Launched in 1999 with the publication of “The Biology of Streams and Rivers” by Paul S. Giller and Björn Malmqvist, the Biology of Habitats series from Oxford University Press now includes twenty titles that take up habitats ranging from the deep ocean to alpine areas, and a range of those in between, including such anthropogenic habitats as those found in urban and agricultural areas.
When I first thumbed through the new Britain’s Habitats: A Guide to the Wildlife Habitats of Britain and Ireland, I was not only taken by how helpful it could be to a naturalist seeking to acquire or refine an understanding of those nations’ multifaceted countrysides, I was also struck by how useful the book could be to someone studying English literature.