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30-Second Zoology: The 50 most fundamental categories and concepts from the study of animal life
Endowed with abundant water, extraordinary ecoystems, varied climates and biomes, our planet is teeming with creatures, great and small. What produced this rich diversity?
How have so many species formed, evolved and adapted? What effects are humans having on the rest of the animal kingdom and on the natural environment we share?
30-Second Zoology explains the diversification process of evolution, then introduces the main groups of invertebrates and vertebrates. Breathing, seeing, communicating and other key features of animal physiology and behaviour are explored, as are the ecological relationships between Earth’s myriad species – the predators, the prey, the parasites and the positively poisonous – before assessing the anthropogenic effects of pollution, over-harvesting and a changing climate.
Covering everything from the origins of life and the most basic of organisms, all the way through to the more complex creatures that we recognise today, 30-Second Zoology aims to showcase the most fantastic examples of life on our earth, all in 300 words and one stunning illustration per topic.
How have so many species formed, evolved and adapted? What effects are humans having on the rest of the animal kingdom and on the natural environment we share?
30-Second Zoology explains the diversification process of evolution, then introduces the main groups of invertebrates and vertebrates. Breathing, seeing, communicating and other key features of animal physiology and behaviour are explored, as are the ecological relationships between Earth’s myriad species – the predators, the prey, the parasites and the positively poisonous – before assessing the anthropogenic effects of pollution, over-harvesting and a changing climate.
Covering everything from the origins of life and the most basic of organisms, all the way through to the more complex creatures that we recognise today, 30-Second Zoology aims to showcase the most fantastic examples of life on our earth, all in 300 words and one stunning illustration per topic.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 3, 2020
10 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 3, 2020
Zoology (as distinct from biology) was one of those sciences that was always most in danger of suffering from Rutherford's old taunt along the lines of 'all science is either physics or stamp collecting' - consisting as it largely seemed to do for a number of centuries of simply cataloguing animals and their behaviour. However, like all the sciences it has evolved, and as someone with very little background in zoology apart from visiting the odd zoo, it was interesting to get this overview of what today's zoology entails.
Inevitably the introductory section (origin and evolution) has a fair amount that is more generally biological in feel (for example, with spreads on genes and natural selection). We then move on to separate sections on invertebrates and vertebrates, handling quite broad groups (mammals, for example, get a single entry), then broader topics of physiology and behaviour, before moving onto perhaps the most interesting sections on ecology and on conservation and extinction. I was interested in the 'ecology' section to find an article on keystone species, which elsewhere I'd recently read was a rather outdated concept - but interesting nonetheless.
I'll be honest, the format is one I've never really understood. I like words with the odd picture to explain something that words struggle to highlight - but in this series half the pages are taken up with large illustrations, more decorative than informative, and even the text is broken into tight, bite-sized chunks. This makes it a handy kind of book to read on the train, perhaps (though the large format mitigates against this). I'm also not overly fond of multi-author books, though Mark Fellowes, the editor has done a good job of pulling together the various articles and making them feel like a whole.
Interesting, then, and something I might browse through in a library or bookshop... but not my favourite style of book. Although not addressed to children, perhaps ideal for a teenager who is developing a first interest in the subject.
Inevitably the introductory section (origin and evolution) has a fair amount that is more generally biological in feel (for example, with spreads on genes and natural selection). We then move on to separate sections on invertebrates and vertebrates, handling quite broad groups (mammals, for example, get a single entry), then broader topics of physiology and behaviour, before moving onto perhaps the most interesting sections on ecology and on conservation and extinction. I was interested in the 'ecology' section to find an article on keystone species, which elsewhere I'd recently read was a rather outdated concept - but interesting nonetheless.
I'll be honest, the format is one I've never really understood. I like words with the odd picture to explain something that words struggle to highlight - but in this series half the pages are taken up with large illustrations, more decorative than informative, and even the text is broken into tight, bite-sized chunks. This makes it a handy kind of book to read on the train, perhaps (though the large format mitigates against this). I'm also not overly fond of multi-author books, though Mark Fellowes, the editor has done a good job of pulling together the various articles and making them feel like a whole.
Interesting, then, and something I might browse through in a library or bookshop... but not my favourite style of book. Although not addressed to children, perhaps ideal for a teenager who is developing a first interest in the subject.
August 6, 2022
Should you read this book? It depends on what you're looking for.
If you're hoping for short, fun facts about animals and the natural world, you are going to be disappointed.
Instead this book takes a brief glance at 50 of the (according to the authors) most notable concepts of Zoology. These include for example mass extinctions, metamorphosis, habitat loss, venoms & poisons, and development. Some were really interesting, and some were quite challenging.
The book is written in collaboration between different experts in the field and edited by Mark Fellowes, who is credited as the author.
As such, a lot of terminology and technical words are used, so a much needed glossary is included in the introduction to every chapter.
In addition, each chapter includes a mini-biography of a scientist/researcher who did groundbreaking work in the field. These were very interesting.
While the layout of the book was a bit odd, I learnt a lot, and I think aspiring biologists and zoologists, or people genuinely curious about Zoology as a scientific field, will enjoy it.
If nothing else, this book brought up plenty of interesting people, theories, research and books from the field that I want to look into.
If you're hoping for short, fun facts about animals and the natural world, you are going to be disappointed.
Instead this book takes a brief glance at 50 of the (according to the authors) most notable concepts of Zoology. These include for example mass extinctions, metamorphosis, habitat loss, venoms & poisons, and development. Some were really interesting, and some were quite challenging.
The book is written in collaboration between different experts in the field and edited by Mark Fellowes, who is credited as the author.
As such, a lot of terminology and technical words are used, so a much needed glossary is included in the introduction to every chapter.
In addition, each chapter includes a mini-biography of a scientist/researcher who did groundbreaking work in the field. These were very interesting.
While the layout of the book was a bit odd, I learnt a lot, and I think aspiring biologists and zoologists, or people genuinely curious about Zoology as a scientific field, will enjoy it.
If nothing else, this book brought up plenty of interesting people, theories, research and books from the field that I want to look into.
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April 10, 2021This was a more scientific book than what I was expecting but it quickly introduced me to many topics.
July 28, 2024
Not a bad quick overview, format is fun and illustrations beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews