When hovering over the "Subdivisions in Biology" tab at the top of the guide, a list of related categories will appear. Click on your chosen subdivision for related resources from our catalog.
Listed below are a few of the reference resources available for viewing. Click on the title link to access the e-book content (when available).
Online Reference Resources
Five Kingdoms: an illustrated guide to the phyla of life on earth by
The third edition of this work covers all the groups of living organisms, and has new concise introductory sections on the general features of each of the five kingdoms: bacteria; protoctista; animals; fungi; and plants - including background information and definitions. Photographs, some by Karlene Schwartz, drawings and brief essays describe representative members of each phylum. It should be of interest to students of biology, botany, zoology and other life sciences as well as professionals.
Life by
Four years in the making, and filmed over 3000 days across every continent and in every habitat, see 130 incredible stories from frontiers of the natural world. Discover the glorious variety of life on Earth and the spectacular and extraordinary tactics animals and plants have developed to stay alive. This is evolution in action: individual creatures under extreme pressure to overcome challenges from adversaries and their environment.
The Oxford Companion to the Earth by
How old is the Earth? Is it really likely to be hit by a meteorite? What can Antarctic ice cores and Milankovitch cycles tell us about global warming? What is a Milankovitch cycle anyway? Where would you find black smokers? Are they ever likely to be useful? What causes tornadoes? Should youworry if you live near a transform plate boundary? What is the difference between a tidal wave and a tsunami? Does it matter? Can rocks affect your health? Answers to these and many similar questions will be found in the Oxford Companion to the Earth. The aim of the Companion is to provide conciseand readable accounts of the main phenomena and processes relating to the Earth. Like the other Oxford Companions, it is aimed at a wide readership, and will appeal both to professional Earth scientists seeking an accessible digest of topics outside their own areas of specialization, as well as tothe general reader wishing an approachable reference to our planet and the environment. For all these readers, and many more, the Companion will not only provide a valuable source of reference but also fascinating and informative browsing. The scope of the Companion is wide: it is concerned withthe entire planetary environment on which all living things (ourselves included) depend: the atmosphere and the oceans as well as the solid Earth. And since we can no longer consider the Earth in isolation, information about other parts of the Solar System also finds a place here. Included in theCompanion: Over 900 entries, from acid rain to zoogeomorphology, and over 200 expert contributors Complete coverage of the Earth sciences, including geology, geophysics, geochemistry, geodesy, geomorphology, soil science, glaciology, oceanography, climatology, meteorology, enviromental and resourcedevelopment, volcanology, and the history of the Earth sciences Over 800 pages with 600 illustrations and 16 pages of full colour plates Useful appendices, including detailed index, geological timescale, facts and figures about the Earth and its near neighbours, table of chemical elements. TheCompanion is a unique and important reference source which will be invaluable to anyone with an interest in the Earth, its history, formation, and environment.
Planet Earth : the complete series by 
The Tree of Life: a phylogenetic classification by
Did you know that you are more closely related to a mushroom than to a daisy? That crocodiles are closer to birds than to lizards? That dinosaurs are still among us? That the terms "fish," "reptiles," and "invertebrates" do not indicate scientific groupings? All this is the result of major changes in classification, whose methods have been totally revisited over the last thirty years. Modern classification, based on phylogeny, no longer places humans at the center of nature. Groups of organisms are no longer defined by their general appearance, but by their different individual characteristics. Phylogeny, therefore, by showing common ancestry, outlines a tree of evolutionary relationships from which one can retrace the history of life. This book diagrams the tree of life according to the most recent methods of classification. By showing how life forms arose and developed and how they are related, The Tree of Life presents a key to the living world in all its dazzling variety.,