Heart of the Coast

How do you dig up a 13,000 year-old footprint? Why do kelp forests need sea otters? How do you measure a shrinking glacier from an airplane? What is a zombie urchin? Heart of the Coast brings these questions to life in a deep exploration of the beauty, mystery and biodiversity of the Pacific coast. Join Hakai Institute researchers in the fieldarchaeologists, oceanographers, marine biologists and beyondas they journey from the ice fields of Klinaklini Glacier to the dazzling undersea reefs of a place called Crazy Town. British Columbias Central Coast is a rich landscape called a biologists dream and the Amazon of the north. Since launching its Calvert Island ecological observatory there in 2009, the Hakai Institute has become a renowned centre of science and exploration. Collaborations with the Smithsonian Institution, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and several First Nations on the BC coastalong with a wide array of scientists hailing from other agencies and universities across North Americahave uncovered new species, advanced our knowledge of marine food webs, and helped track the effects of climate change on watersheds and coastal ecosystems. Stunning photography illuminates the institutes journey of discovery over the past decade. This unforgettable book will inspire you with wonder and awe for the natural world, but be carefulyou may learn something along the way.