that changed the world--and weird ideas that didn't (like Nikola Tesla's earthquake machine or Thomas Edison's giant singing dolls). Learn how wonders of engineering have helped us improve our lives--from growing food to powering machinery.
From early engines to powerful spacecraft, transportation inventions keep moving society forward. Humorous text follows these inventions throughout history, showing how one invention often led to another--or how some inventions didn't turn out so well"--Provided by publisher.
Describes how the abilities of some insects have helped them to survive for 400 million years, including the group behavior of ants, the scavenger habits of cockroaches, the adaptations of weevils, and the defensive capabilities of beetles.
“No single existing publication includes the kind of information featured in this book,” a natural history of the flora of the Lone Star State (A. Michael Powell, Professor of Biology Emeritus and Director of the Herbarium, Sul Ross State University). With some 6,000 species of plants, Texas has extraordinary botanical wealth and diversity. Learning to identify plants is the first step in understanding their vital role in nature, and many field guides have been published for that purpose. But to fully appreciate how Texas’s native plants have sustained people and animals from prehistoric times to the present, you need Remarkable Plants of Texas. In this intriguing book, Matt Warnock Turner explores the little-known facts—be they archaeological, historical, material, medicinal, culinary, or cultural—behind our familiar botanical landscape. In sixty-five entries that cover over eighty of our most common native plants from trees, shrubs, and wildflowers to grasses, cacti, vines, and aquatics, he traces our vast array of connections with plants. Turner looks at how people have used plants for food, shelter, medicine, and economic subsistence; how plants have figured in the historical record and in Texas folklore; how plants nourish wildlife; and how some plants have unusual ecological or biological characteristics. Illustrated with over one hundred color photos and organized for easy reference, Remarkable Plants of Texas can function as a guide to individual species as well as an enjoyable natural history of our most fascinating native plants.
From codes and signals to social media, communication inventions advance the ways we interact with one another. Humorous text follows these inventions throughout history, showing how one invention often led to another--or how some inventions didn't turn out so well."--
This book charts the impact of the wheel around 3500 BCE. Life was never the same again - whether you were driving a chariot, a carriage, a Model T Ford - or riding a bicycle, of course. On water, we move from dug-out canoes to ships, submarines and hovercraft.
This new e.guide reference, prepared in tandem by DK Publishing and Google*, helps young researchers gather, assess, and present information about planet Earth by using the Internet.
Ship Sale and Purchase is the essential working guide for anyone involved in the business of making ship sale and purchase agreements and also in the resolution of disputes arising out of such agreements. The seventh edition of Ship Sale and Purchase contains a detailed clause-by-clause analysis of SHIPSALE 22, the new standard form Memorandum of Agreement for ship sales and purchases published by BIMCO in 2022. This clause-by-clause analysis is supplemented by commentary on the corresponding provisions of the other leading standard forms used in the global shipping markets - SALEFORM 2012 (the latest version of the longstanding standard form produced by the Norwegian Shipbrokers' Association), SINGAPORE SHIP SALE FORM 2011 and NIPPONSALE 1999 - and the main differences between these forms and SHIPSALE 22. This edition of Ship Sale and Purchase also contains a comprehensive description of the many ways in which standard form agreements may be modified, through amendments to the printed terms and the use of additional clauses, to suit the particular requirements of the parties to individual transactions. In addition, it analyses relevant decisions of the English courts and arbitration tribunals and explains the implications of these decisions for ship sale and purchase transactions. The seventh edition also includes commentary on changes in working practices such as the use of electronic signatures, the practice of "remote" closings, payment mechanisms and the impact of sanctions and anti-corruption legislation. As with previous editions, the seventh edition of Ship Sale and Purchase seeks to provide legal analysis, market insight and practical guidance for all those involved in the business of buying and selling second-hand ships.
Macromedia Dreamweaver MX merges the faultless visual layout tools of Dreamweaver and the powerful yet easy-to-use database integration offered by UltraDev into a product that is simply the most vital piece of software any web designer can own. Unlike many other books, Foundation Dreamweaver MX concentrates on both sides of this alliance, looking to the future. No matter what your background, this book will give you a solid foundation in graphic design and layout issues as well as a full grounding in the powerful database integration features that Dreamweaver MX offers. The truth is that database integration is no more of an extra in today's climate than faultless visual design, and this book is here to guide you through this new world, covering dynamic scripting with PHP and the popular MySQL database. This book is suitable for both PC and Mac (OS X needed) platforms. Whether a complete novice or a past user, after reading this book, youll be fluent in the full breadth of Dreamweaver MX's powerful functionality, a unique learning curve backed up by solid real-world case studies and tutorials. What this book covers: Site design and layout principles Using templates and Cascading Style Sheets to create advanced site designs Adding interactivity to pages with script Setting up PHP and MySQL to create powerful dynamic database-driven applications Dreamweaver MX makes this all possible, and Foundation Dreamweaver MX makes it easier than you could have imagined. December 2002: Macromedia has released an update, available for download, which addresses a number of issues in Dreamweaver MX, including compatibity with Macromedia Contribute.
*Best Books for Christmas, 2014* Weekend Herald Rail: 150 Years of Rail in New Zealand is a rich, loving and lavish record of how New Zealanders have interacted with trains and railways since first European settlement to more recent times. Produced in association with the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT), and primarily showcasing an array of machines in their full glory, it also portrays epic feats of construction, the identities and personalities who influenced our rail story, tragedies that gripped a nation, how rail was instrumental in shaping our fledgling and largely agricultural economy, and restoration and renaissance into the modern day. What emerges is an absorbing and dramatic photographic account, a keepsake for aficionados and general readers alike. A stunning, timely and brilliantly compelling tribute to our life with rail.
From codes and signals to social media, communication inventions advance the ways we interact with one another. Humorous text follows these inventions throughout history, showing how one invention often led to another--or how some inventions didn't turn out so well."--
In 1356, Sir Guy de Bocqueville follows whispers of a strange new heresy to an abandoned castle in southern France. He encounters the Good Men - a small charity sent from our time to better the brutal Middle Ages. Horrified by the technological wonders he perceives as witchcraft, he flees for his life to warn the world. In his chaotic wake, a new leader takes command of the Good Men. If the feudals won't accept the future willingly, he'll force them to... with the power of the bullet.The armies of Christendom mobilize and desperately wage war against an enemy seven centuries more advanced than they. Knights and soldiers, lords and kings, popes and peasants; all are sucked into the storm as Europe is set ablaze.
A pictorial collection of native New Zealand wildlife from a variety of habitats, including forests, shores and marine environments, alpine and wetlands.
Countless clever discoveries and wonders of engineering have changed the world and helped us to improve our lives, grow food, make things, power machinery and keep healthy. Smart practices and gadgets began appearing in ancient times - and never stopped!
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