Spawning salmon have long symbolized the cycle of life, and in photographer Amy Gulick’s award-winning Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s Tongass Rain Forest (Braided River, $29.95), she documents their contributions to the land. In 15 stunning images enlarged from her book, we see ethereal blue mountains, misty waterfalls, and streams packed with the silvery salmon. Truly, the Tongass National Forest is one of the most organically diverse ecosystems in the world, home to humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, eagles, and an unusually dense population of bears—and most of these creatures subsist on salmon. Bears can eat up to 30 salmon a day, carrying their nutrient-rich bodies into the forest, where the scraps—processed in one form or another—subsequently fertilize the tall evergreens. And those trees then provide shade and protection for mature fish returning to the rainforest to spawn. All of which makes this a good exhibit to see before cooking some wild Alaska salmon at home for dinner—you’re part of the same cycle, too. CELINA KAREIVA

Nov. 4-Feb. 13, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tue., Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m., 2010