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Loading... Call of Nature: The Secret Life of Dungby Richard Jones
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Interesting and fascinating coverage of animal digestion and resulting dung. The many types of dung beetle feature prominently! Perhaps a bit too much information at times but I learnt a lot. Dung beetles introduced into Australia to deal with build up of cattle dung. Large section at end devoted to a glossary of dung feeders and dictionary of dung terms. ( ) Call of Nature is an informative, interesting, thought-provoking, well-researched and nicely illustrated book full of interesting facts by an author who is passionate about his subject. The author's British sense of humour and personal, relevant (but not long-winded ) anecdotes was entertaining and lightened up a book that revolves around dung and dung beetles. Such topics as the ecological value of dung, the animal communities that make use of dung, a fond focus on dung beetles, and what happens if dung just lay around and didn't degrade (as happened in Australia), are covered in this book. A useful identification guide to various types of animal dung and a guide to some critters that inhabit dung is also provided. Not to mention the rather amusing scatalogical dictionary at the end. no reviews | add a review
Journey through the digestive systems of humans, farm and wild animals, and meet some of nature's ultimate recyclers as they eat, breed in and compete for dung. The fall of bodily waste onto the ground is the start of a race against the clock as a multitude of dung-feeders and scavengers consume this rich food source. From the enigmatic dung-rolling beetles to bat guano and giant elephant droppings, dung creates a miniature ecosystem to be explored by the aspiring dung watcher. The author completes the book with an identification guide to dung itself, so that you can identify the animal that left it behind. Pellets or pats? Scats, spraints, frass, guano, spoor - learn your way around different species' droppings. There's also a dung-feeder's identification guide that includes the species you're most likely to encounter on an exploration of the dung heap. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)573.49Natural sciences and mathematics Life Sciences, Biology Physiological systems in animals Influence of climate and surroundingsLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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