Call number
Collection
Publication
New York : Distributed to the trade by Macmillan, 2008.
Pages
291
Description
A provocative look at how the disappearance of the world's great predators has upset the delicate balance of the environment, and what their disappearance portends for the future, by an acclaimed science journalist.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008
Physical description
291 p.; 8.3 inches
ISBN
9781596916241
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Library's review
Where the Wild Things Were is an examination of the concept of predators as keystone species -- that ecosystems are ultimately kept in balance not from the bottom up, by limited food supply, but from the top down, by the actions of predators. Depending on the ecosystem in question, the top predator
Starting with controlled experiments (a researcher repeatedly removing starfish from one tidepool and not another, and observing the resulting conversion of a thriving miniature ecosystem to a monoculture desert of mollusks in the starfish-free pool) and moving to discussion of half a dozen different ecosystems deprived of predators, Stolzenburg demonstrates the necessity of predators to maintaining healthy ecology. The main influence of predation, he argues, is not to reduce the numbers of prey, but to change the behavior of prey species -- elk in Yellowstone in the absence of wolves become bolder, grazing in stream bottoms where they would be vulnerable and moving around less than they otherwise would. This also provides a compelling counterargument to the suggestion of human hunters as a replacement for top predators -- few human hunters would be willing to target weak and sick animals over trophy males, or to spread their efforts out year-round rather than going out with friends during a brief hunting season.
This was a fascinating and well-targeted read; while Stolzenburg never talks down to his audience, he doesn't assume familiarity with the ecological concepts he discusses, either in general or in detail. While I was familiar with the basic outline of some of his examples -- the return of wolves in Yellowstone National Park facilitating a return of aspens, sea otters as a keystone species off the northwest coast of the US and Canada -- I was never bored by his explorations of these issues.
One potential disappointment is that, other than some very general discussion toward the end, the examples explored in this book are entirely North American. Part of that is certainly the limited experiences of the author, but certainly the rest of the world has also suffered from the loss of large predators. Europe may have lost its bears and wolves too long ago to have good records of what things were like before, but parts of Asia and Africa have seen ranges of predators shrink dramatically in the recent past -- have any studies been done there? And how has the Australian landscape changed with the destruction of the Tasmanian tiger? Despite these omissions I would unhesitatingly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in ecology, and especially to those with the naive view that individual animals, rather than ecosystems, should be the focus of protection.
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may be a starfish or a tiger, but in either case they are important far out of proportion to their numbers. The most famous example of the keystone species, which Stolzenburg discusses early in the book, may be the sea otter. One of the favorite foods of the sea otter is the sea urchin, which eats kelp and which few other animals will eat. Eliminate the sea otters, and a thriving kelp forest with dozens of species of fish and invertebrates, which in turn support fish-eaters like dolphins, seals, and sharks, is converted to an "urchin barrens" where spiny sea urchins roam a seafloor almost entirely denuded of kelp and its attendant species.Starting with controlled experiments (a researcher repeatedly removing starfish from one tidepool and not another, and observing the resulting conversion of a thriving miniature ecosystem to a monoculture desert of mollusks in the starfish-free pool) and moving to discussion of half a dozen different ecosystems deprived of predators, Stolzenburg demonstrates the necessity of predators to maintaining healthy ecology. The main influence of predation, he argues, is not to reduce the numbers of prey, but to change the behavior of prey species -- elk in Yellowstone in the absence of wolves become bolder, grazing in stream bottoms where they would be vulnerable and moving around less than they otherwise would. This also provides a compelling counterargument to the suggestion of human hunters as a replacement for top predators -- few human hunters would be willing to target weak and sick animals over trophy males, or to spread their efforts out year-round rather than going out with friends during a brief hunting season.
This was a fascinating and well-targeted read; while Stolzenburg never talks down to his audience, he doesn't assume familiarity with the ecological concepts he discusses, either in general or in detail. While I was familiar with the basic outline of some of his examples -- the return of wolves in Yellowstone National Park facilitating a return of aspens, sea otters as a keystone species off the northwest coast of the US and Canada -- I was never bored by his explorations of these issues.
One potential disappointment is that, other than some very general discussion toward the end, the examples explored in this book are entirely North American. Part of that is certainly the limited experiences of the author, but certainly the rest of the world has also suffered from the loss of large predators. Europe may have lost its bears and wolves too long ago to have good records of what things were like before, but parts of Asia and Africa have seen ranges of predators shrink dramatically in the recent past -- have any studies been done there? And how has the Australian landscape changed with the destruction of the Tasmanian tiger? Despite these omissions I would unhesitatingly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in ecology, and especially to those with the naive view that individual animals, rather than ecosystems, should be the focus of protection.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member anna_in_pdx
I was excited to get this book. I had just seen a movie, called "Lords of Nature: Life in a Land of Great Predators," that covered many of the scientific studies and predator reintroduction issues that this book talks about in much more depth. I was struck by how crucial these animals are to their
Although I had very high expectations for this book, I was not disappointed. It's very well-written, in a journalistic fashion. It's organized in a logical way, beginning with descriptions of the various naturalists and biologists whose studies showed the importance of predators to different ecosystems, then getting into some of the issues caused by prey and "mesopredators" (small or scavenger predators that proliferate when top predators are gone, such as raccoons). It ended with a couple of chapters about the idea of bringing the top predators back, which has actually been implemented here in the US in several places, perhaps the most notable of which is Yellowstone, where wolves have greatly improved the park by affecting the behavior of the elk so that plants can grow and other animals can live in the areas protected by them.
What was sad to me in reading this book was that just as I got to the last chapters, and the ideas of "rewilding" (not only bringing back wolves but bringing large predators from other countries to replace those that went extinct when man first crossed the land bridge in prehistoric times), the news was suddenly full of Western states, including my own, Oregon, that are succumbing to local pressure and killing off recently re-introduced wolves and mountain lions.
Rewilding goes against the human nature grain, it seems, and that in a very big way. The book describes the visceral reaction that followed rewilding efforts and publicity, and I was watching the same reaction every day as I read articles about wolf eradication on line and read the reader comments - and it does not leave one with a lot of hope that humans can ever actually heal their ecosystems by recognizing how crucial top predators are. But I hope that books like this will not only be read by people like me, but by those whose minds may be changed.
This book is not only well-written but it also contains great endnotes, bibliography and index. I very highly recommend it. I've read several environmental books in the past couple of years and this is definitely up there with the greatest ones.
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ecosystems and what damage is done by prey animals when the predators are all gone.Although I had very high expectations for this book, I was not disappointed. It's very well-written, in a journalistic fashion. It's organized in a logical way, beginning with descriptions of the various naturalists and biologists whose studies showed the importance of predators to different ecosystems, then getting into some of the issues caused by prey and "mesopredators" (small or scavenger predators that proliferate when top predators are gone, such as raccoons). It ended with a couple of chapters about the idea of bringing the top predators back, which has actually been implemented here in the US in several places, perhaps the most notable of which is Yellowstone, where wolves have greatly improved the park by affecting the behavior of the elk so that plants can grow and other animals can live in the areas protected by them.
What was sad to me in reading this book was that just as I got to the last chapters, and the ideas of "rewilding" (not only bringing back wolves but bringing large predators from other countries to replace those that went extinct when man first crossed the land bridge in prehistoric times), the news was suddenly full of Western states, including my own, Oregon, that are succumbing to local pressure and killing off recently re-introduced wolves and mountain lions.
Rewilding goes against the human nature grain, it seems, and that in a very big way. The book describes the visceral reaction that followed rewilding efforts and publicity, and I was watching the same reaction every day as I read articles about wolf eradication on line and read the reader comments - and it does not leave one with a lot of hope that humans can ever actually heal their ecosystems by recognizing how crucial top predators are. But I hope that books like this will not only be read by people like me, but by those whose minds may be changed.
This book is not only well-written but it also contains great endnotes, bibliography and index. I very highly recommend it. I've read several environmental books in the past couple of years and this is definitely up there with the greatest ones.
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LibraryThing member Nulla
William Stolzenburg has written an informative and accessible treatise about the demise of the large carnivores on our planet. Where the Wild Things Were is a persuasive argument for the essential role of predators in ecosystems. Rather than being seen as bloodthirsty killers, predators are shown
According to Stolzenburg, the demise of the predator inevitably results in a surge of the prey population which brings about a domino effect of destruction to the biologic community. Anyone who lives in an area that is overrun with deer can vouch for the truth of this. I, myself, live in woods that have been gnawed to the ground by the exploding deer population. The understory is gone, rare pink ladyslippers that were abundant twenty years ago are gone, my flowers and plantings are gone, and I don't dare to plant vegetables anymore. I would welcome a wolf or two to the neighborhood!
The book is written in an easy-to-comprehend style, with humor and sometimes a tad of wry self-admitted sarcasm aimed at the bumblings of those elected to protect our wild places. Definitely a "must" reading for anyone concerned with living in a biologically healthy and diverse world.
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as the regulators of biodiversity. Stolzenburg presents scenarios of various predator extinctions and the subsequent effects on the particular biomes -- examples range from the role of sea otters in kelp forests to starfish in tidal pools to wolves in America and Europe and lions in Africa, etc.According to Stolzenburg, the demise of the predator inevitably results in a surge of the prey population which brings about a domino effect of destruction to the biologic community. Anyone who lives in an area that is overrun with deer can vouch for the truth of this. I, myself, live in woods that have been gnawed to the ground by the exploding deer population. The understory is gone, rare pink ladyslippers that were abundant twenty years ago are gone, my flowers and plantings are gone, and I don't dare to plant vegetables anymore. I would welcome a wolf or two to the neighborhood!
The book is written in an easy-to-comprehend style, with humor and sometimes a tad of wry self-admitted sarcasm aimed at the bumblings of those elected to protect our wild places. Definitely a "must" reading for anyone concerned with living in a biologically healthy and diverse world.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JeffV
]Where the Wild Things Were is a look at the role of the top predator in ecological systems and studies of the effects upon their removal. Stolzenburg is a science journalist who became passionate regarding the topic of the book after attending a series of lectures and presentations at 2000 annual
Where the Wild Things Were is a summary collection of research dating back to the early 20th century. It looks at the role of the top predator in a given ecosystem: from coastal tidal pools in Oregon to kelp forests in the Aleutian Islands to isolated habitats created by urban sprawl or islands created by damming rivers. Much like the TV show Connections, a chain of events are constructed that describe how a particular habitat went from it's original to it's current state and in some cases projecting consequences if left unchecked.
The most involved of these examples nominally takes place in the Aleutian Islands. 18th century fur trappers nearly hunted the sea otter to extinction, but under government protection, it managed one of the more spectacular come-backs in natural history. Researchers noticed that the islands where they otter was found were surrounded in lush kelp forests, teeming with life, including one of the otter's favorite foods, the sea urchin. In islands lacking otter colonies, the seascape was a barren one, overrun by massive sea urchins whose appetite for kelp clear-cut the forest and left little attraction for other sea critters. Then in the mid-90's, a pod of killer whales was seen to be uncharacteristically pursuing an otter. Otter populations seemed to be declining, and a census confirmed than in 6 years, more than 40,000 were now missing. It wasn't disease, there was no piles of otter carcasses to be found. They simply vanished. The researchers found it hard to believe a few hundred whales could account for such a massive slaughter, but an analysis of a killer whale's caloric requirements indicated the carnage could have been explained by the appetite of less than 4 whales! Killer whales had also begun decimating seal populations along the coast, and the current blame is put on heavy whaling pressure that has severely diminished killer whale's preferred prey: gray, blue, fin and sperm whales. So fewer of the massive cetaceans leads to a bleak sea floor covered in spiny urchins.
Stolzenburg provides similar examples to support the roles of wolves in Yellowstone and lions in Zion. Biodiversity begins to fail once the top predator has been removed: secondary predators like raccoons and coyotes run unchecked, in turn putting heavy pressure on their victims (bird eggs, smaller rodents, etc.) Former prey species run amok, creating their own disaster. Deer and elk populations have exploded, and forests are becoming doomed as every sapling is stripped bare or cut to the ground by the hungry herbivores. In areas where the top predator has been repatriated, the effects begin to reverse themselves rapidly.
Stolzenburg also pleads the case of the "rewilders," a group of scientists who don't want to merely turn the ecological clocks back a few hundred years, but tens thousands of years, recreating a late-Pleistocene ecology where elephants and giant cats again roam the American plains. While bringing back actual extinct animals is still science-fiction fare, living analogs could serve in it's stead. The rewilding plan would use animals from zoos (rather than plunder their current homelands) and provide additional hope that some megafauna species can continue to survive. Such an experiment sounds fascinating, but needs to be handled with care. Many instances of introduced species causes more problems than it solves. However, as our knowledge of ecosystems improves, it becomes more plausible to do so safely and effectively.
Ultimately, the biggest challenge is overcoming fear. Most Americans would support these efforts, as long as these dangerous predators aren't being placed in their backyard. But as those backyards continue to encroach on animal territories, conflicts are unavoidable. Some animals become urbanized pests. Others, like cougars, are perceived to be a threat and are routinely killed even though there is no evidence to support they are a particular threat to humans (far more humans are killed by domestic dogs every year than have ever been known to die at the paws of a mountain lion).
Stolzenburg makes a great case for protecting the role of top predators in any given ecosystem. I think I would still like to hear more of alternative theories and solutions, provided they aren't the product of corporate spin doctoring or tainted by political convenience. The message that the decline of biodiversity could leave us on bleak, often barren landscape if the status-quo is allowed to go unchecked is worthy of serious consideration.
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meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology. He begins the book stating up front his bias: he is clearly a proponent of he research and theories of those whose work he showcases in this book. Stolzenburg's writing style is clear and concise, his examples well chosen to make his case. For a lay person with some interest in ecological preservation, it all seems so correct. There is, however, considerable opposition and Stolzenburg is either dismissive of motives (rightly so perhaps when industry and politics are involved), or scarcely acknowledges it at all. As such, the book is more a work of advocacy and propaganda (not in a bad way) and not a piece of objective journalism. Since Stolzenburg makes no pretense to the latter, we shall look and see how successfully the book achieves it's goal.Where the Wild Things Were is a summary collection of research dating back to the early 20th century. It looks at the role of the top predator in a given ecosystem: from coastal tidal pools in Oregon to kelp forests in the Aleutian Islands to isolated habitats created by urban sprawl or islands created by damming rivers. Much like the TV show Connections, a chain of events are constructed that describe how a particular habitat went from it's original to it's current state and in some cases projecting consequences if left unchecked.
The most involved of these examples nominally takes place in the Aleutian Islands. 18th century fur trappers nearly hunted the sea otter to extinction, but under government protection, it managed one of the more spectacular come-backs in natural history. Researchers noticed that the islands where they otter was found were surrounded in lush kelp forests, teeming with life, including one of the otter's favorite foods, the sea urchin. In islands lacking otter colonies, the seascape was a barren one, overrun by massive sea urchins whose appetite for kelp clear-cut the forest and left little attraction for other sea critters. Then in the mid-90's, a pod of killer whales was seen to be uncharacteristically pursuing an otter. Otter populations seemed to be declining, and a census confirmed than in 6 years, more than 40,000 were now missing. It wasn't disease, there was no piles of otter carcasses to be found. They simply vanished. The researchers found it hard to believe a few hundred whales could account for such a massive slaughter, but an analysis of a killer whale's caloric requirements indicated the carnage could have been explained by the appetite of less than 4 whales! Killer whales had also begun decimating seal populations along the coast, and the current blame is put on heavy whaling pressure that has severely diminished killer whale's preferred prey: gray, blue, fin and sperm whales. So fewer of the massive cetaceans leads to a bleak sea floor covered in spiny urchins.
Stolzenburg provides similar examples to support the roles of wolves in Yellowstone and lions in Zion. Biodiversity begins to fail once the top predator has been removed: secondary predators like raccoons and coyotes run unchecked, in turn putting heavy pressure on their victims (bird eggs, smaller rodents, etc.) Former prey species run amok, creating their own disaster. Deer and elk populations have exploded, and forests are becoming doomed as every sapling is stripped bare or cut to the ground by the hungry herbivores. In areas where the top predator has been repatriated, the effects begin to reverse themselves rapidly.
Stolzenburg also pleads the case of the "rewilders," a group of scientists who don't want to merely turn the ecological clocks back a few hundred years, but tens thousands of years, recreating a late-Pleistocene ecology where elephants and giant cats again roam the American plains. While bringing back actual extinct animals is still science-fiction fare, living analogs could serve in it's stead. The rewilding plan would use animals from zoos (rather than plunder their current homelands) and provide additional hope that some megafauna species can continue to survive. Such an experiment sounds fascinating, but needs to be handled with care. Many instances of introduced species causes more problems than it solves. However, as our knowledge of ecosystems improves, it becomes more plausible to do so safely and effectively.
Ultimately, the biggest challenge is overcoming fear. Most Americans would support these efforts, as long as these dangerous predators aren't being placed in their backyard. But as those backyards continue to encroach on animal territories, conflicts are unavoidable. Some animals become urbanized pests. Others, like cougars, are perceived to be a threat and are routinely killed even though there is no evidence to support they are a particular threat to humans (far more humans are killed by domestic dogs every year than have ever been known to die at the paws of a mountain lion).
Stolzenburg makes a great case for protecting the role of top predators in any given ecosystem. I think I would still like to hear more of alternative theories and solutions, provided they aren't the product of corporate spin doctoring or tainted by political convenience. The message that the decline of biodiversity could leave us on bleak, often barren landscape if the status-quo is allowed to go unchecked is worthy of serious consideration.
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LibraryThing member NeverStopTrying
This work offers a satisfying presentation of the comparatively recent argument that the super-predators in an ecosystem (lions and tigers and bears, oh my) serve a critical function in maintaining the stability and health of the entire system. Each chapter is essentially a stand-alone story, well
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told, that also serves as a presentation and discussion of the events and findings in major steps along the way in the development of this analysis. While I was vaguely familiar with the basic concept before I read the book, many of the specific instances and the full impact of their resulting consequences were new to me. Probably the least dramatic case presented, the chapter describing what is going on in my part of the world, the Potomac river basin, titled “Bambi’s Revenge”, rang true: I am watching the failure of our native wild flowers as Japanese stilt grass takes over the understories of the parks I hike – and our gardens – while diversity disappears. The author uses an easily accessible, casual, conversational writing style. In addition to the usual bibliography, Stolzenburg also provides a wonderful set of chapter notes that, as well as citing the key primary scientific sources, also refers readers to the best of the related popular sources and recommends the occasional documentary. I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in wildlife and sustainability. I give it 4.5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member hayleyscomet
Rarely is popular science so well-written as William Stolzenburg has managed to write it in Where the Wild Things Were. He weaves a rich tapestry of the tales of predators (and lost predators) and the scientists who study them. The damage caused by humans driving out large predators makes for an
In addition to Stolzenburg's main points about predators and ecology, I am impressed by Stolzenburg's treatment of the researchers in this field. From Paine to Leopold to Soule, all the names familiar to any student of biology (and some which aren't); Stolzenburg thoroughly but concisely tells of the motivations, context, and process of their research. Stories such as Paine's research on starfish are told in a clear, understandable, and interesting way, that should be appealing to someone without any biological background as well as to those who have been introduced to the concepts many times in biology classes. Stolzenburg has mastered the way of presenting the way science gets done, by telling the stories of those who do it.
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interesting and compelling read, and although it is sometimes dire, it is never preachy.In addition to Stolzenburg's main points about predators and ecology, I am impressed by Stolzenburg's treatment of the researchers in this field. From Paine to Leopold to Soule, all the names familiar to any student of biology (and some which aren't); Stolzenburg thoroughly but concisely tells of the motivations, context, and process of their research. Stories such as Paine's research on starfish are told in a clear, understandable, and interesting way, that should be appealing to someone without any biological background as well as to those who have been introduced to the concepts many times in biology classes. Stolzenburg has mastered the way of presenting the way science gets done, by telling the stories of those who do it.
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LibraryThing member jlelliott
Rarely have I encountered a book that does such an excellent job of presenting scientific research. Attending a scientific conference on ecology, William Stolzenburg experienced a revelation familiar to many who pursue scientific endeavors; a chance encounter ignited in him an unexpected and
Stolzenburg beautifully describes a series of fascinating ecological experiments and observations, and is particularly careful to identify potential bias and to warn against overgeneralization. Refreshingly, he approaches his question with a genuine interest in really looking at the evidence and thus determining the answer rather than pontificating or rationalizing a conclusion reached in a non-scientific way.
Inescapably, in system after system, Stolzenburg reports that the effects of predator species are surprisingly far-reaching. Starfish not only determine the ecological diversity of tidal pools, but pumas and eagles are essential for monkey social structures and the presence of wolves and coyotes protects native flowers and song birds. The evidence is overwhelming; losing top tier predators can cause ecosystems to deteriorate in profound and unexpected ways.
This knowledge is clearly of extreme important to those who want to stem the loss of the ecological diversity of our world. There is a very large constituent of people that firmly believe that all predators are bad predators, that the only good wolves and coyotes are dead, and that any contrary sentiment is so much uninformed liberal heart bleeding. Stolzenburg’s book is vital in that it presents the relevant research and conclusions in such an unbiased way that it may, just possibly, convince some members of this group. I feel I could send this book to a certain Wisconsin deer hunter I know, without offending him; as a sportsman, he naturally views all predators as unwanted competition, reintroduction and protection as at best a waste of government money. But he loves songbirds, the lush diversity of plants and animals that can be found in more remote spaces. Could this book convince him and his brethren that protection of predators is worth minor inconveniences, as a vital step in securing the health of beloved species and ecosystems? I reserve judgment, but if the clear explication of this book has no effect, I am not sure what could.
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consuming interest in a query about the natural world. The discipline of his fancy was the study of predator species and their importance, if any, to ecological communities as a whole. Are top predators really uniquely important in shaping ecological systems? Fired with an interest in this question, Stolzenburg dives into the history of predator research, visiting the sites and the scientists that are pivotal to the field. In “Where the Wild Things Were” he reports his findings.Stolzenburg beautifully describes a series of fascinating ecological experiments and observations, and is particularly careful to identify potential bias and to warn against overgeneralization. Refreshingly, he approaches his question with a genuine interest in really looking at the evidence and thus determining the answer rather than pontificating or rationalizing a conclusion reached in a non-scientific way.
Inescapably, in system after system, Stolzenburg reports that the effects of predator species are surprisingly far-reaching. Starfish not only determine the ecological diversity of tidal pools, but pumas and eagles are essential for monkey social structures and the presence of wolves and coyotes protects native flowers and song birds. The evidence is overwhelming; losing top tier predators can cause ecosystems to deteriorate in profound and unexpected ways.
This knowledge is clearly of extreme important to those who want to stem the loss of the ecological diversity of our world. There is a very large constituent of people that firmly believe that all predators are bad predators, that the only good wolves and coyotes are dead, and that any contrary sentiment is so much uninformed liberal heart bleeding. Stolzenburg’s book is vital in that it presents the relevant research and conclusions in such an unbiased way that it may, just possibly, convince some members of this group. I feel I could send this book to a certain Wisconsin deer hunter I know, without offending him; as a sportsman, he naturally views all predators as unwanted competition, reintroduction and protection as at best a waste of government money. But he loves songbirds, the lush diversity of plants and animals that can be found in more remote spaces. Could this book convince him and his brethren that protection of predators is worth minor inconveniences, as a vital step in securing the health of beloved species and ecosystems? I reserve judgment, but if the clear explication of this book has no effect, I am not sure what could.
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LibraryThing member msbaba
William Stolzenburg's Where the Wild Things Were summarized the past sixty years of scientific discoveries concerning the importance of predators as keystone species—remove these vital carnivores from the "Web of Life" and entire ecological systems collapse.
In this book, Stolzenburg recounts the
I actually read this book twice. The first time, I borrowed the book from the local library and only spent a few hours browsing through the text, reading here and there, trying to pick up the sense of the whole. I had to return the book before I could read it in earnest, but that brief encounter did not impress me. Browsing the book did not unlock the magic in its pages. A few weeks later, my Advanced Readers Copy arrived and I took the time to settle down and give this book my full attention.
I soon discovered that this is not a book to browse. To enjoy this collection of scientific stories, readers have to read it cover to cover—they have to give themselves over to the work and let the author pace their reading. Readers have to allow themselves the time to let each story play itself out from beginning to end. If they do, they will find that these tales will ignite their imagination and pull them along on thrilling journeys of scientific discovery.
If you are interested in the concept of predators as keystone species, don't miss reading this outstanding introduction and history. This is one of those rare science books that help you understand the humanity behind the science. It is also one of those rare science books that help you feel the joy of scientific discovery.
This book is highly recommended for both the professional and nonprofessional reader. The book is meticulously researched. For those who want to pursue the science further, there are fifty pages of notes and bibliography at the end.
In this book, Stolzenburg recounts the
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history of predatory biology as a series of riveting mystery stories. In his capable hands, the stories read like literature; they are thrilling and exciting. As I read each tale, I couldn't help but feel like I was a voyeur tagging onto the coattails of one brilliant scientist after another, each one passionately hell-bent on finding the scientific truth buried in a puzzle of conflicting evidence. Eventually, when the facts fell into place, I was filled with the thrill of discovery. I can't recall many books that have made me feel so intellectually stimulated and delighted! I actually read this book twice. The first time, I borrowed the book from the local library and only spent a few hours browsing through the text, reading here and there, trying to pick up the sense of the whole. I had to return the book before I could read it in earnest, but that brief encounter did not impress me. Browsing the book did not unlock the magic in its pages. A few weeks later, my Advanced Readers Copy arrived and I took the time to settle down and give this book my full attention.
I soon discovered that this is not a book to browse. To enjoy this collection of scientific stories, readers have to read it cover to cover—they have to give themselves over to the work and let the author pace their reading. Readers have to allow themselves the time to let each story play itself out from beginning to end. If they do, they will find that these tales will ignite their imagination and pull them along on thrilling journeys of scientific discovery.
If you are interested in the concept of predators as keystone species, don't miss reading this outstanding introduction and history. This is one of those rare science books that help you understand the humanity behind the science. It is also one of those rare science books that help you feel the joy of scientific discovery.
This book is highly recommended for both the professional and nonprofessional reader. The book is meticulously researched. For those who want to pursue the science further, there are fifty pages of notes and bibliography at the end.
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LibraryThing member VisibleGhost
Biology and conservation theories have been undergoing changes for the last fifty years. One of the theories gaining traction is the keystone large predator theory. When large predators disappear the ecological diversity of a region is greatly reduced. Deer and elf and other herbivores tend to
Humans fear large predators and have spent years and millions in trying to eradicate them. Any attempts to reintroduce them into ecosystems are some of the bitterest fights in any arena. They make presidential politics look like child's play. The fights never end either. Most plans will generate dozens if not hundreds of lawsuits. This is true all over the world. Reintroducing turtles and other 'cute' animals are accepted by a large part of the population as non-controversial. Large predators such as the big cats, wolves, sharks, and large birds of prey are a different matter. They inspire fear and loathing. The extreme end of this is vigilantes that adopt a shoot, shovel, and shut-up message when it comes to large predators. Kill the animals, destroy the tracking devices, bury the animal, and tell no one.
With continued human development and expansion most places in the world are becoming island ecologies. There is no connection between zones of diversity. Disasters or pressures leave life on these islands with nowhere to retreat or move into when such events occur. It's the end of the road for many species.
This book will work for those who are new to some of these biological and conservation theories and for those who are familiar with the issues and names involved. For a debut book it is well written, information packed, and educational. It goes on my list as one of my favorites for the year.
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resemble plagues of locusts in their consumption of trees, plants, and flowers. What tends to replace these plants in zones of over consumption is the thorny, poisonous, invasive types of plants that even deer tend to avoid. The areas from ground level to as high as herbivores can reach become nearly devoid of diversity. Not only in plant life but in birds also. Humans fear large predators and have spent years and millions in trying to eradicate them. Any attempts to reintroduce them into ecosystems are some of the bitterest fights in any arena. They make presidential politics look like child's play. The fights never end either. Most plans will generate dozens if not hundreds of lawsuits. This is true all over the world. Reintroducing turtles and other 'cute' animals are accepted by a large part of the population as non-controversial. Large predators such as the big cats, wolves, sharks, and large birds of prey are a different matter. They inspire fear and loathing. The extreme end of this is vigilantes that adopt a shoot, shovel, and shut-up message when it comes to large predators. Kill the animals, destroy the tracking devices, bury the animal, and tell no one.
With continued human development and expansion most places in the world are becoming island ecologies. There is no connection between zones of diversity. Disasters or pressures leave life on these islands with nowhere to retreat or move into when such events occur. It's the end of the road for many species.
This book will work for those who are new to some of these biological and conservation theories and for those who are familiar with the issues and names involved. For a debut book it is well written, information packed, and educational. It goes on my list as one of my favorites for the year.
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LibraryThing member JNSelko
The anti-tea party, Limbaugh, Beck, Fox book about the environment. In other words, True.
LibraryThing member mitchellray
This is an informative, interesting, and disturbing account of the ecological impact of predator elimination. The author points out that some environmental problems commonly blamed on climate change may actually be the result of the loss of major predators in ecosystems. A particular point I found
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of concern is that what we today perceive to be wilderness is in truth an anemic vestige of once healthy ecosystems. Our standard for what we consider wild is sinking with potentially devastating consequences. This book provides a perspective on ecological issues not commonly covered in the popular press. I highly recommend you read this book if you care about the future of this planet. Show Less
LibraryThing member firepile
Written with the prose of a novelist and the detail of a naturalist, this is the sort of book that gets non-scientists to care about ecology. The writing is so fluid and florid that it's hard to stop reading, and yet this is not fiction. As a science junky, I already knew I was interested in what
Highly recommended, particularly for folks who aren't already invested in the movement to recognize and restore ecological balance for the sake of humanity as much as the rest of the ecosystem.
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Stolzenburg had to say, but I was incredibly surprised to see just how interestingly he said it. Highly recommended, particularly for folks who aren't already invested in the movement to recognize and restore ecological balance for the sake of humanity as much as the rest of the ecosystem.
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LibraryThing member patrickgarson
I have to confess, I only read 75% of this before I put it down. Where The Wild Things Were is a book clearly based on a magazine article, and desperately padded out to reach book length. It makes for a somewhat monotonous book, and it lacks the multiple dimensions you need in a typical science
Stolzenburg's hypothesis is that by taking apex or "keystone" predators in an ecosystem out, said system will subsequently go haywire, with previously limited numbers of lower order animals exponentially growing and wreaking havoc in the process. He illustrates this using examples from the Bering Strait to the savannah.
The problem is that this is not an especially complicated theory to grasp, and it's basically all Stolzenburg's got. Despite the varied locales, once you swap killer whales, for example, with lions, you're effectively reading the same chapter over and over again, and it becomes very monotonous.
None of this is helped by Stolzenburg's somewhat coy attitude with his theory. Instead of diving right in to the damage caused by predator removal, he dances around trying to paint a narrative picture, dallies with one-dimensional portrayals of the scientists involved and more. But it's like watching a movie when we've already seen the end; pointless and frustrating.
Even worse, though the main aspect is very well researched, Stolzenburg has made practically no effort to do any research _beyond_ his thesis. There is very little general scientific information about the species or ecosystems involved, and so once you've understood the main point, there simply isn't anything else left in the book to learn or understand.
It's disappointing, because there is a germ of a good book hiding somewhere in here, but Stolzenburg needs to focus more on his "characters" in the form of the animals and ecosystems, and less on the idea of predator removal for this book to sing. I can't recommend it.
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book.Stolzenburg's hypothesis is that by taking apex or "keystone" predators in an ecosystem out, said system will subsequently go haywire, with previously limited numbers of lower order animals exponentially growing and wreaking havoc in the process. He illustrates this using examples from the Bering Strait to the savannah.
The problem is that this is not an especially complicated theory to grasp, and it's basically all Stolzenburg's got. Despite the varied locales, once you swap killer whales, for example, with lions, you're effectively reading the same chapter over and over again, and it becomes very monotonous.
None of this is helped by Stolzenburg's somewhat coy attitude with his theory. Instead of diving right in to the damage caused by predator removal, he dances around trying to paint a narrative picture, dallies with one-dimensional portrayals of the scientists involved and more. But it's like watching a movie when we've already seen the end; pointless and frustrating.
Even worse, though the main aspect is very well researched, Stolzenburg has made practically no effort to do any research _beyond_ his thesis. There is very little general scientific information about the species or ecosystems involved, and so once you've understood the main point, there simply isn't anything else left in the book to learn or understand.
It's disappointing, because there is a germ of a good book hiding somewhere in here, but Stolzenburg needs to focus more on his "characters" in the form of the animals and ecosystems, and less on the idea of predator removal for this book to sing. I can't recommend it.
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LibraryThing member Miro
This is a fascinating book from ecologist and writer William Stolzenburg dealing with ecology, “The interaction among organisms and their environment”.
He particularly covers the role of top predators and the way in which their critical function in ecological chains has been badly
In a general way, the book is built around an experiment started in 1963 by Robert Paine, a young college professor from the University of Washington in Seattle, with the results eventually published in a 1966 issue of the scientific journal American Naturalist . He found and studied two adjacent intertidal stretches of rock at the edge of the sea at Mukkaw Bay on Washington State's isolated Olympic Peninsula, visiting them each month to remove the top predator, a starfish called Pisaster ochraceous from one of the rocks while leaving it on the other.
Both rocks were initially populated with a community of marine invertebrates, barnacles, limpets, snails, chitons and starfish but on the new starfish free rock that he created (he threw them back into the sea), the mussel (Mytilus californianus - the main prey of the starfish) showed a spectacular increase in population numbers, eventually taking over the whole rock/living space to the exclusion of all other species.
The point being that without a top predator, the food chain no longer worked with the mussel crowding out and destroying the whole ecosystem of this small world.
Stolzenburg shows this general result being repeated around the world on land and sea but of course on a much larger scale, with top predators either extinct or on the verge of extinction and greatly degraded natural habitats being the rule rather than the exception. He shows that top predators need enough prey to survive which means a complete and sufficiently numerous ecochain which now almost inevitably means conflict with humans at numerous points such as taking livestock, preventing logging, direct physical risk to tourists etc.
From an ecological point of view he sees the root of the problem some 100.000 – 50.000 years ago when the first anatomically and behaviorally modern humans appeared in the world in larger numbers and started the direct and indirect destruction of the world's top predators, interestingly proved by the rare situations where humans are currently excluded from relatively large fertile areas of the planet. The best example (not mentioned in the book) possibly being the unintended natural experiment of Chernobyl in the Ukraine where a nuclear power plant explosion in 1986 led to establishment of a radiation contaminated fenced Exclusion Zone covering 4.200 sq km.
The result of this rather strange experiment was the natural regeneration of a flourishing full ecosystem that includes a healthy numbers of top predator wolves, with lynx, wild boar, roe deer and moose among much else.
An excellent book and highly recommended.
He particularly covers the role of top predators and the way in which their critical function in ecological chains has been badly
Show More
underappreciated until recently.In a general way, the book is built around an experiment started in 1963 by Robert Paine, a young college professor from the University of Washington in Seattle, with the results eventually published in a 1966 issue of the scientific journal American Naturalist . He found and studied two adjacent intertidal stretches of rock at the edge of the sea at Mukkaw Bay on Washington State's isolated Olympic Peninsula, visiting them each month to remove the top predator, a starfish called Pisaster ochraceous from one of the rocks while leaving it on the other.
Both rocks were initially populated with a community of marine invertebrates, barnacles, limpets, snails, chitons and starfish but on the new starfish free rock that he created (he threw them back into the sea), the mussel (Mytilus californianus - the main prey of the starfish) showed a spectacular increase in population numbers, eventually taking over the whole rock/living space to the exclusion of all other species.
The point being that without a top predator, the food chain no longer worked with the mussel crowding out and destroying the whole ecosystem of this small world.
Stolzenburg shows this general result being repeated around the world on land and sea but of course on a much larger scale, with top predators either extinct or on the verge of extinction and greatly degraded natural habitats being the rule rather than the exception. He shows that top predators need enough prey to survive which means a complete and sufficiently numerous ecochain which now almost inevitably means conflict with humans at numerous points such as taking livestock, preventing logging, direct physical risk to tourists etc.
From an ecological point of view he sees the root of the problem some 100.000 – 50.000 years ago when the first anatomically and behaviorally modern humans appeared in the world in larger numbers and started the direct and indirect destruction of the world's top predators, interestingly proved by the rare situations where humans are currently excluded from relatively large fertile areas of the planet. The best example (not mentioned in the book) possibly being the unintended natural experiment of Chernobyl in the Ukraine where a nuclear power plant explosion in 1986 led to establishment of a radiation contaminated fenced Exclusion Zone covering 4.200 sq km.
The result of this rather strange experiment was the natural regeneration of a flourishing full ecosystem that includes a healthy numbers of top predator wolves, with lynx, wild boar, roe deer and moose among much else.
An excellent book and highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member princemuchao
Wolves, cougers, sharks, whales, bears and lions - what happens to an ecosystem without these super predators? This book explores the history of scientific inquiry into the top-down ecological approach, along the way illustrating clearly the far-ranging impact a missing keystone predator has on an
Reading the first few chapters of this, I found myself a bit confused - I thought the top-down ecological model was generally accepted years ago. Certainly, the massive bibliography suggests this to be the case. Then it became clear that although the concept may be generally accepted by ecologists, the reality of returning these predators to their natural habitats is not possible because of the fear they still instill in humans.
This is a very well-written (besides the epilogue: did his editor miss that?), well-researched book that I would recommend to anyone interested in the big predators or ecology.
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ecosystem by using real-world examples such as Yellowstone and the Aleutian Islands.Reading the first few chapters of this, I found myself a bit confused - I thought the top-down ecological model was generally accepted years ago. Certainly, the massive bibliography suggests this to be the case. Then it became clear that although the concept may be generally accepted by ecologists, the reality of returning these predators to their natural habitats is not possible because of the fear they still instill in humans.
This is a very well-written (besides the epilogue: did his editor miss that?), well-researched book that I would recommend to anyone interested in the big predators or ecology.
Show Less
LibraryThing member chapeauchin
What I will never forget after reading this book is the difference between the natural predators of yore - lions, foxes etc - and the new, human ones. The fourlegged predators preyed on the old, the weak and the vulnerable - culling out the weakest elements, as it were. The human ones prey on the
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trophy kills - removing the biggest and the strongest. Show Less
LibraryThing member wtshehan
It took me a while to get to this book, after reading it I was upset at myself for not getting to it sooner. William Stolzenburg do a great job drawing us into the tale, giving us ecological details about the lives of predators that truly inspire reverence for the carnivores. I highly recommend it
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to all who still a little wild themselves. Show Less
LibraryThing member lanceparkin
A fine and fascinating book.
LibraryThing member Poopy
I probably refer to, and recommend this book more, than any other I have ever read, I think. It is that powerful and moving. Essentially it makes the case, using case studies of otters in the Pacific Northwest, wolves in Yellowstone National Park, and orcas in oceans around the world, for why
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ecosystems need apex predators to not only thrive, but to even survive. That is such a simplified, watered-down summary for what is really an elegant and, to me, quite moving treatise....some might think a tome on ecology would be a dry and slow-moving work, but this book is anything but! There are enough real-world examples to keep it interesting, and the author draws parallels with our human world in such a way that kept me turning the pages well past my bedtime. It is an almost heart-breakingly elegant outcry to support all of our large predators, wherever we may find them - before it becomes too late, and we suffer the impact of their loss in ways we didn't even know were possible. Show Less
LibraryThing member LGCullens
Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators by William Stolzenburg
This book expands on a passage from another of William Stolzenburg's books, Heart of a Lion: A Lone Cat's Walk Across America which reads:
"The murmur had been gathering from field
What this thorough, sound, and articulate book convincingly conveys to me with its extensive hard science is:
The food web that sustains physical life can be seen as a pyramid. This pyramid "is a narrowing progression in this community of life, founded on a broad, numerous base of plants and photosynthetic plankton—harvesters of the sun’s energy, primary producers of food. From there it steps up to a substantially more narrow layer of herbivorous animals cropping their share from below, and so on up to yet a smaller tier of carnivores feeding on the plant-eaters. Perched loftily at the apex are the biggest, rarest, topmost predators, those capable of eating all, and typically eaten by none."** A tenet of ecology, the fragile balances among the diversity of life forms are the adaptive niches each evolved in, with natural restraints such as trophic levels, habitat, and reproduction rates, with keystone species/predators being the glue. As the author succinctly put it, "the finely and tenuously balanced skills of predator and prey, teetering so delicately on environmental fulcrums."**
The term 'keystone' species originated from ecological studies that "Pisaster had proved that certain predators, by their mere presence, could bolster the diversity of life. But just as easily, once removed, that benevolent hand could be replaced by a phantom fist, knocking species off the planetary rock, as it were, overhauling the living landscape to simpler, cruder states."**
In the detail of this book you will hopefully gain a better understanding of the extent of the current human effect in trophic cascades. In our progress to becoming a figurative alpha being, decimating keystone species/predators, our species is destabilizing the tenuously balanced biodiversity of the natural world web of life. In constructing a food web to our narrow-minded convenience and liking, not taking into account the necessary abundance of biodiversity and keystone species/predators of the natural world we evolved with, we are accelerating ecosystem collapses and in turn evolutionary adaptive processes to our peril. In thus we are inadvertently promoting populations of ecosystem crippling, disease spreading vermin by decimating the trophic levels of predators that kept them in check, and are setting the stage for our own diminishment. Reading this book can help you understand how and how quickly we are altering the environment essential to our being. We've fallen into one of the natural world traps that deals with the excesses of weedy species.
"The most dangerous experiment is already underway. The future most to be feared is the one now dictated by the status quo. In vanquishing our most fearsome beasts from the modern world, we have released worse monsters from the compound. They come in disarmingly meek and insidious forms, in chewing plagues of hoofed beasts and sweeping hordes of rats and cats and second-order predators. They come in the form of denuded seascapes and barren forests, ruled by jellyfish and urchins, killer deer and sociopathic monkeys. They come as haunting demons of the human mind. In conquering the fearsome beasts, the conquerors had unwittingly orphaned themselves." **
Sadly, what comes to mind is Aldo Leopold's oft quoted remark, "An ecologist is the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise." Yet, with our evolved genetic makeup and subjective umwelt, how can we on the whole be any wiser than our cousins?
Like humans, "A bird never doubts its place at the center of the universe."***
** Quoted from the book "Where the Wild Things Were"
*** Quoted from the book "Prodigal Summer"
This book expands on a passage from another of William Stolzenburg's books, Heart of a Lion: A Lone Cat's Walk Across America which reads:
"The murmur had been gathering from field
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sites and conference halls, formally surfacing in academic journals and publicized in mainstream media. Researchers from around the world were returning with disquieting reports of forests dying, coral reefs collapsing, pests and plagues irrupting. Beyond the bulldozers and the polluters and the usual cast of suspects, a more insidious factor had entered the equation. It was becoming ever more apparent that the extermination of the earth’s apex predators— the lions and wolves of the land, the great sharks and big fish of the sea, all so vehemently swept aside in humanity’s global swarming— had triggered a cascade of ecological consequences. Where the predators no longer hunted, their prey had run amok, amassing at freakish densities, crowding out competing species, denuding landscapes and seascapes as they went."What this thorough, sound, and articulate book convincingly conveys to me with its extensive hard science is:
The food web that sustains physical life can be seen as a pyramid. This pyramid "is a narrowing progression in this community of life, founded on a broad, numerous base of plants and photosynthetic plankton—harvesters of the sun’s energy, primary producers of food. From there it steps up to a substantially more narrow layer of herbivorous animals cropping their share from below, and so on up to yet a smaller tier of carnivores feeding on the plant-eaters. Perched loftily at the apex are the biggest, rarest, topmost predators, those capable of eating all, and typically eaten by none."** A tenet of ecology, the fragile balances among the diversity of life forms are the adaptive niches each evolved in, with natural restraints such as trophic levels, habitat, and reproduction rates, with keystone species/predators being the glue. As the author succinctly put it, "the finely and tenuously balanced skills of predator and prey, teetering so delicately on environmental fulcrums."**
The term 'keystone' species originated from ecological studies that "Pisaster had proved that certain predators, by their mere presence, could bolster the diversity of life. But just as easily, once removed, that benevolent hand could be replaced by a phantom fist, knocking species off the planetary rock, as it were, overhauling the living landscape to simpler, cruder states."**
In the detail of this book you will hopefully gain a better understanding of the extent of the current human effect in trophic cascades. In our progress to becoming a figurative alpha being, decimating keystone species/predators, our species is destabilizing the tenuously balanced biodiversity of the natural world web of life. In constructing a food web to our narrow-minded convenience and liking, not taking into account the necessary abundance of biodiversity and keystone species/predators of the natural world we evolved with, we are accelerating ecosystem collapses and in turn evolutionary adaptive processes to our peril. In thus we are inadvertently promoting populations of ecosystem crippling, disease spreading vermin by decimating the trophic levels of predators that kept them in check, and are setting the stage for our own diminishment. Reading this book can help you understand how and how quickly we are altering the environment essential to our being. We've fallen into one of the natural world traps that deals with the excesses of weedy species.
"The most dangerous experiment is already underway. The future most to be feared is the one now dictated by the status quo. In vanquishing our most fearsome beasts from the modern world, we have released worse monsters from the compound. They come in disarmingly meek and insidious forms, in chewing plagues of hoofed beasts and sweeping hordes of rats and cats and second-order predators. They come in the form of denuded seascapes and barren forests, ruled by jellyfish and urchins, killer deer and sociopathic monkeys. They come as haunting demons of the human mind. In conquering the fearsome beasts, the conquerors had unwittingly orphaned themselves." **
Sadly, what comes to mind is Aldo Leopold's oft quoted remark, "An ecologist is the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise." Yet, with our evolved genetic makeup and subjective umwelt, how can we on the whole be any wiser than our cousins?
Like humans, "A bird never doubts its place at the center of the universe."***
** Quoted from the book "Where the Wild Things Were"
*** Quoted from the book "Prodigal Summer"
Show Less