Noted with interest

Power in conservation. Environmental anthropology beyond political ecology. Carpenter, C. 2020. Routledge, London, UK. x+219 pp. £34.99. ISBN 978-0-367-34250-0.

We all agree there is real need for conservation interventions to be effective, and Carol Carpenter has some suggestions how to improve effectiveness. She focuses on power in conservation and provides a toolbox of ideas about power relations for users, not simply readers—as she emphasizes. “Most power is well meaning. Most power in conservation does not even know itself as power or as governing. This book is about those sorts of power”—she writes. Money, influence, and coercive control—this is what people often understand under power, but as Carpenter argues, “most of the power in conservation lies with mistaken assumptions conservationists hold about people, misunderstandings about their relation with the environment, and assumptions about our own superior knowledge, and our sense that we have a right to intervene based on that assumed superior knowledge.” The book introduces the different understanding of power by Marx and Foucault and shows what we can learn if we replace the winner and looser opposition of Marx, where power is a fixed property of some agents, with examining concretely how power is generated by and located in different strategies of government, as suggested by Foucault. Carpenter shows, using a great selection of local ethnographies, that the how question is best answered by nuanced ethnographic accounts, where people and nature are seen as inextricably interwoven parts of the same complex system. Reads will learn that a conservationist without at least a basic understanding of how power affects conservation actions is doomed to fail.

Quantifying diets of wildlife and fish: Practical and applied methods. Calver, M. C., and N. R. Loneragan, editors. 2024. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK. ix + 190 pp. £80.00 (paperback). ISBN 978-1-80062-510-5.

Calver and Loneragan focus on the techniques available to study animal diets, rather than on particular groups of organisms or specific environments. They suggest that “cross-pollination” of the different traditions for characterizing the diets of fish versus terrestrial animals can help move the field forward. Different methodological approaches are discussed: direct observation, stomach content analysis, fecal analysis, metabarcoding, fatty acid analysis, stable isotope analysis, field experiments, and multivariate statistical analysis. Each of the 10 chapters is well-written and informative. Although some of the methods are infrequently used to quantify diets, such as direct observation and fatty acid analysis, their inclusion is effective if only to point out their limitations. The desired cross-pollination worked best in the stomach content analysis chapter because this was a common method for fish diet analysis but was rarely done in the wildlife examples cited. There is a strong focus on vertebrates. Stomach content analysis of invertebrates has been an active field for many decades, but it is largely absent. Unaddressed is the rich literature on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative PCR to identify diet components and the rapidly developing shotgun sequencing of unamplified stomach contents. Another problem is the definition of quantification; trophic links can be quantified as flows (energy or material), frequencies of interaction, and per capita interaction strength. Different ways to quantify the frequency of interaction are addressed, but other approaches are omitted. However, the measurement of diet composition and preferences are addressed. Overall, the book will be useful for researchers initiating diet analyses of a vertebrate species.

The well-connected animal. Social networks and the wondrous complexity of animal societies. Duatkin, L. A. 2024. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. viii+217 pp. US$29.00 (hardcover). ISBN 978-0-226-81878-8.

This book investigates the social lives of animals and how their networks influence survival, behavior, and evolution. Drawing on diverse disciplines, including genetics, psychology, and computer science, the Duatkin presents examples on bats sharing food, macaques forming alliances after hurricanes, and birds learning new foraging techniques. Dugatkin explains scientific terms clearly, includes helpful illustrations, and balances historical perspectives with the latest research. The respectful acknowledgment of female researchers’ contributions and candid portrayal of fieldwork challenges (early mornings, fighting with bugs, and long working hours) make the narrative inclusive and readable. The author's witty tone adds charm to the text and keeps it engaging without sacrificing accuracy. He avoids drawing strong conclusions, emphasizing that science is a constantly evolving field. This humility, along with the honest acknowledgment of uncertainties, such as statistically insignificant findings, strengthens the book's credibility. A few drawbacks include occasional gaps in the explanation of research findings and minor formatting issues, such as the photo collection in the middle of the book lacking references to specific chapters. The blank pages following chapters and missing page numbers can be distracting. However, these are outweighed by the book's strengths. The Well-Connected Animal will a compelling read for scientists, students, and animal enthusiasts alike. It sheds light on the complex social networks in nature, showing that cooperation, conflict, and connection are as vital to animals as they are to humans.

The lives of lichens: A natural history. Lücking, R., and Spribille, T. 2024. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 288 pp. US$35.00 (hardcover). ISBN 978-0-691-24727-4.

Because 5–10% of Earth's terrestrial surface is dominated by lichens, probably everybody has met a lichen, but maybe they did not know it was a lichen. After immersing oneself in this lavishly illustrated book, written in a refreshing style, probably not only lichenologists will stop and admire these beautiful organisms during a walk in nature or the city. The book starts with a general description of lichens and covers 8 main topics. Examples of species from around the world that display interesting features are provided. The authors describe the study of lichens and the wide range of players in the life of a lichen. They answer exciting questions, such as what does a lichen's day look like, can lichens survive a trip into space, and how can lichens adapt to climate change, what drives lichen architecture, did lichens exist at the same time as dinosaurs, is it true that lichens have no names, and is a “moss wall” a scam? All these and many other questions are answered in short anecdotes enhanced by stunning photographs and graphics. The reader also learns about lichen-dominated ecosystems, ecosystem services provided by lichens, and the many ways humanity is connected to lichens. In short, one learns why lichens and their beautiful world need more attention and protection. This well-written and carefully compiled book will be enjoyed by not only beginner or advanced lichenologists and specialists of other organism groups, ecologists, and conservationists but also anyone who is open to the curiosities of nature.

Insects of North America. Abbott, J. C., and Abbott, K. K. 2023. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. x+585 pp. US$24.95 (paperback). ISBN 978-0-691-23285-0.

The authors have put together a beautiful guide to insects replete with thousands of color photographs. The main purpose of this work is to replace and update the Peterson Guide by Borror and White. They provide pictorial keys to all but the rarest of the 784 families found in North America, excluding Mexico, and organize the work around the most recent taxonomic concepts. This is an extraordinary accomplishment, and I learned interesting bits while reading through the overviews of the orders and summaries of the families. Given the space limitations, for Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, the treatment of carabids, aquatic beetles, lasiocampids, sphingids, saturniids, and butterflies was particularly nice. One persistent question I had was, who is the intended audience? If intended for gardeners, then several major garden pests and natural enemies are missing. If intended for homeowners, several common household species are missing. For picnickers, the most common picnic beetles are missing. In addition, a short section on the evolution of insects is missing that would cover convergent evolution and explain why so many species resemble each other. But these are quibbles, and it is clear that the authors had to make difficult choices about what to include. In the broader context of modern identification guides, one can only hope that the work can be converted into an app that coordinates with the many digital identification applications that are proliferating.

Tortoises of the world: Giants to dwarfs. 2024. Zug, G. R., and Reese, D. A. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD. x+228 pp. US$49.95 (hardcover). ISBN 978-1-4214-4835-0.

Tortoises of the World is a new natural history reference book for herpetologists. Zug and Reese made the book easy to read and understand for all ages, from children to adults. The excellently written chapters are accompanied by very-high-quality graphics and photos, which make the information easier to comprehend. Two of the best aspects of the book are that it provides a holistic view of tortoises and gives hobby tortoise keepers and professionals alike much new information that is useful for their work. The chapters are structured to lay the foundation for the last 2 chapters, which describe conservation strategies and methods for studying individual species. Thereby, the book can greatly help in the development of future, complex conservation programs for tortoises the world over. One thing a reader might find lacking is illustrations or photos of the 47 described species either at the end of the chapter or at the end of the book as a supplement. It is hoped the authors will add this to future editions of this important volume.