Nature All Around Us: A Guide to Urban Ecology

Description

It’s easy to stand in awe of a city’s impressive skyline, marveling at its buildings reaching for the clouds and its vast network of roadways and train lines crisscrossing in every direction. It can often seem like everything in a city is man-made, all concrete, steel, and glass. But even the asphalt jungle is not all asphalt—a sidewalk’s cracks are filled with nature, if we know where and how to look. To aid us in this quest isNature All Around Us,which will help us to recognize (and look after) the natural world we traipse through in our daily lives. Nature All Around Ususes the familiar—such as summer Sundays humming with lawn mowers, gray squirrels foraging in planters, and flocks of pigeons—in order to introduce basic ecological concepts. In twenty-five short chapters organized by scale, from the home to the neighborhood to the city at large, it offers a subtle and entertaining education in ecology sure to inspire appreciation and ultimately stewardship of the environment. Various ecological concepts that any urban dweller might encounter are approachably examined, from understanding why a squirrel might act aggressively towards its neighbor to how nutrients and energy contained within a discarded apple core are recycled back into the food chain. Streaming through the work is an introduction to basic ecology, including the dangers of invasive species and the crucial role played by plants and trees in maintaining air quality. Taken as a whole,Nature All Around Usis an unprecedented field guide to the ecology of the urban environment that invites us to look at our towns, cities, and even our backyards through the eyes of an ecologist. It is an entertaining, educational, and inspiring glimpse into nature in seemingly unnatural settings, a reminder that we don’t have to trek into the wild to see nature—we just have to open our eyes. Copyright......Page 2 Title Page......Page 3 Contents......Page 4 Introduction: What Is Ecology?......Page 6 PART I: AROUND THE HOUSE AND GARDEN......Page 8 1. Apple at My Core......Page 9 2. Arboreal Aqueducts......Page 14 3. Lawn Lions......Page 20 4. Praise for Lazy Gardeners......Page 25 5. The Evolution of Food......Page 29 6. Hey, Taxi!......Page 35 7. Social Life......Page 40 8. Bathroom Drama......Page 45 9. Winter Warmth......Page 50 PART II: IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD......Page 54 10. The Secret Life of Ponds......Page 55 11. A Life of Extremes......Page 61 12. Prowling Predator......Page 67 13. Pigeontown......Page 73 14. Animal Intelligentsia......Page 79 15. Squirrelly Neighbors......Page 85 16. From the Chimney Tops......Page 89 17. Long Lifelines......Page 94 PART III: THE METROPOLIS......Page 98 18. Canary in the City......Page 99 19. Wing Beats......Page 104 20. Enough Already!......Page 109 21. Darwin’s Sweet Tooth?......Page 115 22. A Breath of Fresh Air......Page 120 23. Successful Little Birds......Page 125 24. Opportunistic Gulls......Page 130 25. Urban Roots......Page 135 Conclusion......Page 140 Glossary......Page 142