Pelagic Publishing - A Book Review

It's been a while since I have done a book review and so when I got a new wildlife book for Christmas and then decided to get a few more I thought I would like to look at Pelagic Publishing’s Data in the Wild Series. 

 Pelagic Publishing is fast becoming one of my favourite conservation publishers. It was founded in 2010 and has a steady output of conservation-focused texts that lean towards the practical application of ecology. 

 The internet provides us with a wealth of up-to-date information but nothing beats the ability to hold a book in your hands and browse the information. Statistics for Ecologists Using R and Excel and Community Ecology – Analytical Methods using R and Excel are two books that benefit from having a physical quality. When learning new software or manipulating your data in a spreadsheet it is so much easier to refer to a textbook than to constantly flick between a bewildering number of windows containing webpages, adverts, and YouTube clips to achieve your aims. Both these books explore simple and complex ecological themes providing step-by-step ways in which R or Excel can be used in analysis. Just from using these books I have managed to get a grip on R and can generate several statistical tests and output graphical representations. The books are backed up by trail data sets and web links marrying the physical with the virtual. 

 The other two books I have in the series are Measuring Abundance and Camera Trapping for Wildlife Research. The latter, I got a while ago and have helped shape and develop my ongoing camera-trapping project. Both books collate up-to-date information on their topics with relevant case studies and useful coding for use in R. In terms of level, the books are certainly not for the novice reader, you need an understanding of ecological theory and knowledge of mathematical notation and application. The books assume that you have this background and do not go far to explain in depth what the measures they are describing merely how to calculate them. 

Data in the Wild is an indispensable series for practical ecologists who are engaging in research. It helps focus on how projects are set up and aids in the analysis of data collected and presented. Pelagic Conservation Handbooks are a welcome addition to wildlife management and are a concise guide to habitat assessment and practical methods of management. I currently own the Woodland Survey Book which has helped me analyse and survey the woodland on my patch and as an extensive user of QGIS I am waiting with bated breath for their upcoming title, QGIS for Ecologists due this June.