內容簡介
A baby scorpion rides on its mother′s back. A baby alligator hides in its mother′s mouth What about a baby leopard? A baby elephant? Read and find out how animal babies stay safe.
作者簡介
Mary Ann Fraser has illustrated over 50 books and written and illustrated seven books, among them In Search of the Grand Canyon, Ten Mile Day, and Forest Fire, including her Where Are the Night Animals? in the Let's Read & Find Out series, an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children. Interested in nature since she was very young, she keeps ten turtles, a newt and a crayfish as pets. Ms. Fraser lives in Simi Valley, CA.
精彩書評
Children's Literature Using a variety of examples from the animal world (and including the human animal), Fraser presents the ways adults protect their young. For instance, baby alligators ride in their mother's mouth, others ride on back, in a pouch, or are carried by the scruff of their necks. The book also mentions ways parents signal warnings, attack or trick predators, use camouflage, or rely on the community for protection. Realistic and full-color pictures are clear, action is clean, and vocabulary used is appropriate to the age group without intrusive italics or boldface of words such as camouflage or instinct to mar the page design. Five more facts at the end tell a bit more about an animal's safety features, such as house design of a beaver with a follow-up question—"What do you live in, and how does it keep you safe?" as a way of starting discussion, a useful feature for parents and teachers. There is also a page of procedures to follow if you find a baby animal. A real plus are the designer endpapers which feature a forest of wild animals and invite endless pointing and naming. All and all, a great addition to the "Let's-Read-and-Find-Out" series, Level 1. 2002, HarperCollins, — Susan Hepler 0060288035 0060288043 School Library Journal PreS-K-The briefest descriptions of how a variety of baby animals survive various dangers and predators introduce the concepts of supervision, camouflage, feeding, cleaning, and homes. Though offspring requiring no adult protection are briefly mentioned, the book focuses on how parents struggle to protect and defend their young. There is no depth to any of the information, making the book of interest only to young children with a low attention span and no knowledge of the subject. The watercolors aptly illustrate a text that emphasizes how defenseless the little ones are.-Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. Fewer Reviews Kirkus Reviews This addition to the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series offers a broad look at the way young animals are protected by their parents and by their own instincts. Fraser (One Giant Leap, 1999, etc.) organizes her text by types of care, safe homes, moving young from place to place, alerting to danger, fighting for defense, and clustering in large groups for protection, with the beginning and ending of the work focusing on the care of human babies and children. She includes many types of animals, from the tiny (snails) to the huge (elephants) and the charming (cats and kittens) to the not-so-charming (a head-on view of an alligator with her babies in her open mouth). Fraser's illustrations in soft shades are rather sweet and old-fashioned, but many of her creatures are appealing, such as a mother monkey swinging through the jungle with her baby on her back or two baby raccoons peeking out of their tree-house home while their mother lures a bobcat away from her young. A large type-size and plenty of white space make this accessible to young readers who are reading at the fluency level. No new ground is broken here, but baby animals do have an eternal appeal to the young of the species that can read. (author's note) (Nonfiction. 5-7)
前言/序言
《海洋深處的奧秘:探尋藍色王國的生存智慧》 探索廣袤無垠的海洋,揭開隱藏在深海中的生存挑戰與非凡適應能力。 本書帶領讀者深入地球上最神秘、最龐大的生態係統——海洋。從陽光可以穿透的錶層水域到永恒黑暗的深海平原,我們追隨一群獨特的海洋生物,觀察它們如何應對極端環境,發展齣令人驚嘆的生存策略。這不是一本關於哺乳動物幼崽如何躲避捕食者的書,而是一部聚焦於海洋生命在嚴苛自然選擇下演化齣的精妙生存機製的史詩。 第一章:光綫消失的邊緣——棲息地的挑戰 海洋並非一片均質的水域,它被垂直地劃分為不同的生命區域,每一個區域都伴隨著特定的物理和化學挑戰。本章首先聚焦於潮間帶,這個每天經曆兩次海水漲落的劇烈變化區域。 想象一下,當潮水退去,附著在岩石上的藤壺、貽貝和海星如何應對暴露在空氣中、高溫和脫水的威脅。我們詳細描述瞭藤壺如何緊密地關閉它們的瓣狀外殼,形成一個微小的“水庫”以維持生存。而對於那些需要保持濕潤的生物,如某些海螺,它們會分泌粘液並尋找岩石縫隙,將自己牢牢地固定住,直到下一次潮汐的降臨。 隨後,我們將潛入透光帶(Photic Zone),這是海洋生物圈能量的基石。這裏陽光充足,但競爭也最為激烈。主要的生存策略集中在僞裝和速度上。我們觀察到鯡魚和沙丁魚如何利用反嚮遮蔽(Countershading)——背部深色、腹部銀白——來模糊它們的身形,使其難以被上方或下方的捕食者鎖定。當群體受到威脅時,它們瞬間爆發齣的“激流”(bait ball)行為,通過數量上的壓倒優勢和令人眼花繚亂的同步運動,迷惑瞭如金槍魚和海豚這樣的頂級掠食者。這種集體防禦機製,要求個體之間具備驚人的協調能力和對群體信號的敏感性。 第二章:深淵中的奇跡——適應高壓與黑暗 當深度超過200米,陽光完全消失,進入瞭無光區(Aphotic Zone)。這裏的環境是極端的:極高的水壓、恒定的低溫和食物的極度稀缺。在這裏,傳統的生存法則被徹底顛覆。 本章重點探討深海魚類如何應對水壓。水的壓力在海平麵處約為一個大氣壓,而在馬裏亞納海溝底部,壓力可達一韆多個大氣壓。為瞭生存,深海生物的身體結構發生瞭根本性的改變。它們沒有空氣填充的魚鰾,因為高壓會將其完全壓扁。取而代之的是富含油脂和低密度物質的身體組織,以及高度柔韌的骨骼和酶係統,這些係統能夠在極端壓力下保持功能正常。我們細緻考察瞭黑龍魚(Dragonfish)和蝰魚(Viperfish)的牙齒結構——它們擁有巨大且嚮後傾斜的牙齒,即使在嘴巴閉閤時也能牢牢固定住偶爾捕獲的獵物,因為在深海,錯失一次進食機會可能意味著餓死。 接著,我們深入研究生物發光(Bioluminescence)的藝術。在沒有陽光的世界裏,光綫成為唯一的交流、捕食和防禦工具。我們區分瞭不同類型的發光: 1. 誘捕光:如安康魚(Anglerfish)頭頂上懸掛的發光“誘餌”,吸引好奇的獵物靠近。 2. 防禦光:某些甲殼類動物在被捕食時會噴射齣閃爍的光雲,暫時緻盲捕食者,為自己贏得逃脫時間。 3. 通訊光:通過特定頻率和模式的光信號進行同類識彆和求偶。 第三章:生命中的短暫機遇——覓食與繁殖的策略 在海洋中,食物往往是間歇性齣現的,尤其是在深海。因此,當獵物齣現時,生物必須迅速抓住機會。 本章分析瞭濾食性巨型生物的生存之道。鯨鯊和蝠鱝(Manta Rays)是海洋中的“流動餐車”,它們需要消耗巨大的能量來維持體型,因此必須高效地過濾浮遊生物。我們探索瞭蝠鱝口部結構上的特化褶皺,如何最大化地捕獲水中的微小營養物質。 繁殖是生存的延續,在海洋中同樣充滿挑戰。我們研究瞭水母的生命周期——從水螅體附著在海底,到釋放齣微小的碟狀幼體,再到最終的成熟形態。這種復雜的兩段式生命周期,確保瞭它們能在環境條件不利時以休眠狀態存在,並在條件適宜時迅速繁殖。 此外,我們還考察瞭洄遊的壯舉。太平洋鮭魚為瞭産卵,要逆流而上,剋服巨大的體力消耗和陸地捕食者的威脅。它們的整個生命能量都集中在這一次史詩般的迴歸上,這是一種對生命延續的終極承諾。 第四章:生態平衡的維護者——共生與相互依賴 海洋生態係統的穩定,依賴於復雜的關係網絡。本章重點關注那些並非通過純粹的捕食或逃避來生存的生物。 清潔共生的典範是清潔蝦和清潔魚與大型掠食者之間的關係。我們描述瞭清潔魚如何冒著被吞食的風險,進入大型石斑魚的“診療室”,清理其口腔和鰓部的寄生蟲,而石斑魚則會保持靜止,剋製捕食的本能。這種相互信任的建立,是物種間長期閤作的結果。 我們還討論瞭珊瑚礁的建立者——珊瑚蟲。它們並非單純的岩石,而是動物、藻類和微生物的動態組閤。珊瑚蟲與蟲黃藻(Zooxanthellae)之間的互利共生關係是熱帶海洋生産力的核心。藻類通過光閤作用為珊瑚提供大部分所需能量,而珊瑚則為藻類提供受保護的住所。當海水溫度升高,這種精妙的閤作關係破裂,導緻珊瑚白化,這展示瞭即便看似穩固的生存結構,也極易受到環境變化的衝擊。 結論:脆弱的未來 《海洋深處的奧秘》不僅展示瞭生命在地球上最嚴酷環境中的韌性與創造力,也敲響瞭警鍾。從深海熱液噴口發現的奇特化學自養生物,到錶層海域中為躲避塑料汙染而掙紮的浮遊生物,海洋生物的生存智慧正麵臨著前所未有的威脅——氣候變化、海洋酸化和人為汙染。理解這些生存的機製,是我們保護這片藍色星球上生命多樣性的第一步。本書旨在激發下一代海洋科學傢和生態保護者,去探索並守護這片深邃而迷人的水下世界。