Life at the Edge

by James L. Gould

Consider: 99.9 percent of the species that the earth has ever supported are now extinct. At first glance, this startling fact might seem evidence of life's inability to adapt to changing environments and situations, but it is, instead, testament to it: Fish thrive in the violently alternating ebb and flow of the intertidal wilderness: moths feed. fly. and mate in the snows of northern winters. But how did these remarkable adaptations occur? Life at the Edge is an exciting collection of articles that shows us how life manages to eke out on existence where, by all rights, it shouldn't and helps us to appreciate the roles of energy and the building-block elements in thecycles of life. Here we'll discover how some fish flourish in the dark and icy waters of Antarctica; how life thrives in deep-sea volcanic vents amid deadly concentrations of hydrogen sulfide., where photosynthesis is impossible for lack of light. Here we'll learn how some animals survive by eating poisonous plants, and how