101 Wild Things Along the Grand Strand

By Jim Luken and Richard Moore
PCF Press

Coastal biology professors Jim Luken and Richard Moore have written a new nature guidebook to help area residents, particularly newcomers, identify and appreciate the wild things and places of the South Carolina coast. Published by PCF Press, 101 Wild Things Along the Grand Strand features descriptions and photos of common animals and plants. There are also tips and suggestions for finding and safely enjoying the special Grand Strand places where animals and plants can be observed.

"The Grand Strand is a tourist mecca attracting millions of people every year," said Luken. "For many visitors and new residents alike, the animals and plants found around the Grand Strand are unfamiliar and strange. We wrote this guide to help people understand and better appreciate the wild places and things that are found in this part of the state."

Luken, a professor and former chair of the Department of Biology, received a Ph.D. in botany from Duke University and was previously director of the environmental science program at Northern Kentucky University. Moore, professor in the Department of Biology, is also assistant vice president for grants and sponsored research at Coastal. He teaches courses in aquaculture, biology of aging, comparative physiology, vertebrate zoology, ichthyology, natural history of the Eastern Caribbean and current topics in ecology.

PCF Press is the imprint of the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, a nonprofit membership organization that conserves South Carolina's natural resources, preserves historic landmarks and promotes outdoor recreation and active living.

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The Comparative Roles of Suspension-Feeders in the Ecosystem

Richard Dame and Sergej Olenin, editors
Springer Publishers

Coastal marine science professor Richard Dame, a scholar widely recognized for his research on the importance of oysters and other mollusks to coastal estuaries, has co-edited a book compiling the studies presented at a NATO Advanced Research Workshop on the topic, "The Comparative Roles of Suspension-Feeders in the Ecosystem."

The workshop, held in Nida, Lithuania, in 2003, brought together 30 scientists from around the world who presented research papers on the complex interrelationships between mollusks, plankton and nekton and their influence on the health of estuarine and other aquatic systems.

The book shows that suspension--feeders--animals that consume and recycle suspended particles in the water-play a significant role in maintaining the ecological balance in shallow water systems. The research also indicates that suspension-feeding can be impaired by human activities such as recreation, aquaculture, human and industrial pollution, fisheries and bilge water from shipping. These activities have been shown to alter the structure of ecosystems by introducing harmful substances or diseases in the food chain, which upsets natural suspension-feeding systems.

The book, co-edited by Sergej Olenin of Klaipdea University in Lithuania, was published as part of the NATO Science Series.

Dame, who joined the Coastal faculty in 1971, was named South Carolina's first Palmetto Professor in 1991. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Charleston, a master's degree in zoology and ecology from the University of North Carolina and a doctorate in biology and marine studies from the University of South Carolina. He has served as president of the Southeastern Estuarine Research Society and as program director at the National Science Foundation.

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National Bank of South Carolina, 1905-2005:100 Years of Service

By Roy Talbert Jr.
NBSC

Veteran Coastal Carolina University history professor Roy Talbert says that when he began his career as an historian he never expected to devote so much of it to the study of his native state. In the past decade, the Cheraw native has now written four books on South Carolina subjects.

He also never expected that he would be in such demand as a writer of institutional histories, books that are commissioned by businesses or organizations usually in observance of some anniversary or milestone such as a centennial. Luckily for the author, each institution he has been approached to write about (a Florence law firm, a university and two banks) had its birth, growth and development in the time period that most interests him as a scholar: the Progressive Era in the New South since the 1880s.

Talbert's latest book is The National Bank of South Carolina, 1905-2005: 100 Years of Service, a centennial history of NBSC. As with his other institutional histories, rather than focus merely on a single organization he has told a three-dimensional story about a community, an industry and the socioeconomic forces that influenced its development as well as its personality.

NBSC was begun in Sumter in 1887 by C.G. Rowland as the Farmers' Bank and Trust Company. Through the affairs of the bank and its leaders, Talbert chronicles the development of Sumter, one of the leading cities in the state by the time of World War I. The severity of the Great Depression and economic boom of the post-World War II era are reflected in the fortunes of the bank. In 1955 NBSC celebrated its 50th anniversary, which was followed the next year by the revelation of an embezzlement scandal that shocked the county but did little to check the bank's ascendancy. By the 1980s it was one of the largest banks in the state, having to contend with hostile takeover attempts. In 1995 NBSC joined the Synovus group of investment service firms and has been the group's top earning bank consistently ever since.

After graduating from Furman University in 1965, Talbert earned a master's degree in 1967 and a Ph.D. in 1971 from Vanderbilt. From 1970 to 1972, he was an Army captain on the General Staff at the Pentagon. He joined the Coastal faculty in 1979 and chaired Coastal's history department from 1991 to 2001.

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TI-89 Graphing Calculator for Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us

By C.C. Edwards
Wiley Publishing Inc.

Most of us don't even know what a TI-89 is, much less how to use it. For those who do own one of these powerful computers, Constance C. Edwards (she goes by "C.C.") will walk you through it in this book from the "Dummies" series.

Edwards, a Coastal mathematics and statistics professor, has also written TI-83 Graphing Calculator for Dummies and TI-84 Graphing Calculator for Dummies.

The palm-sized tool not only solves equations and creates graphs, according to Edwards, but also constructs geometric figures, finds the slope and equation of a line, generates random numbers and even simulates tossing coins and rolling dice.

Writing in a humorous, accessible style, Edwards unravels the mathematical functions of this Texas Instruments' tool in her third book in the series.

"Although this book doesn't tell you how to do everything the calculator is capable of doing, it gets pretty close," Edwards writes in the introduction. "It covers more than just the basics of using the calculator, paying special attention to warning you of the problems you could encounter if you knew only the basics of using the calculator."

The reference book gives you the steps necessary to get the calculator to perform a certain task, such as constructing a histogram. Starting off with "Making Friends with the Calculator," the basics are covered from turning the calculator on and off, when to change batteries, how to use the keyboard, using the menus, even setting the clock.

Edwards earned a bachelor's degree from the College of Notre Dame in Balitmore, Md., and a master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

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