The Ocean's Menagerie: How Earth's Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life
An elegant survey of ocean invertebrates and their bizarre “superpowers,” blending cutting edge science of the strangest creatures on our planet with the promising discoveries they hold for those of us on land, by a leading marine biologist

Hundred-year-old giant clams, coral kingdoms the size and shape of cities, and jellyfish that glow in the dark: ocean invertebrates are among the oldest and most diverse organisms on earth, bending our rules of land-based biology. Although often overlooked, the spineless creatures of the deep contain 600 million years of adaptation to problems of disease, energy consumption, nutrition, and defense.

In THE ANCIENT MENAGERIE, world-renowned marine ecologist Dr. Drew Harvell takes us from Hawaii to the Salish Sea, from St. Croix to Indonesia, to uncover the incredible underwater “superpowers” of spineless creatures: we meet corals many times stronger than steel or concrete, sponges who create potent chemical compounds to fight off disease, and sea stars that act as gardeners for coastlines, keeping all the other nearby species in perfect balance. As our planet changes fast, the biomedical, engineering, and energy innovations of these wonderous creatures hold ever more important secrets to our own survival.

THE ANCIENT MENAGERIE is a tale of biological marvels, a story of a woman’s passionate connection to a career in science, and a call to arms to protect the world’s most ancient ecosystems.
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The Ocean's Menagerie: How Earth's Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life
An elegant survey of ocean invertebrates and their bizarre “superpowers,” blending cutting edge science of the strangest creatures on our planet with the promising discoveries they hold for those of us on land, by a leading marine biologist

Hundred-year-old giant clams, coral kingdoms the size and shape of cities, and jellyfish that glow in the dark: ocean invertebrates are among the oldest and most diverse organisms on earth, bending our rules of land-based biology. Although often overlooked, the spineless creatures of the deep contain 600 million years of adaptation to problems of disease, energy consumption, nutrition, and defense.

In THE ANCIENT MENAGERIE, world-renowned marine ecologist Dr. Drew Harvell takes us from Hawaii to the Salish Sea, from St. Croix to Indonesia, to uncover the incredible underwater “superpowers” of spineless creatures: we meet corals many times stronger than steel or concrete, sponges who create potent chemical compounds to fight off disease, and sea stars that act as gardeners for coastlines, keeping all the other nearby species in perfect balance. As our planet changes fast, the biomedical, engineering, and energy innovations of these wonderous creatures hold ever more important secrets to our own survival.

THE ANCIENT MENAGERIE is a tale of biological marvels, a story of a woman’s passionate connection to a career in science, and a call to arms to protect the world’s most ancient ecosystems.
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The Ocean's Menagerie: How Earth's Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life

The Ocean's Menagerie: How Earth's Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life

by Drew Harvell
The Ocean's Menagerie: How Earth's Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life

The Ocean's Menagerie: How Earth's Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life

by Drew Harvell

Hardcover

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Overview

An elegant survey of ocean invertebrates and their bizarre “superpowers,” blending cutting edge science of the strangest creatures on our planet with the promising discoveries they hold for those of us on land, by a leading marine biologist

Hundred-year-old giant clams, coral kingdoms the size and shape of cities, and jellyfish that glow in the dark: ocean invertebrates are among the oldest and most diverse organisms on earth, bending our rules of land-based biology. Although often overlooked, the spineless creatures of the deep contain 600 million years of adaptation to problems of disease, energy consumption, nutrition, and defense.

In THE ANCIENT MENAGERIE, world-renowned marine ecologist Dr. Drew Harvell takes us from Hawaii to the Salish Sea, from St. Croix to Indonesia, to uncover the incredible underwater “superpowers” of spineless creatures: we meet corals many times stronger than steel or concrete, sponges who create potent chemical compounds to fight off disease, and sea stars that act as gardeners for coastlines, keeping all the other nearby species in perfect balance. As our planet changes fast, the biomedical, engineering, and energy innovations of these wonderous creatures hold ever more important secrets to our own survival.

THE ANCIENT MENAGERIE is a tale of biological marvels, a story of a woman’s passionate connection to a career in science, and a call to arms to protect the world’s most ancient ecosystems.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780593654286
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 04/22/2025
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Drew Harvell is Professor Emerita of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University and a Science Envoy to the US State Department. She is the author of Ocean Outbreak, and A Sea of Glass which were, variously, the winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature, recipient of the Rachel Carson Environmental Literature Award among others. She has written for The New York Times, The Seattle Times, The Hill, and CNN, and she has authored over 180 academic articles in Science, Nature, Science Advances, and more. Dr. Harvell featured in the award-winning film, Fragile Legacy, narrated by Ted Danson about the Blaschka Glass Invertebrates museum collection. She is currently a science adviser for Fabian Cousteau’s Underwater Space Station.
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