Barbara Wilson is a widow and owner of the Double-T Bar Ranch in Montana living comfortably with her daughter and two loving grandchildren. The demands of running a ranch and maintaining her reputation keep her occupied, but she longs for something more. Mike Watson is a retired widower living alone in northern Illinois. Trapped by his grief and hopelessness since his wife died of cancer, he has chosen to avoid social interactions, which worries his grown children. One day while tinkering with his van, the answer comes to him: he decides then and there to write a book and set it in the West. Mike takes a life-changing trip from home to the wilds of Montana to do research for the book and meet the locals. There, a chance encounter with Barbara changes both of their lives. When the lives of these two wounded strangers suddenly align, a book project, a picnic, a storm, a rock, and secrets form the elements that bring them together. Their two families must now learn to overcome disappointment and the many obstacles that circumstance places in the path to hope. For two lost souls in the process of healing broken hearts, nothing is sweeter than the hope of new love.

Simple rhyming text with pop-up illustrations.

Fish Histology: From Cells to Organs, 2nd Edition provides up-to-date information that emphasizes the relationships and concepts by which cell and tissue structures of fish are inextricably linked with their function. The book also describes the most recent development in the sciences of fish histology. The first edition of this book was well received, and this updated and improved edition includes five brand new chapters on the skeleton of fishes, gas bladder and gas gland, endocrine system, nervous system, and sensory system. Various staining procedures were used in the second edition to enhance contrasts in samples. As a further aid to learning, many new immunohistochemical and ultrastructural images illustrate the text along with a particular emphasis on tables that summarize the morphologic and functional features of cells, tissues, and organs. The text and images for this edition have been updated with the most current information available at the time of publication. The volume begins with a concise introduction into the histological techniques for fish sampling, followed by an accurate up-to-date description of fish tissues. A chapter is devoted to each organ and organ systems in the fish body as well. In addition, the book includes over 270 diagrams, photos, and illustrations to elucidate the structure of organs and to enhance the usefulness of the text. Key features: Provides valuable information on the histology of many species of teleosts Explores cells at electron microscopic levels Illustrates the characteristics of tissues and organs of fish with over 270 images, most in color Highlights advances, trends, and applications in the modern histological techniques and tissue preparations Focuses on reproductive organs to provide new knowledge on reproductive biology Includes new five chapters, on the Skeleton of Fish, Gas Bladder and Gas Glands, Endocrine System, Nervous System, and Sensory System, for a more complete coverage of Fish Histology. The author has organized the book to present the information in a user-friendly way to facilitate learning and comprehension. The volume is designed for use by students as well as researchers, biologists, ichthyologists, fish farmers, veterinarians working in fisheries and, of course, by comparative histologists who want to learn more about the fish world.

An exploration into the untold lives of 50 of the most compelling fish living in our oceans and waterways.

A New York Times Bestseller Do fishes think? Do they really have three-second memories? And can they recognize the humans who peer back at them from above the surface of the water? In What a Fish Knows, the myth-busting ethologist Jonathan Balcombe addresses these questions and more, taking us under the sea, through streams and estuaries, and to the other side of the aquarium glass to reveal the surprising capabilities of fishes. Although there are more than thirty thousand species of fish—more than all mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians combined—we rarely consider how individual fishes think, feel, and behave. Balcombe upends our assumptions about fishes, portraying them not as unfeeling, dead-eyed feeding machines but as sentient, aware, social, and even Machiavellian—in other words, much like us. What a Fish Knows draws on the latest science to present a fresh look at these remarkable creatures in all their breathtaking diversity and beauty. Fishes conduct elaborate courtship rituals and develop lifelong bonds with shoalmates. They also plan, hunt cooperatively, use tools, curry favor, deceive one another, and punish wrongdoers. We may imagine that fishes lead simple, fleeting lives—a mode of existence that boils down to a place on the food chain, rote spawning, and lots of aimless swimming. But, as Balcombe demonstrates, the truth is far richer and more complex, worthy of the grandest social novel. Highlighting breakthrough discoveries from fish enthusiasts and scientists around the world and pondering his own encounters with fishes, Balcombe examines the fascinating means by which fishes gain knowledge of the places they inhabit, from shallow tide pools to the deepest reaches of the ocean. Teeming with insights and exciting discoveries, What a Fish Knows offers a thoughtful appraisal of our relationships with fishes and inspires us to take a more enlightened view of the planet’s increasingly imperiled marine life. What a Fish Knows will forever change how we see our aquatic cousins—the pet goldfish included.

Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 0.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, the most obvious being the difference in levels of salinity. To survive fresh water, the fish need a range of physiological adaptations. 41.24% of all known species of fish are found in fresh water. A fish is defined as an aquatic or marine animal with vertebrae. All fish have vertebra, except sharks and rays that have cartilage. Cartilage is more flexible than bone, but strong enough to support the body. They usually possess gills in the adult stage and have limbs in the form of fins. Fishes also include the jawless vertebrates such as the lamprey and hagfish; and the shark, ray, chimaera, lungfish, and bony fishes. The bony fishes are the most common. A bony fish has jaws that are well developed, formed by true bone rather than cartilage. Fish are very different in appearance, size and shape. This all depends on the environment that it lives in. Fish are part of the ecosystem entering the flux of energy at different levels of the food chain. This book introduces the ecology of fishes by describing the inter-relationships between fishes and the aquatic habitats they occupy. Sequential reading, chapter by chapter, covers the main themes of ecology, including habitat use, species interactions, migration, feeding, population dynamics and reproduction in relation to the major habitats occupied by fishes.