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- Alan Powderham's dazzling photography is complemented by Dr Sancia van der Meij's scientific expertise, creating a scientifically rigorous yet breathtakingly beautiful reference work. Van der Meij is an experienced coral reef specialist while Powderham's use of rebreather diving technology allows him to get unusually close to his subject matter.
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- The spectacular landscapes and natural riches of the Coral Triangle are under threat from overfishing, climate change, unsustainable tourism, habitat destruction and poor governance. This book showcases exactly why we need to protect this unique ecosystem, contrasting its existing beauty with images of the damage already being perpetrated. 10% of the author royalties are going to Conservation International to aid their work.
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- The book covers many of the groups of animals seen on a reef that have been largely omitted by others. It reports engaging observations giving insights to many unique animal behaviours and relationships, that make it stand out from other books.
Alan Powderham has been a scuba diver and underwater photographer for over 40 years having his first book, Venezuela Submarina, on the marine life of the southern Caribbean published in 1983. By profession he is an engineering consultant specialising in sustainable solutions and environmental engineering, promoting green and low carbon technology.
Sancia van der Meij is a tropical marine biologist. She is an assistant professor at the University of Groningen, where she heads her own lab on diversification and symbiosis on coral reefs, and an honorary researcher at Naturalis Biodiversity Center. She has extensive field experience in the Coral Triangle (and beyond) since 2005.
Title: At the Heart of the Coral Triangle: Celebrating Biodiversity
Author: van der Meij, Sancia,Powderham, Alan J
ISBN: 9780367428167
Binding:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publication Date: 2020-12-28
Number of Pages: 240
Weight: 0.9503 kg
The focus of this book is on Southeast Asia's reefs in the 'Coral Triangle'. These are at the centre of global biodiversity, with more different species of corals, fish and invertebrate life than anywhere else in the world. We need to significantly raise awareness because reefs today face an existential threat... Because most people will not see, let alone study and understand coral reefs, we need books whose photographs and text convey their beauty, nature and extraordinary species. Reefs are the canaries in the coal mine in the sense that they are an ecosystem that is forewarning us about the global extinction of species and systems that began ever since we entered this uncharted Anthropocene epoch. The stunning photographs in this book showing images of some of the world's richest and most intact coral reefs will help to raise awareness, and that is going to be key.
-- Charles Sheppard OBE, Professor Emeritus (from the Foreword)
What I especially liked about the book was that because it celebrates the biodiversity of the Coral Triangle, everything is described from a diver's viewpoint. It is full of behavioural observations that will stand divers, and especially underwater photographers, in good stead on future visits to Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, PNG, and the rest... Sometimes books by underwater photographers are plainly based around showing off their best images, and the narrative flow can feel a bit strained or distorted as a result. That doesn't feel like the case here. This is a generously illustrated book with thoughtful, informative writing by an observant diver/photographer teamed up with a highly experienced marine biologist.
-- Steve Weinman in Diver Magazine, 2021
Endlessly fascinating, unpretentiously educational, thoughtfully accessible and beautifully presented.
-- Alex Tattersall, award-winning underwater photographer and the founder of Underwater Visions
Alan J Powderham's passion is to observe fish - to hang out on a coral reef as unobtrusively as possible and watch the array of life going about its business around him. His stunning book, At The Heart Of The Coral Triangle, is the result of doing just that, in the richest, most vibrant reefs on the planet, for nearly 20 years... He hopes his book is just one small part of the effort to keep preserving the reefs across the Coral Triangle.
-- from DIVE Magazine, Autumn 2021
The focus of this book is on Southeast Asia's reefs in the 'Coral Triangle'. These are at the centre of global biodiversity, with more different species of corals, fish and invertebrate life than anywhere else in the world. We need to significantly raise awareness because reefs today face an existential threat... Because most people will not see, let alone study and understand coral reefs, we need books whose photographs and text convey their beauty, nature and extraordinary species. Reefs are the canaries in the coal mine in the sense that they are an ecosystem that is forewarning us about the global extinction of species and systems that began ever since we entered this uncharted Anthropocene epoch. The stunning photographs in this book showing images of some of the world's richest and most intact coral reefs will help to raise awareness, and that is going to be key.
-- Charles Sheppard OBE, Professor Emeritus (from the Foreword)
Endlessly fascinating, unpretentiously educational, thoughtfully accessible and beautifully presented.
-- Alex Tattersall, award-winning underwater photographer and the founder of Underwater Visions
What I especially liked about the book was that because it celebrates the biodiversity of the Coral Triangle, everything is described from a diver's viewpoint. It is full of behavioural observations that will stand divers, and especially underwater photographers, in good stead on future visits to Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, PNG, and the rest... Sometimes books by underwater photographers are plainly based around showing off their best images, and the narrative flow can feel a bit strained or distorted as a result. That doesn't feel like the case here. This is a generously illustrated book with thoughtful, informative writing by an observant diver/photographer teamed up with a highly experienced marine biologist.
-- Steve Weinman in Diver Magazine, 2021
Alan J Powderham's passion is to observe fish - to hang out on a coral reef as unobtrusively as possible and watch the array of life going about its business around him. His stunning book, At The Heart Of The Coral Triangle, is the result of doing just that, in the richest, most vibrant reefs on the planet, for nearly 20 years... He hopes his book is just one small part of the effort to keep preserving the reefs across the Coral Triangle.
-- extract from review in DIVE Magazine, Autumn 2021
