Predictably

Predictably, I haven’t got very far with The Forgotten Pollinators and it’s due back tomorrow!!!!

I was enjoying it because it’s a natural history/environmental text that recognizes the weaknesses of its designated genre and tries to address those weaknesses (except in the title – a big oversight, in my opinion). Nabhan and Buchmann are clear about their activist stance – they study plant pollination and see that the destruction of habitat, introduction of “alien species,” new parasites etc. are having a negative impact on species survival. They know how to “prove” this, describe this and write about this within their own academic and scientific communities but they want to have a greater impact on general readers. They reach out formally by structuring the book as a series of “rememberings”. So the facts are told through stories told by Gary & Steve who talk about their work experientially. This is much more palatable for a general reader who can "learn the science" through the stories of Gary & Steve’s individual and collective field work over the years. We also hear stories of the bees, bats, ants etc. who are the “heroes” of the tales. Nabhan and Buchman include drawings by Paul Mirocha (drawings are often a part of natural history texts) but probably my favourite part of the book is the glossary just because it has some great new terms in it. I have a hard time remembering terminology. But here are some of the new terms I’m learning:

Adaptive radiation
Anemophily
Bombiculture
Cascading extinctions
Defaunation
Facultative mutualism
Floral reward
lek
Linked extinctions
Melittophily
Nectar corridor
Outcrossing
Reciprocal coevolution
Seed shadow
Traplining
Tripped flower
Yellow rain

I hope they'll be useful...or I could just drop them randomly into conversations along the way...