Biomes

If I'm having a particularly tricky day at work, I'll say I feel like a salmon swimming upstream. But I don't think I really understood that phrase until watching Coasts, one of five titles in the Biomes series, which travels along 120,000 miles of shoreline to explore the creation of ecosystems and survival of plant and animals species in Asia and the Pacific Rim. In addition to watching the salmon's annual struggle to reach their spawning grounds (a kind of fierce, life-or-death battle that puts one's work day in perspective), viewers will also catch a glimpse of the diverse species that live in the coral reefs, and visit mangrove forests, tidal zones and volcanic islands. Questions for classroom discussion, thought-provoking scenarios, activities, resources, and recommended reading are all provided at the end of each segment. A good choice for both classroom and public library collections, this is recommended. The other tapes in the series are: Temperate Forests, Deserts and Grasslands, Freshwater and Island Ecosystems. Aud: J, H, P. (J. Asala)