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The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. Edited by Adrian
Friday and David Ingram. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University
Press, 1985. Ref. +QH307.2 .C36 1985.
"Surveys the current state of knowledge in biology." The first section
begins with the cell, moves onto growth, development, physiology and
reproduction of organisms and then discusses behavior and ecology. The
second edition discusses different environments and the organisms found in them.
The final section discusses evolution and fossils.
The Encyclopedia of the Biological Sciences (Second Edition).
Edited by Peter Gray. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1970.
Ref. QH13 .G7 1970.
"Intended to provide succinct and accurate information for biologists in
those fields in which they are not themselves experts." Includes 800
articles on topics in the biological sciences, most with references.
Henderson, I.F., et al. A Dictionary of Biological Terms.
Priceton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1963. Ref. QH13 .H38 1963.
Defines 16,500 terms from biology, botany and zoology. Also gives the
pronounciation and (if applicable) translates the roots of the word.
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Edited by
Sybil P. Parker. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc., 1987. (20 volumes).
Ref. +Q121 .M3 1987.
Although this is a general science encyclopedia, biology is covered in
depth. Articles range in size from one paragraph to several pages.
Includes many illustrations and tables.
Roe, Keith E. and Frederick, Richard G. Dictionary of Theoretical
Concepts in Biology. Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1981.
Ref. QH302.5 .R63.
"Attempts to provide access to the literature on named theoretical
concepts by citing original sources and reviews in which these concepts
are explained." Includes 1,166 named concepts, arranged
alphabetically, from the fields of plant and animal biology.
Lincoln, R.J., Boxshall, G.A., and Clark, P.F. A Dictionary of
Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press, 1982. Ref. QH540.4 .L56 1982.
Aim is to provide "short working definitions of those terms that come
within the routine reading matter of ecologists, taxonomists and the
like. Has 21 appendices in the forms of maps, diagrams, tables and
lists that have been used to summarize groups of associated terms or
concepts."
The Mitchell Beazley Atlas of World Wildlife. Edited by Martyn
Bramwell. London, England: Mitchell Beazley Publishers, Ltd., 1973.
Ref. QDl50 .A88 1973b.
Each chapter explores a different continent or section of the globe.
Within each chapter different environments are examined and the animals
and plants who live there are illustrated and discussed. Also has a
chapter on the interaction between man and wildlife.
The Oxford Companion to Animal Behaviour. Edited by David
McFarland. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1981.
Ref. QL750.3 .O94 1981.
"Has been designed as a non-specialist introduction to the study of
animal behaviour." Its scope includes the scientific discipline of
ethology and touches upon the related disciplines of ecology, genetics,
physiology and psychology.
Orders and Families of Recent Mammals of the World. Edited by
Sydney Anderson and J. Knox Jones, Jr. New York: John Wiley and Sons,
1984. Ref. QL703 .O73 1984.
Purpose is to "provides a ready source of information about recent
mammals." Includes a concise summary of each of the 21 orders and 131
families of living or recently extinct mammals.
Walker, Ernest, et al. Mammals of the World. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins Press, 1964.
(3 volumes). Ref. QL703 .W22.
Basic reference source on all known and present genera of mammalian
life. Organized by order, families and genera. Articles describe
animals, their range, their breeding characteristics and habits.
Volume II is a comprehensive bibliography for those seeking more
extensive information. Includes many photographs.
The Encyclopedia of Birds. Edited by Dr. Christopher M. Perrins
and Dr. Alex L.A. Middelton. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985.
Ref. +QL673 .E53 1985.
Divided into three parts: Ostriches to Buttonquails, Plovers to
Woodpeckers and the Passerines. Within each section, there are
articles discussing a single family or several closely related
families. Gives details on such topics as physical features,
distribution, breeding, and diet and feeding behavior. Includes many
color photographs, diagrams and drawings.
The Encyclopedia of Aquatic Life. Edited by Dr. Keith Banister
and Dr. Andrew Campbell.
New York: Facts on File, 1985.
Ref. +QL120 .E53 1985.
Divided into three sections: fish, aquatic invertebrates and sea
mammals. Within each area are signed articles, varying in depth from
2 to 24 pages "depending on the importance and interest of the group."
Contains many color photographs and illustrations.
Wheeler, Alwyn. Fishes of the World: An Illustrated Dictionary.
New York: Macmillian Publishing Co., Inc., 1975.
Ref. +QL614.7 .W7 1975.
Entries are arranged in dictionary format under the scientific name of
the species of fish with separate entries for families of fish. Each
entry describes the fish and gives information about its habitat and
activities. Has 501 color photographs arranged in systematic order of
families at the beginning of the book.
McCafferty, W. Patrick. Aquatic Entomology: The Fisherman's and
Ecologists' Illustrated Guide to Insects and Their Realitves.
Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc., 1983.
Ref. QL473 .M35 1983.
As well as serving as an "illustrated field guide to the aquatic
insects of North America," this book also "coveres many of the
principles of aquatic entomology and incorporates a considerable amount
of general biological and ecological information." Includes over 1000
original illustrations.
Arnett, Ross H., Jr. American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of
American North of Mexico. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1985.
Ref. +QL474 .A76 1985.
"Combines the features of a field book, an identification manual and an
abbreviated catalog of the insects of the U.S. and Canada." Contains a
detailed discussion of the orders of insects and the species assigned
to each order. The handbook was designed to allow nonspecialists to
obtain certain basic information about and identify insects.
Coombes, Allen J. Dictionary of Plant Names. Portland, OR:
Timber Press, 1985.
Ref. QK96 .C668 1985x.
"The aim of this book is to provide a guide to the derivation, meaning
and pronunciation of the scientific names of the more commonly grown
plants."
Usher, George. A Dictionary of Botany. Princeton, NJ: D. Van
Nostrand Co., Inc., 1966.
Ref. QK9 .U8 1966a.
Gives short definitions of terms from soil-science, statistics and
biochemistry as well as botanical terms. Includes definitions of
phyla, classes, orders and families but not genera and species.
Harrison, S.G., Masefield, G.B., Wallis, Michael. The Oxford Book of
Food Plants. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1969.
Ref. QK98.5 .N5.
"The purpose of this book is to provide accurate and attractive
illustrations, and textual descriptions, of the plants which serve the
human race for food." For each plant, gives particulars of origin,
geographical distribution, parts used for food, treatment and
nutritional value, and other features of special interest. Plants are
arranged according to the kind of food they provide.
Rinaldi, Augusto and Tyndalo, Vassili. The Complete Book of
Mushrooms. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1974.
Ref. QK617 .R5413 1974.
Over 1,000 species and varieties of American, European and Asiatic
mushrooms are identified in Part One. Each mushroom is described in
great detail and listed as edible or poisonous. Part Two includes
short articles on different topics relating to mushrooms including
poisonous mushrooms, nutritional value and locating mushrooms.
Includes 460 color illustrations.
Wild Flowers of the United States. Edited by William Steere.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1965. (15 vol.) Ref. +QK115 .R5.
This set is "a series of comprehensive books covering all the wild
flowers of the U.S. in scientifically accurate yet non-technical
language and with each species beautifully illustrated in color." It
is divided into six parts: the Northeastern States, the Southeastern
States, Texas, the Soutwestern States, the Northwestern States and the
Central Mountains and Plains. Has a seperate index. Produced under
the sponsorship of the New York Botanical Garden.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Trees of the World. Edited by Bayard
Hora. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1981.
Ref. QK475 .O93.
Contains "a good selection of the most significant trees of the world."
Introductory chapters discuss forests, and trees and man. The
remainder of the book discusses features of specific types of trees
including physical descriptions, uses and diseases. Many color
photographs and illustrations.
Compiled by Kelly Nagle
Spring 1988
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