Audiobook
Published by Teaching Company.
Audiobook
Published by Teaching Company.
For thousands of centuries, humans lived near the ocean, wandered right up to its edge, and turned back to the relative safety of the known land. Even when we invented ships and the very bravest among us sailed out, our fears and imaginations took over. What creatures could be living in the unknowable darkness, the bottomless depths? Giant worms, microorganisms that eat metal, faceless fish, giant sea spiders? Marine life is even more otherworldly and fantastical than we ever imagined, and Life in the World’s Oceans brings you face to face with these exciting creatures. From the phytoplankton that can only float at the whim of wind and currents to the gray whale that migrates 16,000 kilometers each year, you will be amazed at the variety of life in the seas and what we have only recently learned about its biology, evolution, life cycles, and adaptations.
The Great Courses has …
For thousands of centuries, humans lived near the ocean, wandered right up to its edge, and turned back to the relative safety of the known land. Even when we invented ships and the very bravest among us sailed out, our fears and imaginations took over. What creatures could be living in the unknowable darkness, the bottomless depths? Giant worms, microorganisms that eat metal, faceless fish, giant sea spiders? Marine life is even more otherworldly and fantastical than we ever imagined, and Life in the World’s Oceans brings you face to face with these exciting creatures. From the phytoplankton that can only float at the whim of wind and currents to the gray whale that migrates 16,000 kilometers each year, you will be amazed at the variety of life in the seas and what we have only recently learned about its biology, evolution, life cycles, and adaptations.
The Great Courses has partnered with the Smithsonian to produce a vivid exploration of life in this fascinating space—the environment that accounts for 99 percent of Earth’s habitable space. With curatorial expertise, content development, and stunning still and video imagery provided by Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, you’ll understand our planet’s ocean environment and the life it supports as you never have before.
Working in close consultation with Don Wilson, curator Emeritus from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Professor Sean K. Todd of the College of the Atlantic—and one of the world’s leading marine biologists—developed 30 fascinating lectures that take you on a journey from the beginning of life on Earth four billion years ago to the environmental factors and international treaties and protocols that affect our oceans today. With an easygoing manner and an infectious passion for his topic, Professor Todd shares the latest research from the field's most fascinating areas of study, including marine-mammal intelligence and communication, bioluminescence, exploration of the ocean floor, as well as the Smithsonian’s own cutting-edge research work around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef.