| The Magazine of the CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES |
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reviews Relearning to Fly The California Condor: A Saga of Natural History & Conservation, by Noel and Helen Snyder. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 2000, 410 pp., $29.95 hardcover. On a clear day in February 1966, I walked into my backyard not far from California’s Mount Diablo and saw the unmistakable form of an adult California condor soaring high overhead. It had immense, flat wings with striking white triangular patches on the undersides, framed by seemingly endless primary “fingers.” But I was hesitant to report my sighting, because even as an 11-year-old, I knew the San Francisco Bay Area was outside of the condor’s known range. Apparently, I was not the only one unsure about the habits of the condor. The mysteries that surrounded its population size, biology, habits, and even its ability to tolerate humans contributed to its near-extinction in the 1980s. The California Condor: A Saga of Natural History & Conservation captures this uncertainty, and chronicles the monumental effort and controversy behind saving the California condor. Authors Noel and Helen Snyder weave history, biology, and politics into a magnificent saga that chronicles the conservation effort, from pinpointing the causes for their population declines to choosing a course of action to save this endangered species. As employees of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Snyders joined the California Condor Recovery Program in 1980 and remained with it for six years. In these critical times, a slew of national agencies and conservation groups went from being allies to enemies to allies again in their efforts to establish a captive breeding flock, designate more refuge space, and obtain desperately needed data on the remaining wild population. Scientists were desperate to learn more about the bird’s habits, nesting success, and above all, the causes of its mortality. During all of this, the California condor continued soaring toward near-oblivion. In the winter of 1984, six of the remaining 15 wild condors died or disappeared; the species was in dire straits with fewer than 30 birds. Some advocated allowing the bird to go extinct with dignity, unencumbered by captivity. But conservationists prevailed and in 1987 the last wild condors were captured so the captive breeding effort could begin in earnest. The book also provides perspective on the California condor that stretches from prehistoric times to the future management of the species. From the animal’s role in human cultures to the research efforts and setbacks (the second wild condor chick the Snyders’ team handled died in their hands), the book leaves no stone or reference left unturned. The Snyders show why mortality became the leading cause of the condor’s decline in the waning years rather than low reproductive success. The birds’ ancient habit of scavenging meat from dead carcasses has, in modern times, poisoned them with lead leached from hunters’ bullets. As long as lead bullets are legal, the condor will continue to be threatened. And although captive breeding programs may have increased their condor’s numbers, it turns out that parent-raised birds may be more capable of surviving in the semi-urbanized environment of southern California than puppet-raised birds that have imprinted on human-built structures. Whether the condor release program proves a success remains open to question and controversy. And the Snyders are not immune from revealing deep-seated bitterness about the problems they have personally faced with the host of players involved in the condor program. However, they also praise and thank these players, as they are all fighting, in their own way, to return the condor to California skies.
Flying Over California Wild Birds of California, by David Lukas. Companion Press, Santa Barbara, CA, 2000, 135 pp., $34.95 cloth; $19.95 paper. Birds of Northern California, by David Fix and Andy Bezener. Lone Pine Publishing, Renton, WA, 2000, 385 pp., $19.95 paper. A fresh, up close and personal look at California’s birds. David Lukas has assembled photographs by some of today’s best wildlife photographers of the more than 600 species of birds that can be seen in the state. Wild Birds of California captures California’s birds doing what they do best. Highlights include Frank Balthis’ perky roadrunner caught eating a small moth, Brian Small’s perching wrentit, its tail cocked, and Moose Peterson’s photo of a California gnatcatcher camouflaged in coastal scrub. But Wild Birds of California is much more than a pretty picture book. While field guides help us identify birds, Lukas says, we need to understand their habitats to truly appreciate them. How they “fit into and depend upon healthy landscapes,” he writes, is central. Accompanied by insightful text, each crisp, lively photo reminds us of the precarious balance of nature we must preserve if we are to observe and enjoy wild birds for years to come. As every birder knows, one good field guide is never enough. But David Fix and Andy Bezener in Birds of Northern California do their best to provide a well-rounded snapshot of California bird life, devoting a full page to each species with details about food, habitat, and nesting preferences. Large, attractive, color drawings of each species by Gary Ross, Ted Nordhagen, and Ewa Pluciennik enhance brief physical descriptions reminiscent of the delightful old field guides of the early 1900s. Range maps show the seasons in which the bird can be found in California. Few field guides contain this level of useful information. Birds of Northern California is a welcome addition to any birder’s fanny pack.
Fossils Found on CD PaleoBase, Macrofossils Part 1: Arthropods (including Trilobites), Brachiopods, Bryozoa, Trace Fossils & Graptolites, edited by Norman MacLeod. Blackwell Science, Osney Mead, Oxford, United Kingdom, $45.00, CD-ROM. PaleoBase is a comprehensive, easy to use resource for fossil freaks, with great educational value. Each of the five fossil groups it covers is well represented, and the photographs, though usually of European species, are superb. A summary page for each genus shows thumbnail images, plus the basic taxonomy, stratigraphic range, biogeography and ecology, and much more for each organism. The program is invaluable as a learning tool. By zooming in and placing the resized image next to a labeled diagram, it’s easy to locate diagnostic characters. The glossary is detailed and easy to access, but keep your biology dictionary handy as some basic terms are not explained. To keep track of a personal collection, use the powerful search feature to gather data on the organisms of a particular area, say, North America. Then export this information into your own database. A table listing fossils by geologic time period and sediment layer gives a clear breakdown of when various animals flourished, providing incentive to haul out the geology maps to find the corresponding rock formations in one’s own area. However, as with most programs, there are glitches. The scale bar, a black line under each image, does not give a clear idea of the actual size of the fossil. And some spelling errors and randomly placed apostrophes can be as much of a nuisance as dust motes on the lens of a microscope. But overall, Paleobase rocks.
Wildlife Encounters Elsewhere The Ecotravellers’ Wildlife Guides, by Les Beletsky. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 1998, 1999, 2000, $27.95 paper. One thing travelers to foreign countries discover is that it can be difficult, if not impossible, to find adequate field guides or information on the ecology of a destination. I remember leading natural history tours in Belize and culling information from books about Costa Rica because nothing else was available for this wildlife-rich country. This sad situation has changed for the better with the launch of Les Beletsky’s Ecotravellers’ Wildlife Guide series. For perhaps the first time, ecologically minded travelers can carry a single field guide that succinctly provides most of the information they’d want to have at hand. These guides offer a generous serving of stupendous, full-color plates depicting nearly all the commonly encountered vertebrates and, where appropriate, a selection of coral reef organisms, along with identification and habitat notes. The text provides in-depth discussions of the ecological relationships, natural history, and conservation efforts going on in the area, plus an overview of local parks and preserves worth visiting. Certainly the most unique feature of these guides is Beletsky’s broad approach to describing wildlife. For example, if you spot a monkey while in Belize and open the guide to the color plates, you’d find the two species of primates native to the country. Reading the plate text is often enough to distinguish between them, but those thirsty for more information can turn to the species accounts to read a five-page discussion about the biology of the country’s primates, including ecology, behavior, breeding, lore and notes, and status. Beletsky skillfully explains finer points with examples from the life histories of the species. These accounts make up the bulk of the text and are fascinating to read—perfect for sharing out loud while sipping margaritas on the porch of your favorite resort, at bedtime, or on the plane en route. Now five titles strong (including Tropical Mexico; Belize and Northern Guatemala; Hawaii; Costa Rica; Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands) and expanding rapidly, these extraordinary guides fill a broad niche that has been long vacant. Whether you travel to a country like Costa Rica, for which you can buy stacks of field guides, or to one like Belize, which has been mostly overlooked, you will find the Beletsky books the guides of choice. Recommended Reading from the Editors' Desks Traces of Time: The Beauty of Change in Nature, by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty. Chronicle Books, LLC, San Francisco, CA, 2000, 120 pp., $22.95, paper. Nature tells many stories, over seasons, centuries, tens of thousands and millions of years of time. The color of autumn leaves tells about last summer’s weather, while the arches and angles of rock formations tell a story of fire, wind, and rain written over thousands of years. In Traces of Time, Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty of the Exploratorium, San Francisco’s renowned hands-on science museum, capture these stories and much more, featuring striking photography by William Neill. See how islands and caves form and disintegrate, how plants and water work together to turn boulders into soil, and how time effects anything from shadows to ice sheets. Lucidly written captions are simple enough to keep a child’s attention yet detailed enough to satisfy scientists. Broader discourse on topics such as the effect of fire on forests and how plate tectonics create landforms unifies these concepts and provides the larger picture of change in time. Traces of Time is a gem that promises to permanently enrich any reader’s walk through the outdoors. |
Summer 2001
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