The Tapir's Morning Bath

Download or read book The Tapir's Morning Bath written by Elizabeth Royte and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2002 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An engaging portrait of a community of biologists, The Tapir's Morning Bathis a behind-the-scenes account of life at a tropical research station that"conveys the uncertainties, frustrations, and joys of [scientific] fieldwork" (Science). On Panama's Barro Colorado Island, Elizabeth Royte worksalongside the scientists -- counting seeds, sorting insects, collectingmonkey dung, radiotracking fruit bats -- as they struggle to parse theintricate workings of the tropical rain forest. While showing the humanside of the scientists at work, Royte explores the tensions between the slow pace of basic research and the reality of a world that may not have time to wait for answers.