Jack Rudloe

Sometimes, a dock isn't just a dock. It's a habitat, a living thing.

In the tiny fishing community of Panacea, Florida, the author's floating dock nurtures an abundance of marine life. Crabs, worms, mollusks and algae make their home there, attracting and feeding fish and other creatures higher up the food chain. These also feed the author's business, Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, which supplies specimens to research and teaching institutions: marine fauna from his dock, from nearby mud flats and beaches, and netted offshore from his little shrimp boat, "Penaeus."

This entertaining and educational book looks at the life histories of some of these creatures, and recounts Rudloe's experiences in collecting them, in the process examining man's relationship with the natural world.