Approximately 99.9% of vertebrate species reproduce sexually. The exceptional 0.1% reproduce via asexual or clonal means, which vary wildly and are fascinating in their own right. In this book, John C. Avise describes the genetics, ecology, natural history, and evolution of the world's approximately 100 species of vertebrate animal that routinely display one form or another of clonal or quasi-clonal reproduction. Approximately 99.9% of vertebrate species reproduce sexually. The exceptional 0.1% reproduce via asexual or clonal means, which vary wildly and are fascinating in their own right. In this book, John C. Avise describes the genetics, ecology, natural history, and evolution of the world's approximately 100 species of vertebrate animal that routinely display one form or another of clonal or quasi-clonal reproduction. By considering the many facets of sexual abstinence and clonal reproduction in vertebrate animals, Avise sheds new light on the biological meaning and ramifications of standard sexuality.

This book considers a number of problems posed by ungulates and their management in Europe. Through a synthesis of the underlying biology and a comparison of the management techniques adopted in different countries, the book explores which management approaches seem effective and in which circumstances. Experts in a number of different areas of applied wildlife biology review various management problems and alternative solutions, including the impact of large ungulates on agriculture, forestry and conservation habitats, the impact of disease and predation on ungulate populations and the involvement of ungulates in road traffic accidents and possible measures for mitigation. This book is directed at practising wildlife managers, those involved in research to improve methods of wildlife management, and policy-makers in local, regional and national administrations.

This book is the first to explore the diversity of management objectives and the different approaches to wildlife management of large ungulates in a wide range of different European countries. Specialist authors from each country present an analysis of the species present, numerical status and distribution of different ungulates which occur in their particular country and consider issues which must be addressed by management (whether management for conservation, for control of damaging impacts or for exploitation). Management systems are described (and both legislative and administrative structures) together with an evaluation of how effective current management practices may be in addressing problems identified - or the extent to which they may contribute to those problems. The book is aimed primarily at those who may be actively involved in research into improving methods of wildlife management; practising wildlife managers and game-keepers; policy makers in local regional or national administrations, responsible for formulating policies.

Cooperative breeders are species in which more than a pair of individuals assist in the production of young. Cooperative breeding is found in only a few hundred bird species world-wide, and understanding this often strikingly altruistic behaviour has remained an important challenge in behavioural ecology for over 30 years. This book highlights the theoretical, empirical and technical advances that have taken place in the field of cooperative breeding research since the publication of the seminal work Cooperative Breeding in Birds: Long-term Studies of Behavior and Ecology (1990, HB ISBN 0521 372984, PB ISBN 0521 378907). Organized conceptually, special attention is given to ways in which cooperative breeders have proved fertile subjects for testing modern advances to classic evolutionary problems including those of sexual selection, sex-ratio manipulation, life-history evolution, partitioning of reproduction and incest avoidance. It will be of interest to both students and researchers interested in behaviour and ecology.

This book aims at providing students and researchers an advanced integrative overview on zooplankton ecology, covering marine and freshwater organisms, from microscopic phagotrophic protists, to macro-jellyfishes and active fish larvae. The first book section addresses zooplanktonic organisms and processes, the second section is devoted to zooplankton spatial and temporal distribution patterns and trophic dynamics, and the final section is dedicated to emergent methodological approaches (e.g., omics). Book chapters include comprehensive synthesis, observational and manipulative studies, and sediment-based analysis, a vibrant imprint of benthic-pelagic coupling and ecosystem connectivity. Most chapters also address the impacts of anticipated environmental changes (e.g., warming, acidification).

Understanding Nature is a new kind of ecology textbook: a straight-forward resource that teaches natural history and ecological content, and a way to instruct students that will nurture both Earth and self. While meeting the textbook guidelines set forth by the Ecological Society of America, Understanding Nature has a unique ecotherapy theme, using a historical framework to teach ecological theory to undergraduates. This textbook presents all the core information without being unnecessarily wordy or lengthy, using simple, relatable language and discussing ecology in ways that any student can apply in real life. Uniquely, it is also a manual on how to improve one's relationship with the Earth. This is accomplished through coverage of natural history, ecology, and applications, together with suggested field activities that start each chapter and thinking questions that end each chapter. The book includes traditional ecological knowledge as well as the history of scientific ecological knowledge. Understanding Nature teaches theory and applications that will heal the Earth. It also teaches long-term sustainability practices for one's psyche. Professor Louise Weber is both an ecologist and a certified ecopsychologist, challenging ecology instructors to rethink what and how they teach about nature. Her book bridges the gap between students taking ecology to become ecologists and those taking ecology as a requirement, who will use the knowledge to become informed citizens.

Unique 'graphic novel' format and short length will engage students immediately, including those with limited background knowledge. An efficient and accessible academic resource to illustrate the technical concepts, theories and frameworks of socio-ecological approaches. This new graphic approach to degree education is exciting and highly engaging, encouraging creativity that can deepen academic understanding. No other book introduces the complexities of interdisciplinarity and valuing nature in such an accessible way. The sections reflect a logical and natural progression from an initial introduction to meanings to the wider context. Approaches the concept in a simple, chronological and visual manner that sets it apart from other educational resources on ecology. The book contains a variety of pedagogical tools and orientation that help guide the reader through the book, offer further reading, jump between sections, and provide the opportunity to review what has been learned so far. The characters depicted in the book reflect the diversity of the student body, with BAME students included as well as different personalities. Ideal for undergraduates in the fields of ecology, human and physical geography, conservation science, environment social science and spatial planning. The materials work pedagogically for 1st Year (Supplementary and Specialised) and 2nd year (Core and Introductory). Particularly useful for natural scientists with limited training, but expectations to engage, in the critical social science dimensions of resource management. Secondary market among policy makers and practitioners either new to issues of valuing nature or those wishing to clarify or contextualise further their understanding.

__________________ Our Earth is more beautiful and more diverse than we can possibly conceive of. The Book of Vanishing Species is a stunning homage to the planet's most mysterious, bizarre and wondrous creatures and plants. Their stories are captivating, from the eyeless and tiny dragonlike olm to the hawksbill turtle, whose gender will be determined by the temperature of the sand it is born in. These species may have survived for hundreds of thousands of years by cleverly adapting to their environments, but their future remains far from certain. The book brings to life red cranes as they dance and bow for the sheer joy of movement, trees that breathe out a haze of misty atmosphere for insects that only feast on one kind of flower, a deep-ocean snail quietly building its shell from iron... and each one of them is illuminated with an exquisite illustration. As you turn the pages, there emerges a network of life that stretches across and around the planet in a dazzling web of existence. This is both a love letter to life on Earth, and an urgent summons to protect what is precious and lovely in this world.

This study examines the principles and practices of the Afikpo (Eugbo) Nigeria indigenous justice system in contemporary times. Like most African societies, the Afikpo indigenous justice system employs restorative, transformative and communitarian principles in conflict resolution. This book describes the processes of community empowerment, participatory justice system and how regular institutions of society that provide education, social and economic support are also effective in early intervention in disputes and prevention of conflicts.

The stingless bees are the most diverse group of highly social bees and are key species in our planet's tropical and subtropical regions, where they thrive. In Mexico, the management of stingless bees dates back centuries, and they were an essential part of the culture and cosmogony of native peoples like the Maya. In recent decades a vast amount of information has been gathered on stingless bees worldwide. This book summarizes various aspects of the biology and management of stingless bees, with special emphasis on the Mexican species and the traditions behind their cultivation. Much of the information presented here was produced by the author and the team of researchers at the Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan in the course of three decades of working with these insects. Given the breadth of its coverage, the book offers an equally valuable reference guide for academics, students and beekeepers alike.

DIRECTLY APPLIES TO LIFE ON LAND SDG and CLIMATE CHANGE SDG. International organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization and World Organization for Animal Health have all reminded us that health impacts of climate change will become some of societies' greatest challenges. How we respond or adapt to climate change will have profound implications for people, animals, biodiversity, economies and ecosystems today as well as in the future. The book provides, in one easy reference, all of the information Animal Health practitioners need from defining the climate change concept, providing science-based evidence of climate change degradation of animal (ecosystem) health and successful mitigation and reversal strategies. Despite being arguably the most important challenges of the 21st century, engagement, and leadership from the animal health sector on climate change remains hard to find. This book attempts to support animal health professionals by providing information, knowledge, and experiences they can use to remedy this situation. There is no other book that covers anything like the proposed subject matter to this level of completeness and detail. The publishing of a text of this nature could help erode the power of the climate denialism lobby, shifting the debate and allowing mitigation efforts to gain higher priority. The tone of the book has an understated sense of urgency, leaning slightly toward presenting as a 'Manual for the apocalypse'. This has potential to be a benchmark publication. The text not only defines climate change but takes a proactive approach with intervention and corrective action examples: each chapter ends with suggestions on teachable and actionable ideas that could be used to mobilize concepts and information provided into education or advocacy. In this way, the book not only brings key ideas, principles and information to understand the implications for climate change for animal health, but will help translate the book's offerings into education and intervention. Teachers and researchers could use this one-of-a-kind book to frame a course or seminar series heightening student career engagement and stewardship of a more sustainable and healthier planet.

The third edition of this classic text maintains its focus on applications of demographic models, while extending its scope to matrix models for stage-classified populations. The authors first introduce the life table to describe age-specific mortality, and then use it to develop theory for stable populations and the rate of population increase. This theory is then revisited in the context of matrix models, for stage-classified as well as age-classified populations. Reproductive value and the stable equivalent population are introduced in both contexts, and Markov chain methods are presented to describe the movement of individuals through the life cycle. Applications of mathematical demography to population projection and forecasting, kinship, microdemography, heterogeneity, and multi-state models are considered.

The new edition maintains and extends the book's focus on the consequences of changes in the vital rates. Methods are presented for calculating the sensitivity and elasticity of population growth rate, life expectancy, stable stage distribution, and reproductive value, and for applying those results in comparative studies.

Stage-classified models are important in both human demography and population ecology, and this edition features examples from both human and non-human populations. In short, this third edition enlarges considerably the scope and power of demography. It will be an essential resource for students and researchers in demography and in animal and plant population ecology.

From the reviews:

"If you found the original editions...to be excellent (and who amoung us has not?) then you will find the new edition to be equally so...This book is highly andunreservedly recommended for any beginning mathematical demographer." Mathematical Population Studies, 12: 223-228, 2005

"The material in the second edition is retained, although the chapters are reorganized and references are updated. New chapters focusing on matrix population models are seamlessly interwoven with the second edition chapters, resulting in a thorough and comprehensive treatment of human, animal, and nonhuman demography." Journal of the American Statistical Association, December 2005

Harvest of Fish and Wildlife: New Paradigms for Sustainable Management unites experts in wildlife and fishery sciences for an interdisciplinary overview of harvest management. This book presents unique insights for embracing the complete social-ecological system to ensure a sustainable future. It educates users on evolutionary and population dynamics; social and political influences; hunter and angler behavior; decision processes; impacts of regulations; and stakeholder involvement. Features: Written by twenty-four teams of leading scientists and managers. Promotes transparent justification for fishing and hunting regulations. Provides examples for integrating decision making into management. Emphasizes creativity in management by integrating art and science. This book appeals to population biologists, evolutionary biologists and social scientists. It is a key resource for on-the-ground managers and research scientists developing harvesting applications. As the book's contributors explain: "Making decisions that are robust to uncertainty...is a paradigm shift with a lot of potential to improve outcomes for fish and wildlife populations." -Andrew Tyre and Brigitte Tenhumberg "Temporal shifts in system states...must somehow be anticipated and dealt with to derive harvest policies that remain optimal in the long term." -Michael Conroy "Proactive, effective management of sportspersons...will be essential in the new paradigm of harvest management." -Matthew Gruntorad and Christopher Chizinski

Examining tissue residues of contaminants in biota reveals the movement of contaminants within organisms and through food chains as well as the context for understanding and quantifying injuries to organisms and their communities. Yet tissue concentrations of some contaminants are especially challenging to interpret and the ability of today's analytical chemists to provide reliable analytical data of most important environmental contaminants often surpasses the ability of ecotoxicologists to interpret those data. Offering guidance on the ecotoxicologically meaningful interpretation of tissue concentrations, Environmental Contaminants in Biota, Interpreting Tissue Concentrations, Second Edition is updated with current data and new ways of analyzing those data as well as additional contaminants not previously considered. Beginning with a history of wildlife toxicology and data interpretation, chapters cover a wide range of contaminants and their hazardous and lethal concentrations in various animals including DDT, Dioxins, PCBs, and PBDEs in aquatic organisms; methylmurcury, selenium, and trace metals in fishes and aquatic invertebrates; and pharmaceuticals and organic contaminants in marine mammals. The book considers the impact of Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Dibenzo-p-Dioxins and Dibenzofurans, and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers; cyclodiene; and other organochlorine pesticides in birds and mammals. Later chapters examine the effects and analysis of lead, cadmium, and radionuclides in biota. With thousands of published research papers reporting tissue concentrations each year, Environmental Contaminants in Biota, Interpreting Tissue Concentrations, Second Edition gives ecotoxicologists the ability to draw actionable value regarding the toxicological consequences of those concentrations and relate tissue concentrations quantitatively to injury: the core of ecotoxicology.

This book examines how contemporary artists have engaged with histories of nature, geology, and extinction within the context of the changing planet. Susan Ballard describes how artists challenge the categories of animal, mineral, and vegetable-turning to a multispecies order of relations that opens up a new vision of what it means to live within the Anthropocene. Considering the work of a broad range of artists including Francisco de Goya, J. M. W. Turner, Robert Smithson, Nancy Holt, Yhonnie Scarce, Joyce Campbell, Lisa Reihana, Katie Paterson, Taryn Simon, Susan Norrie, Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho, Ken + Julia Yonetani, David Haines and Joyce Hinterding, Angela Tiatia, and Hito Steyerl and with a particular focus on artists from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, this book reveals the emergence of a planetary aesthetics that challenges fixed concepts of nature in the Anthropocene. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, visual culture, narrative nonfiction, digital and media art, and the environmental humanities.

Winner of the Prix Renaudot 2019 A New York Times Best Book of 2021 'Extraordinarily beautiful... a long last loving glance at the planet.' Carl Safina, author of Becoming Wild The Art of Patience sees the renowned French adventurer and writer set off for the high plateaux of remotest Tibet in search of the elusive snow leopard. There, in the company of leading wildlife photographer Vincent Munier and two companions, at 5,000 metres and in temperatures of -25C, the team set up their hides on exposed mountainsides, and occasionally in the luxury of an icy cave, to await a visitation from the almost mythical beast. This tightly focused and tautly written narrative is simultaneously a dazzling account of an exacting journey, an apprenticeship in the art of patience, an acceptance of the ruthlessness of the natural world and, finally, a plea for ecological sanity. A small masterpiece, it is one of those books that demands to be read again and again.

The book presents a chronology of events of "B. tabaci" and geminiviruses, and an overview within the Caribbean and Latin America. The pathosystems involving "Tomato yellow leaf curl virus," "Cotton leaf curl virus" and the cassava mosaic viruses are discussed. Data is presented on amino acid concentrations influencing "B. tabaci" and thus serves the basis for holidic diets. The essential molecular techniques for "B. tabaci" identification and classification are included with factors to consider for appropriate applications; an essential working guide for graduate students and researchers in the molecular field. Excellent photos portray symptoms of geminivirus-infecting crops: tomato, cotton, cassava, legumes and cucurbits; an important guide for researchers and growers. The novel insecticides, their mode of action and specificity; emphasize the applications of these within IPM programs.

A heartfelt hymn to the sea and an unforgettable introduction to one of the most gifted nature writers of the new generation The seas cover over two thirds of our planet and yet most of us live our lives on land, creatures of a different element, at once fascinated and terrified by the beauty and power of these great bodies of water. There are some, though, who go to sea, who get to know its many moods -- the tranquil and mirror-like, the raging and ripple-swept -- and who bring back with them their stories of wonder and warning. Hannah Stowe is one such sea-goer and one such storyteller. Drawing on her expertise as a marine biologist and sailor, and her experiences in the North Sea, the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, the Celtic Sea, and the Caribbean, Move Like Water is an exploration of the human relationship with the sea, the powerful impression it has made on our culture, and the terrible damage we have inflicted upon its ecosystems. In shimmering, fluid prose, Stowe introduces us to five keystone marine creatures - the sperm whale, the humpback whale, the orca, the albatross and the firecrow - encouraging us to fall in love with the seas as she has, to appreciate their majesty and their vulnerability.

This book explores how humans in the Renaissance lived with, attended to, and considered the minds, feelings, and sociality of other creatures. It examines how Renaissance literature and natural history display an unequal creaturely world: all creatures were categorized hierarchically. However, post-Cartesian readings of Shakespeare and other Renaissance literature have misunderstood Renaissance hierarchical creaturely relations, including human relations. Using critical animal studies work and new materialist theory, Bach argues that attending closely to creatures and objects in texts by Shakespeare and other writers exposes this unequal world and the use and abuse of creatures, including people. The book also adds significantly to animal studies by showing how central bird sociality and voices were to Renaissance human culture, with many believing that birds were superior to some humans in song, caregiving, and companionship. Bach shows how Descartes, a central figure in the transition to modern ideas about creatures, lived isolated from humans and other creatures and denied ancient knowledge about other creatures' minds, especially bird minds. As significantly, Bach shows how and why Descartes' ideas appealed to human grandiosity. Asking how Renaissance categorizations of creatures differ so much from modern classifications, and why those modern classifications have shaped so much animal studies work, this book offers significant new readings of Shakespeare's and other Renaissance texts. It will contribute to a range of fields, including Renaissance literature, history, animal studies, new materialism, and the environmental humanities.

This is a how-and-why-to-do-it book for students and scientists in all the behavioral sciences. It presents sophisticated statistical methods for analyzing continuous-time records of behavior, and integrates many recent developments in ethology, mathematical modelling, statistics, and technology. These new methods are explicitly designed to handle sequential or simultaneous acts where neither the duration nor the sequence of the acts is predetermined, which is often the case if the time scale on which behavior is studied is relatively short. The authors show how to analyze behavioral data starting with a basic model, the continuous time Markov chain. They then indicate how and when this model can be generalized and demonstrate the suitability of their approach for detecting, for example, the effects of different experimental treatments or of gradual changes in the social or physical environment. Competitive interactions such as predator-prey or host-parasite are also good subjects for this type of analysis. There are eight chapters and many worked examples, leading the reader through the mathematical processes and their applications. Students and researchers in all fields of behavioural science will find this book incomparably useful for planning and performing data analysis.

Surveying an area dense with conflicting observations and ideas, this volume vividly depicts the current state of knowledge as well as the great diversity of opinion in the field of population ecology. Ten papers by outstanding authorities focus on three main issues-the effects of environment and population density on population dynamics, the influence of animal behavior on population growth, and the possibilities of genetic feedback or short-term evolutionary change in control of animal populations. An incisive introduction by the editor establishes a frame of reference and supplies succinct resolutions of some of the important controversies dealt with in these pages.
Choosing from a vast literature that has been polemical, often confusing, and at times acrimonious, the book offers several classic arguments that clarify the functional, statistical, and evolutionary aspects of the relationship of population density to population growth. M. E. Solomon lays the groundwork for the ensuing debate by classifying the terms and relevant concepts of "density-dependence" as they apply to population dynamics. Other probing articles questions whether the density of animal populations is actually regulated by particular mechanisms or by random chance, provide counterexamples of the regulation of animal numbers, and explore effects of population density on the growth rates of various animal populations.
Aside from the negative effects or responses of the environment, including hazardous weather and food shortages, increasing evidence shows that a definite social or behavioral regulation may result from the interaction of individuals or groups within the animal population. This concept, ignored by some ecologists and considered universal by others, is discussed by several of the contributors. Perhaps the most noteworthy proponent of the idea that "social regulation" is for the "purpose" of preventing overpopulation and consequent destruction of resources is V. C. Wynne-Edwards. His paper outlines a theory that has stimulated wide discussion and caused reevaluation of many established views.
"Ian A. McLaren" is Professor emeritus, department of Biology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. His expertise is population and evolutionary biology of plankton, seals, and birds. Dr. McLaren has contributed numerous papers to books and scholarly journals in the fields of population and evolutionary ecology. Dr. McLaren is also a fellow of the Arctic Institute.

Some of the most exciting recent advances in animal behaviour have occurred at the interface between that subject and the study of evolution. This book, written by experts in this area, illustrates how the profound changes in our understanding of evolution have influenced behavioural research. Its chapters span both studies of how behaviour itself has evolved, dealing with topics such as comparative studies, the genetics of behaviour, speciation and the evolution of sociality and of intelligence, and also the adaptiveness which this evolution has brought about, with treatment of mating and fighting strategies, and theories of kinship and altruism. The Evolution of Behaviour should be valuable to senior undergraduate and graduate students of biology and psychology, especially those studying animal behaviour, behavioural ecology, sociobiology, evolution, ecology and environmental biology.

Offers knowledge on how to resolve human-wildlife conflicts through wildlife damage management. Provides examples of how human-wildlife conflicts can be alleviated by using an integrated approach Discusses management options including employing lethal methods; distributing supplemental food; changing the behavior of either humans or wildlife; and excluding or repelling wildlife. Backed by numerous case studies, informative side bars and full color illustrations. Uses brand new case studies to illustrate the benefits of an integrated approach to wildlife management for resolving wildlife problems.

Written as an account of the Percy Sladen Trust Expeditions to the New Hebrides in 1922-3 and 1927, this is one of the first detailed studies of the flora and fauna of these distant islands. Fully illustrated with maps and figures, this book describes the native Hebrideans and the reasons for their depopulation. The author, a biologist and zoologist, then details the insect, avian and mammalian inhabitants of the islands and their behaviors.