Nature's giants : the biology and evolution of the world's largest lifeforms / Graeme D. Ruxton ; foreword by Norman Owen-Smith.

By: Ruxton, Graeme DContributor(s): Owen-Smith, R. NormanMaterial type: TextTextPublication details: New Haven [Connecticut] : Yale University Press, [2019]Description: 224 p. : col. ill. ; 29 cmISBN: 9780300239881Subject(s): Animals | Animals -- Pictorial works | Body sizeDDC classification: 591.4/1 LOC classification: QL799 | .R89 2019
Contents:
Foreword by Norman Owen-Smith -- Introduction -- 1 Life on a large scale -- 2 Dinosaurs -- 3 Massive mammals -- 4 Giants of the deep -- 5 Giants of the skies -- 6 Giant insects -- 7 Immense invertebrates -- 8 Record reptiles and amphibians -- 9 Green giants -- Final thoughts -- Further reading -- Index -- Acknowledgments.
Summary: "... biologist Graeme Ruxton explains how and why nature's giants came to be so big--for example, how decreased oxygen levels limited the size of insects and how island isolation allowed small-bodied animals to evolve larger body sizes. Through a diverse array of examples, from huge butterflies to giant squid, Ruxton explores the physics, biology, and evolutionary drivers behind organism size, showing what it's like to live large"--Jacket flap
Item type: List(s) this item appears in: High-Interest Non-Fiction
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Holdings
Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
Martha's Vineyard High School Library
591.4/RUX (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 39844500060579

Includes bibliographical references (p. 220) and index.

Foreword by Norman Owen-Smith -- Introduction -- 1 Life on a large scale -- 2 Dinosaurs -- 3 Massive mammals -- 4 Giants of the deep -- 5 Giants of the skies -- 6 Giant insects -- 7 Immense invertebrates -- 8 Record reptiles and amphibians -- 9 Green giants -- Final thoughts -- Further reading -- Index -- Acknowledgments.

Booklist starred, August 2019

Publishers Weekly Annex, June 2019

"... biologist Graeme Ruxton explains how and why nature's giants came to be so big--for example, how decreased oxygen levels limited the size of insects and how island isolation allowed small-bodied animals to evolve larger body sizes. Through a diverse array of examples, from huge butterflies to giant squid, Ruxton explores the physics, biology, and evolutionary drivers behind organism size, showing what it's like to live large"--Jacket flap

Young Adult Follett School Solutions.

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