American Association for the Advancement of Science. 1993. Benchmarks for science literacy. New York: Oxford University Press, 418pp. Companion report to the earlier publication Science for all Americans. It “specifies how students should progress toward science literacy, recommending what they should know and be able to do by the time they reach certain grade levels.”
American Association for the Advancement of Science. 1989, 1990. Science for all Americans. New York: Oxford University Press, 272pp. This Project 2061 publication (the Project is named after the next year of return of Halley’s Comet) discusses science literacy and recommends “what all students should know and be able to do in science, mathematics, and technology by the time they graduate from high school.” A valuable reference for science educators.
Bell, Michael. 1985. The face of Connecticut: people, geology, and the land. Hartford, Connecticut: State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection, Bulletin No. 110, 196pp. An excellent overview of the geology of Connecticut. Contains background information on Connecticut’s four main geologic regions useful for understanding formation of state wetlands.
Broker, Stephen P. 1995 (April). The 1994-95 Connecticut Christmas Bird Count.
Connecticut Warbler
, 15(2): 43-58. Summary of the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count results for the past early winter census. Relates to discussions of wetland birds in the unit narrative.
———. 1994. Climate and ecology. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, Volume V The Atmosphere and the Ocean, 113-137. Focuses on the Florida Everglades and the Olympic Peninsula in the Pacific Northwest. Explores the relation between climate and ecology.
———. 1988. West Rock Ridge and vicinity: an introduction.
Connecticut Ornithological Association Bulletin
, 2(1): 7-9. Overview of natural history of West Rock Ridge, with emphasis on birds. Larger ecological context for West Rock vernal pool section.
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. 1992. Connecticut freshwater wetlands: status and trends (a report on wetlands activities in Connecticut for the calendar year of 1990). Hartford: Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Management, Inland Water Resources Division, Inland Wetland Program, 9pp. Recent Connecticut DEP freshwater wetlands report.
Cowardin, Lewis M., Virginia Carter, Francis C. Golet and Edward T. LaRoe. 1979. Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. U.S.D.I., Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Services Program, Washington, D.C., FWS/OBS—79/31, 131pp. Principles and concepts embodied here currently are under attack by Congress.
Dahl, Thomas E., and Craig E. Johnson. 1991. Report to Congress: wetlands status and trends in the coterminous United States, mid-1970s to mid-1980s. Summarizes a decade of wetland policy in the country.
Davis, Margaret Bryan. 1983. Holocene vegetational history of the eastern United States. Pages 166-181 in
Late-Quaternary Environments of the United States
, Volume 1 (H.E. Wright, Jr., ed.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Paleoecological information for understanding present distributions of eastern wetland/upland plants.
Dowhan, Joseph J. 1979. Preliminary checklist of the vascular flora of Connecticut (growing without cultivation). State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut, Natural Resources Center, Department of Environmental Protection, Report of Investigations No. 8, 176pp.
Ehrlich, Paul R., and Edward O. Wilson. 1991 (16 August). Biodiversity studies: science and policy.
Science
, 253(5021): 758-762. Recent discussion of biological diversity, scientific research and public policy by two major figures in whole organism biology.
Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray’s manual of botany: a handbook of the flowering plants and ferns of the central and northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. Portland, Oregon: Dioscorides Press, 1632pp. (Eighth Edition). A standard botanical reference for American flora, with taxonomic information and technical botanical descriptions.
Johnson, Charles W. 1985. Bogs of the Northeast. Hanover, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 269pp. Book length publication on northern peatlands. Excellent chapters on bog formation, geology, plant & animal adaptations, unique bog life.
Jorgensen, Neil. 1978. A Sierra Club Naturalist’s Guide to Southern New England. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 417pp. A highly readable book, still one of the finest publications on the natural history of southern New England. Teaches how to interpret the clues of nature and past human activity in our forests, fields, and wetlands.
Little, Elbert L. 1980. The Audubon Society field guide to North American trees: eastern region. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 716pp. Excellent field guide reference to eastern trees. Best species descriptions available in any field guide series. Uses photos.
Metzler, Kenneth J., and Ralph W. Tiner, Jr. 1992. Wetlands of Connec ticut. State Geological and Natural History Survey of Connecticut, in coperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory. Report of Investigations No. 13, 115pp. The essential reference on Connecticut’s wetlands. Fine text, fine photos.
Mitsch, William J., ed. 1994. Global wetlands: Old World and New. Amsterdam and New York: Elsevier, 967pp. Latest definitive work on wetlands of the world. Includes key articles on wetland ecology and management (Mitsch), history of wetland studies, specialized topics.
———, and James G. Gosselink. 1993. Wetlands. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, Second Edition, 722pp. The best text there is on wetland ecology, covering all aspects of the subject. The book I use for my Univ. of New Haven graduate course in forest & wetland ecology.
National Academy of Sciences. 1992. Restoration of aquatic ecosystems: science, technology, and public policy. (Committee on Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems: Science, Technology, and Public Policy.) Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. (See esp. Chapter 6 Wetlands, pp262-340). Back cover calls this a comprehensive publication on America’s wetlands and deepwater habitats.
National Research Council. 1994. National science education standards draft. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 400pp. The draft publication of the National Academy of Sciences, which aims to “creat e a vision for the scientifically literate person and standards for science education . . . [which] serve to guide the science education system toward its goal of a scientifically literate citizenry in productive and socially responsible ways.”
Newcomb, Lawrence. 1977. Newcomb’s wildflower guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 490pp. The best field guide to wildflowers. Uses an excellent key system based on flower type, plant type, leaf type.
Niering, William A. 1991. Wetlands of North America. Charlottesville, Virginia: Thomasson-Grant, Inc., 160pp. Introduction to wetlands, cocktail table style. Fine textual information, great photographs.
———. 1985. Wetlands. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, The Audubon Society Nature Guides, 640pp. This Audubon Society Nature Guides series book brings together information on birds, butterflies, fishes, insects, mammals, mushrooms, herps, trees, wildflowers of our wetlands. Part I is 136 pages of introductory material on wetlands by the great Connecticut College botanist/ecologist, Bill Niering.
Pfingsten, Ralph A., and Floyd L. Downs, eds. 1989. Salamanders of Ohio. Columbus, Ohio: College of Biological Sciences, The Ohio State University, 315pp. Best overview on salamander biology I have found, covering eastern species. Recent publication, pulling together recent research and the large body of historical, pre-1950s literature.
Rodgers, John. 1980. The geological history of Connecticut.
DiscoverY
, 15(1): 3-25. Written by Yale’s great geologist/map maker for the Yale Peabody Museum’s popular publication. Article dates back 15 years, is still the best single overview article on the geology of Connecticut.
Rodman, James E. 1975. Plants in the Peabody.
Discovery
, 10(2): 59-65. Fine introductory article on the Yale Herbarium and its local, American and international collections, by an outstanding former Yale botanist.
Rozsa, Ronald, and Joseph J. Dowhan. 1977. A summary and map of the biotic communities of West Rock Ridge. Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey, Natural Resources Center, Department of Environmental Protection, 34pp. A DEP publication on West Rock’s biotic communities. Excellent on plants, limited on animals.
Rymal, Debbie E., and George W. Folkerts. 1982 (October). Insects associated with pitcher plants (Sarracenia: Sarraceniaceae), and their relationship to pitcher plant conservation: a review.
Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science
, 53(4): 131-151. Dug out on a recent trip to Alabama. Basis for
Sarracenia
write-up in Black Spruce Bog section.
Thorne, Robert F. 1993. Phytogeography. Chapter 6 (pages 132-153 in Flora of North America Editorial Committee. 1993.
Flora of North America North of Mexico
, Volume 1 Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 372pp. A fine overview chapter on the geographic distribution of North American flora. In Volume I of the landmark work.
Tiner, Ralph W., Jr. 1984. Wetlands of the United States: current status and recent trends. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory, 59pp. Another Tiner publication, this one chronicling the first years of the National Wetlands Inventory. Defines wetlands, describes types of wetlands (see palustrine wetlands section), considers wetlands values. A concluding statement, “Wetland regulations at the Federal and state levels are vital to preserving America’s wetlands and saving the public values they provide”, conveys just how frightening the present Congressional effort to undo federal wetland regulations really is.
———, and Peter L.M. Veneman. 1987. Hydric soils of New England. University of Massachusetts Cooperative Extension, Bulletin C-183, Amherst, MA, 27pp. Key reference on major types of wetland soils. Delineation of wetland boundaries, table of soil taxonomy, glossary, color photos. Peat and muck never looked so good.
Wentz, W. Alan. Wetlands values and management. c1984. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 27pp. Lists wetlands values and management implications.
Wilson, E.O. 1988. Biodiversity. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 521pp. Many useful chapters on biodiversity. One by Harvard biologist Ed Wilson on current state of biological diversity, one by John Cairns on biodiversity and restoration ecology. A publication of the National Academy of Sciences. Volume II is due out this fall.
