Remnant Population

Remnant Population

Finalist for the Hugo Award • “Ofelia—tough, kind, wise and unwise, fond of food, tired of foolish people—is one of the most probable heroines science fiction has ever known.”—Ursula K. Le Guin For forty years, Colony 3245.12 has been Ofelia’s home. On this planet far away in space and time from the world of her youth, she has lived and loved, weathered the death of her husband, raised her one surviving child, lovingly tended her garden, and grown placidly old. And it is here that she fully expects to finish out her days—until the shifting corporate fortunes of the Sims Bancorp Company dictates that Colony 3245.12 is to be disbanded, its residents shipped off, deep in cryo-sleep, to somewhere new and strange and not of their choosing. But while her fellow colonists grudgingly anticipate a difficult readjustment on some distant world, Ofelia savors the promise of a golden opportunity. Not starting over in the hurly-burly of a new community . . . but closing out her life in blissful solitude, in the place she has no intention of leaving. A population of one. With everything she needs to sustain her, and her independent spirit to buoy her, Ofelia actually does start life over–for the first time on her own terms: free of the demands, the judgments, and the petty tyrannies of others. But when a reconnaissance ship returns to her idyllic domain, and its crew is mysteriously slaughtered, Ofelia realizes she is not the sole inhabitant of her paradise after all. And, when the inevitable time of first contact finally arrives, she will find her life changed yet again—in ways she could never have imagined. . . . “Pure satisfaction from cover to cover.”—Anne McCaffrey

Population Genetic Studies in Araucaria Angustifolia (Bert.) O. Ktze

An Illustrated Guide to Endangered Or Threatened Species in Kansas

Ranging from the unfamiliar to the famous—from the inconspicuous, plankton-sucking Elktoe Mussel to the majestic, soaring Bald Eagle—endangered or threatened plants and animals of Kansas continue to play a vital, although diminished, role in the state's ecology. Providing, for the first time, easily accessible information for the professional naturalist and amateur nature lover alike, this guide highlights the habits and habitats of sixty plants and animals currently listed as endangered or threatened in Kansas and protected by state or federal law. The authors illuminate not only the common bond of these species—their precarious status—but also their widely varying routines, idiosyncrasies, and circumstances. All known Lake Scott Riffle Beetles in the world, they show, spend their lives in one spring area of Western Kansas while the nomadic Whooping Cranes alight only a night or two in the state's central and eastern swamplands during migration. For each species—three plants, three mammals, nine birds, eight reptiles, ten amphibians, fourteen fishes, and thirteen invertebrates—the guide features a full-color photograph, standard common and current scientific name, range map, threatened or endangered species status, and information on appearance, size, breeding, habits, surroundings, food preference, and natural history. The authors also list possible causes of species reduction, from loss of habitat through land use change, water diversion, and pollution, to hunting and fishing practices and natural selection. Richly illustrated and informative, this unique guide will be indispensable to anyone wanting to preserve the state's irreplaceable biological diversity.