Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species (Scientists in the Field Series)
Grade 5–8—This photo-filled book explores the work of American scientists battling invasive species. Focusing on brown tree snakes, melaleuca trees, red imported fire ants, and zebra mussels, Collard explores how teams of scientists have made inroads against the destruction of habitat by these invaders. Large, sharp photos, maps, and sidebars punctuate information about how the pests arrived, the extent of their damage, and the work that has been done to eradicate them. The chapter on fire ants is notable for its delightfully ghoulish solution of introducing flies that lay their eggs in the ants so that their offspring can eat the ants alive from the inside out. Although all of the lead scientists on these projects happen to be men, care has been made to include photos of women involved in the work. There is no table of contents, but the fine glossary, list of Web sites, and index will aid researchers.—Ellen Heath, Easton Area Public Library, Easton, PACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.