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Marine Field GuidesOutdoor Books to Identify Seaside Plants and Animals
How to choose the right field guide, and how then to purchase it.
A field guide must be small enough to carry easily - if not it will never find its way out into the field! Some of the best are also waterproof – or at least have waterproof covers, and this is useful when you have wet hands. Due to the necessary size and weight restrictions field guides can only ever have limited coverage of marine plants and animals. Regional Field GuidesOften it is possible to find a guide for the region of interest that covers many marine organisms. Such a one is Pacific Coast – National Audubon Society Nature Guides. By restricting its attention to the shore and coastal waters between Alaska and California this guide manages to cover most marine plants and animals that might be encountered there. Habitat Field GuidesRegional guides cover everything one might find in a geographical locality. More specific guides will be more selective than this and focus on a particular habitat within that region. A good example would be The fauna of rocky shores of Barbados, West Indies by John B Lewis (which is unfortunately out of print!). Field Guides for Particular Groups of Plants and AnimalsComprehensive regional guides must limit the number of species they include. This means that there is always the possibility of finding something that is not in the book. Many people will be satisfied with ‘it’s a hermit crab – but one that is not shown’, but some of us get frustrated by this! To overcome this frustration it is necessary to focus on particular types of plant or animal. A good example (although not marine) would be Collins Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe, which does exactly what it says on the label. When and Where to Buy Field GuidesWhen - It is dangerous to wait until the guide is needed – the more specialised it is the less likely it is to be found rapidly. There are not many bookshops on the seashore! There is another good reason for buying a field guide in advance, since this will allow advance study and familiarisation. If a number of the more common species are already committed to memory, then anything unusual will ‘jump out’ and be less likely to be overlooked. Where – Traditional bookshops have the great advantage of allowing browsing and the handling and detailed inspection of competing field guides. One might be better because of size and weight, or another might be chosen because of its layout. Use of the internet will sometimes find books of incredibly narrow focus – it is always a good idea to search for exactly what is wanted, no matter how unlikely it is that it exists. The advantage of using this approach is that you might get a bargain – the disadvantage, of course, is that it is not possible to browse before buying.
The copyright of the article Marine Field Guides in Marine Biology & Oceanography is owned by John Blatchford. Permission to republish Marine Field Guides in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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