Comer, Defecar, Morir - by Joe Roman (Paperback)

About the Book

If forests are the lungs of the planet, migratory animals that cross oceans, streams, and mountains are its heart and arteries, pumping vital nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from the depths of the sea to the mountain peaks, from the Arctic to the Caribbean. For decades, science has studied the obvious dynamics that shape our physical world. However, less glamorous forces--such as decomposing corpses and deposited excrement--have long been ignored, despite their profound impact on local ecosystems and the global climate cycle. The simple truth is that defecating and urinating are daily rituals for almost all animals, the invisible ellipses of ecology that flow through all life. This book takes us on a stimulating and informative global adventure, from Icelandic volcanoes to tropical Hawaiian waters to the Great Plains of the United States, with the aim of revealing the extraordinary ways in which the biological activities of animals constantly build and rebuild our world. An essential read for a deeper understanding of these fundamental cycles, it offers unexpected opportunities to reverse the environmental damage humanity has inflicted on our planet, reminding us that in nature, even the most basic processes are essential to maintaining the delicate balance of life.

About the Author

Joe Roman es biólogo conservacionista, ecólogo marino y editor y chef de eattheinvaders.org. Ganador del Rachel Carson Environment Book Award 2012 por «Listed: Dispatches from America's Endangered Species Act», Roman ha escrito para el New York Times, Science, Audubon, New Scientist, Slate entre otras. Como muchos de los animales que estudia, Roman es un biólogo libre. Ha trabajado en la Universidad de Harvard, el Laboratorio Marino de la Universidad de Duke, la Universidad de Islandia, la Universidad de La Habana, la Agencia de Protección del Medio Ambiente de EE. UU. y la Universidad de Vermont, donde es becario y escritor residente en el Instituto Gund para el Medio Ambiente.