Ecosystem Ecology

Sally Coulthard explores the miraculous world of the earthworm, the modest little creature without whom life as we know it would not be possible. For Charles Darwin - who estimated every acre of land contained 53,000 earthworms - the humble earthworm was the most important creature on the planet. And yet, most people know almost nothing about these little engineers of the earth. We take them for granted but, without the earthworm, the world's soil would be barren and our gardens, fields and farms wouldn't be able to grow the food and support the animals we need to survive.

A mudança climática é real, mas não é o fim do mundo. Não é sequer nosso maior problema ambiental. Michael Shellenberger tem lutado por um planeta mais verde por décadas. Ajudou a salvar as últimas sequoias ameaçadas do mundo, co-criou o que seria o predecessor do atual Novo Acordo Verde (Green New Deal), além de, juntamente com cientistas climáticos e ativistas, liderar uma ação bem sucedida para manter as usinas nucleares funcionando, assim evitando os famosos "picos de emissão".

You might know that gray wolves live in packs, but there’s so much more to learn about these incredible predators! Find out what makes wolves howl, why wolves sniffing each other’s butts is their way of shaking hands, and how some wolves in Yellowstone National Park used thermal activity to heat their den! You’ll also witness the incredible relationship gray wolves have with ravens (they play tug with wolf cubs), learn about wolf rewilding projects, and discover what it takes to become a wolf zoologist yourself.

In the 1930s, the last wolves disappeared from Yellowstone National Park. Without them, elk herds overran the plains. Bears starved, rabbit families shrunk and birds flew away to new homes. Then plants and trees started to die off, too—even the flow of rivers was affected. Could the park be saved...by the wolves it had lost? After years of planning, in 1995 a team of experts was ready to find out. They carefully relocated 14 wolves from the Canadian Rockies to Yellowstone. This is the story of their homecoming.

In Elkhorn Slough, an inlet on the California coast, seagrass grows healthy and strong in the shallow water. This healthy seagrass baffled marine biologist Brent Hughes. The scientist expected this estuary to be overrun with algae, causing the seagrass to die. Why was the seagrass thriving? As Brent investigated, signs pointed to an unexpected player helping to keep the seagrass healthy: sea otters! What do these top predators have to do with an aquatic grass at the opposite end of the food chain?

Making earth science accessible and entertaining, The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth explains how our planet works - and how we can protect it - from its diverse ecosystems and their inhabitants to the levels of ecology, the importance of biodiversity, the cycles of nature, and more. Science- and nature-loving listeners of all ages will delight in this utterly charming guide to our amazing home.

Japan. March 11, 2011. 2:46 P.M. The biggest earthquake in Japan's history - and one of the world's five most powerful since 1900 - devastated the Tohoku region, 320 kilometers (200 miles) northeast of Tokyo. It triggered a huge tsunami that left crippling damage in its wake. More than 13,000 people drowned, and thousands of buildings and homes were reduced to rubble.

Mosquitoes are among the most notorious insects globally, infamous for their role as vectors of various deadly diseases. Yet, their existence is a complex interplay of detrimental and beneficial effects on both ecosystems and human societies.

Drawing upon his vast knowledge of the environment, biology, botany, and history, Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr. has written a love letter to Kentucky. The lay person as well as the expert will understand as he describes the state’s evolution - its history, original land surface, the river-cut gorges, the mountains, and the lakes. Along with thorough documentation, the writer gives us a poetic description of this “...verdant state, lush in its heat, humidity, and rainfall. The diversity and abundance of life was immediately evident to all who came here”.