Water bugs are familiar insects in aquatic habitats throughout the World. They belong to the order Hemiptera, the largest insect order with incomplete metamorphosis. There are basically two kinds: (1) the semiaquatic bugs (Gerromorpha) which live upon the water surface, and (2) the true water bugs (Nepomorpha) which live beneath the water surface. Water bugs are found in a wide variety of natural habitats from small, temporary pools to larger ponds and lakes, from small streams to rivers, and from inland freshwater bodies to coastal mangroves, tidal pools of coral reefs, and the surface of the ocean. Water bugs are chiefly predators or scavengers, feeding on any prey they can master, from tiny crustaceans and insects to tadpoles and small fish. They play a major role in aquatic ecosystems and may serve as indicators of the biological quality of aquatic habitats. They are chiefly beneficial to man since many species prey on mosquitoes and are themselves preyed upon by fish. Because of their diverse lifestyles and because they are easily observed in their natural habitats, water bugs are excellent model organisms in evolutionary biology, ecology, and conservation biology. This handbook is the first comprehensive guide facilitating the identification of Australian water bugs. It provides an overview on all 15 families, 17 subfamilies, and 55 genera known to occur on mainland Australia, Tasmania and nearby islands. Illustrated keys, featuring a minimum of technical language, are offered to assist with the identification of adult water bugs. For each genus, the handbook includes a description of the characters used to identify the genus and to separate the genus from similar genera, an illustration to show overall appearance (“habitus”) of a representative species, an illustrated key to species recorded from Australia, overview of the biology of the genus, and a map showing the locations where the genus has been found in Australia.

"This is a report on a research agenda to better inform future societal decisions on ocean CDR [carbon dioxide removal]; the Committee is not advocating either for or against possible future ocean CDR deployments, and the Committee recognizes that ocean CDR would, at best, complement the role of climate mitigation approaches including decarbonization"--Page viii.

Psychologists, socialists,and theologians have written about the dramatic changes in American culture during the last half of the twentieth century. Chaplain Weir lived through those changes, Viet Nam, Woodstock,, Rock & Roll, Montgomery and Dallas. Up close and personal Weir relates his own inner struggle to create a new model of Christianity for himself and the Navy men and at last make peace with his own parents.

This handbook is the first comprehensive guide to identifying Australian water bugs providing an overview on all fifteen families, seventeen sub-families and fifty-five genera known to occur on mainland Australia, Tasmania and nearby islands.

The idea of covenant was at the heart of early New England society. In this singular book David Weir explores the origins and development of covenant thought in America by analyzing the town and church documents written and signed by seventeenth-century New Englanders. Unmatched in the breadth of its scope, this study takes into account all of the surviving covenants in all of the New England colonies. Weir's comprehensive survey of seventeenth-century covenants leads to a more complex picture of early New England than what emerges from looking at only a few famous civil covenants like the Mayflower Compact. His work shows covenant theology being transformed into a covenantal vision for society but also reveals the stress and strains on church-state relationships that eventually led to more secularized colonial governments in eighteenth-century New England. He concludes that New England colonial society was much more "English" and much less "American" than has often been thought, and that the New England colonies substantially mirrored religious and social change in Old England.

"The frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts that inhabit North America, numbering nearly 300 species, represent immense variation in form, habitat, distribution and ecology. This volume discusses the diversity of these animals in relation to the historical geography of the North American continent and portrays all of the formally recognized amphibian species to be found in the United States and Canada within a geographical context. Each species is presented with a color photograph, an account of its range, habitat and conservation status, and an up-to-date, full color range map that depicts its known occurrences in relation to the topography of the landscape. This volume reflects the enormous growth in interest about amphibians and increased intensity of scientific research into their biology and distribution that has occurred during the past two decades"--

What did you have for breakfast? Did you ever stop to think about the people and steps involved with how your banana or cereal got on your plate? Nearly everyone is a part of the global food system, yet few people are aware of how it operates. Kimberly A. Weir starts by evaluating how we are connected with spice farmers, cocoa bean growers, soybean producers, tomato pickers, and tuna fishers not only gives insight into where we fit in the global food chain, but also offers a unique way to understand the aspects and concepts of the global political economy. The book begins by figuring out where readers fit in the global food chain, looking at what affects eating habits and choices, and situating these factors in a global context. From Jicama to Jackfruit provides that insight in abundance.