“It’s kind of a detective story,” Emory environmental studies professor Anthony Martin says of his latest book, “Life Traces of the Georgia Coast,” published by Indiana University Press.

Written for a general audience, the book describes how life traces – tracks, burrows and other impressions – relate to the natural history and behaviors of plants and animals of the beaches and maritime forests of Georgia’s barrier islands.

Ghost crabs and birds, feral hogs and alligators all leave signs of their activities in the environment. Many of these signs go unnoticed by most of us, simply because we don’t know how to read them.

“In many instances, you won’t see the animals that made these traces,” Martin says. “That’s one of the fantastic aspects of this book: You can use it as a manual for interpreting the natural world around you.”

Martin will give a public talk about the book on the evening of Saturday, January 26, for Atlanta Science Tavern. Click here for details.