Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World

Animals, from whales to bison to cicadas, are ecosystem engineers. This is the startling idea that conservation biologist/marine ecologist Roman (Univ. of Vermont; Listed: Dispatches from America’s Endangered Species Act) explores as he visits Iceland, Hawai‘i, and beyond. The book explains that as animals move across the planet, feeding, pooping, and dying along the way, they beneficially alter carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen cycles. The problem, which readers of environmental literature will be sadly familiar with, involves human activity that has left animals’ vital nutrient transport system only a 10th of what it was. Roman’s solutions include protection of threatened species and rewilding. It is a profoundly serious subject, yet the book has many droll moments. The author’s witty approach is nicely matched to the book’s weird science, such as mentioning researchers who study the fluid mechanics of defecation or their own fine appreciation of whale fecal plumes. Roman writes with flair, perhaps most noticeably in the brilliant chapter “Cloudy with a Chance of Midges,” wherein he employs a full page of exclamation marks to suggest the insects’ collective behavior.