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Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime
Ellen Prager
The Oceans' Oddest Creatures and Why They Matter [
University Of Chicago Press
May 2011
On Sale: May 1, 2011
200 pages
ISBN: 0226678725
EAN: 9780226678726
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
When viewed from a quiet beach, the ocean, with its rolling
waves and vast expanse, can seem calm, even serene. But
hidden beneath the sea’s waves are a staggering abundance
and variety of active creatures, engaged in the never-ending
struggles of life—to reproduce, to eat, and to avoid being
eaten. With Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime, marine scientist Ellen
Prager takes us deep into the sea to introduce an
astonishing cast of fascinating and bizarre creatures that
make the salty depths their home. From the tiny but
voracious arrow worms whose rapacious ways may lead to death
by overeating, to the lobsters that battle rivals or seduce
mates with their urine, to the sea’s masters of disguise,
the octopuses, Prager not only brings to life the ocean’s
strange creatures, but also reveals the ways they interact
as predators, prey, or potential mates. And while these
animals make for some jaw-dropping stories—witness the sea
cucumber, which ejects its own intestines to confuse
predators, or the hagfish that ties itself into a knot to
keep from suffocating in its own slime—there’s far more to
Prager’s account than her ever-entertaining anecdotes: again
and again, she illustrates the crucial connections between
life in the ocean and humankind, in everything from our food
supply to our economy, and in drug discovery, biomedical
research, and popular culture. Written with a diver’s love of the ocean, a novelist’s skill
at storytelling, and a scientist’s deep knowledge, Sex,
Drugs, and Sea Slime enchants as it educates, enthralling us
with the wealth of life in the sea—and reminding us of the
need to protect it.
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