Ecology, like all literary narrative, has the potential for turnabout, surprise, lessons learned, and tragedy. The stories in
Threads from the Web of Life
and
The Shark and the Jellyfish
describe protagonists, their competitors, and the habitats that provide the setting for their interaction—habitats that have become surprisingly complex with the passage of evolutionary time.
One niche moves across a world of flowers that reaches its earliest peak bloom in the low valleys and then peaks later among the slopes of the foothills—a rolling habitat. Another hop-scotches across the ocean floor, compelling its occupants to migrate from the fallen body of one dead whale to the next. Yet another appears in the aftermath of typhoons, requiring its inhabitants to search the tropical coastline for the latest storm landfall.
These tales are filled with no less intrigue than other literary works, but they transpire out of the sight of most readers. Once known only to ecologists, in
, available for the first time in a single deluxe paperback, these stories become accessible to everyone with an interest in natural history.