First published in 1979, Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare has established itself as a seminal work in ecology. Now with a new foreword by ecologist and writer Cristina Eisenberg, this penetrating study of ecosystems and animal populations is more relevant than ever. What accounts for the many different species of insect? Why does the robin population stay relatively steady year after year, despite the fact that their nests contain several chicks at once? Paul Colinvaux traces the ecologist's quest to answer these questions and more in this accessibly written book. He brings to the subject both profound knowledge and an enthusiasm that will encourage a greater understanding of the environment and of the efforts of those who seek to preserve it.

Psychological experiments carried out over a period of nearly forty years led Georg von Bekesy to realize that inhibition interconnects, at least in one respect, the fields of vision, hearing, skin sensations, taste, and smell. This book indeed almost creates the field of sensory inhibition as a significant one for study, bringing understanding to many observations that formerly seemed uncertain or unrelated and raising many problems still to be solved. Originally published in 1975. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This is the road from climate change to primate change.

PRIMATE CHANGE is a wide-ranging, polemical look at how and why the human body has changed since humankind first got up on two feet. Spanning the entirety of human history – from primate to transhuman – Vybarr Cregan-Reid’s book investigates where we came from, who we are today and how modern technology will change us beyond recognition.

In the last two hundred years, humans have made such a tremendous impact on the world that our geological epoch is about to be declared the ‘Anthropocene’, or the Age of Man. But while we have been busy changing the shape of the world we inhabit, the ways of living that we have been building have, as if under the cover of darkness, been transforming our bodies and altering the expression of our DNA, too.

Primate Change beautifully unscrambles the complex architecture of our modern human bodies, built over millions of years and only starting to give up on us now.

Deserts provide a harsh and inhospitable environment for plants and animals, and the ecosystem is correspondingly fragile and prone to disruption by a variety of external factors. The Mojave Desert is a winter-rainfall desert, experiencing drought in the summer months, and occasional rain during the cooler winter months. For many years, it has attracted the attention of ecologists and conservation biologists concerned to maintain the unique status of this region. This book provides a broad overview of plant and animal ecology in the Mojave Desert, presented with a focus on data from Rock Valley, Nevada. The data from many major research projects is synthesized into a description of community structure and dynamics in desert ecosystems.

Psychological experiments carried out over a period of nearly forty years led Georg von Bekesy to realize that inhibition interconnects, at least in one respect, the fields of vision, hearing, skin sensations, taste, and smell. This book indeed almost creates the field of sensory inhibition as a significant one for study, bringing understanding to many observations that formerly seemed uncertain or unrelated and raising many problems still to be solved. Originally published in 1975. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Being a Scientist is a comprehensive introduction to the many aspects of scientific life beyond the classroom and laboratory. Written with undergraduate science majors in mind, the book covers ethics, the philosophical bases of scientific methods, library research, reading, peer review, creativity, proposal and paper writing, and oral and poster presentations. In contrast to other texts in the field, which often take a simple prescriptive approach to these topics, Being a Scientist connects them to the historical and philosophical roots of modern science, as well as the common experiences of all people. Written in a conversational style, the book makes use of metaphor, historical anecdote, and hypothetical research about everyday household questions. This approach helps undergraduates learn basic research skills without being too intimidated by the advanced concepts, vocabulary, and methods which are encountered in looking at the current scientific literature. Being a Scientist is a textbook for a semester-long course devoted to teaching research and communication skills to undergraduate science majors, but it can be adapted for use in summer research experiences, capstone research courses, and other courses throughout the undergraduate curriculum.

Graph theory can be applied to ecological questions in many ways, and more insights can be gained by expanding the range of graph theoretical concepts applied to a specific system. But how do you know which methods might be used? And what do you do with the graph once it has been obtained? This book provides a broad introduction to the application of graph theory in different ecological systems, providing practical guidance for researchers in ecology and related fields. Readers are guided through the creation of an appropriate graph for the system being studied, including the application of spatial, spatio-temporal, and more abstract structural process graphs. Simple figures accompany the explanations to add clarity, and a broad range of ecological phenomena from many ecological systems are covered. This is the ideal book for graduate students and researchers looking to apply graph theoretical methods in their work.

Population genetics has made great strides in applying statistical analysis and mathematical modeling to understand how genes mutate and spread through populations over time. But real populations also live in space. Streams, mountains, and other geographic features often divide populations, limit migration, or otherwise influence gene flow. This book rigorously examines the processes that determine geographic patterns of genetic variation, providing a comprehensive guide to their study and interpretation.

"Geographical Genetics" has a unique focus on the mathematical relationships of spatial statistical measures of patterns to stochastic processes. It also develops the probability and distribution theory of various spatial statistics for analysis of population genetic data, detailing exact methods for using various spatial features to make precise inferences about migration, natural selection, and other dynamic forces. The book also reviews the experimental literature on the types of spatial patterns of genetic variation found within and among populations. And it makes an unprecedented strong connection between observed measures of spatial patterns and those predicted theoretically. Along the way, it introduces readers to the mathematics of spatial statistics, applications to specific population genetic systems, and the relationship between the mathematics of space-time processes and the formal theory of geographical genetics.

Written by a leading authority, this is the first comprehensive treatment of geographical genetics. It is a much-needed guide to the theory, techniques, and applications of a field that will play an increasingly important role in population biology and ecology.

"Spatial Ecology" addresses the fundamental effects of space on the dynamics of individual species and on the structure, dynamics, diversity, and stability of multispecies communities. Although the ecological world is unavoidably spatial, there have been few attempts to determine how explicit considerations of space may alter the predictions of ecological models, or what insights it may give into the causes of broad-scale ecological patterns. As this book demonstrates, the spatial structure of a habitat can fundamentally alter both the qualitative and quantitative dynamics and outcomes of ecological processes.

"Spatial Ecology" highlights the importance of space to five topical areas: stability, patterns of diversity, invasions, coexistence, and pattern generation. It illustrates both the diversity of approaches used to study spatial ecology and the underlying similarities of these approaches. Over twenty contributors address issues ranging from the persistence of endangered species, to the maintenance of biodiversity, to the dynamics of hosts and their parasitoids, to disease dynamics, multispecies competition, population genetics, and fundamental processes relevant to all these cases. There have been many recent advances in our understanding of the influence of spatially explicit processes on individual species and on multispecies communities. This book synthesizes these advances, shows the limitations of traditional, non-spatial approaches, and offers a variety of new approaches to spatial ecology that should stimulate ecological research.

While the influence of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) looms large over the natural sciences, his legacy reaches far beyond the field notebooks of naturalists. Von Humboldt's 1799-1804 research expedition to Central and South America with botanist Aime Bonpland not only set the course for the great scientific surveys of the nineteenth century, but also served as the raw material for his many volumes--works of both scientific rigor and aesthetic beauty that inspired such essayists and artists as Emerson, Goethe, Thoreau, Poe, and Frederic Edwin Church.
"Views of Nature," or "Ansichten der Natur," was von Humboldt's best-known and most influential work--and his personal favorite. While the essays that comprise it are themselves remarkable as innovative, early pieces of nature writing--they were cited by Thoreau as a model for his own work--the book's extensive endnotes incorporate some of von Humboldt's most beautiful prose and mature thinking on vegetation structure, its origins in climate patterns, and its implications for the arts. Written for both a literary and a scientific audience, "Views of Nature" was translated into English (twice), Spanish, and French in the nineteenth century, and it was read widely in Europe and the Americas. But in contrast to many of von Humboldt's more technical works, "Views of Nature" has been unavailable in English for more than one hundred years. Largely neglected in the United States during the twentieth century, von Humboldt's contributions to the humanities and the sciences are now undergoing a revival to which this new translation will be a critical contribution.

In the last two hundred years, the earth has increasingly become the private property of a few classes, races, transnational corporations, and nations. Repeated claims about the "tragedy of the commons" and the "crisis of capitalism" have done little to explain this concentration of land, encourage solution-building to solve resource depletion, or address our current socio-ecological crisis. The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty presents a new explanation, vision, and action plan based on the idea of commoning the land. The book argues that by commoning the land, rather than privatising it, we can develop the foundation for prosperity without destructive growth and address both local and global challenges. Making the land the most fundamental priority of all commons does not only give hope, it also opens the doors to a new world in which economy, environment, and society are decolonised and liberated.

The deep ocean is by far the planet's largest biome and holds a wealth of potential natural assets. Human exploitation of the deep ocean is rapidly increasing whilst becoming more visible to many through the popular media, particularly film and television. The scientific literature of deep-sea exploitation and its effects has also rapidly expanded as a direct function of this increased national and global interest in exploitation of deep-sea resources, both biological (e.g. fisheries, genetic resources) and non-biological (e.g. minerals, oil, gas, methane hydrate). At the same time there is a growing interest in deep-sea contamination (including plastics), with many such studies featured in high profile scientific journals and covered by global media outlets. However, there is currently no comprehensive integration of this information in any form and these topics are only superficially covered in classic textbooks on deep-sea biology. This concise and accessible work provides an understanding of the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, both at the seafloor and in the water column, and how these might be affected as a result of human interaction, exploitation and, ultimately, environmental change. It follows a logical progression from geological and physical processes, ecology, biology, and biogeography, to exploitation, management, and conservation. Natural Capital and Exploitation of the Deep Ocean is aimed at marine biologists and ecologists, oceanographers, fisheries scientists and managers, fish biologists, environmental scientists, and conservation biologists. It will also be of relevance and use to a multi-disciplinary audience of fish and wildlife agencies, NGOs, and government departments involved in deep-sea conservation and management.

As read by James Corden, Fearne Cotton, Jim Chapman and Dougie Poytner. 'We have a responsibility, every one of us' David Attenborough Around 12.7 million tonnes of plastic are entering the ocean every year, killing over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals. By 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight. Plastic pollution is the environmental scourge of our age, but how can YOU make a difference? This accessible guide, written by the campaigner at the forefront of the anti-plastic movement, will help you make the small changes that make a big difference, from buying a reusable coffee cup to running a clean-up at your local park or beach. Tips on giving up plastic include: * Washing your clothes within a wash bag to catch plastic microfibers (the cause of 30% of plastic pollution in the ocean) * Replacing your regular shampoo with bar shampoo * How to lobby your supermarket to remove unnecessary packaging * How to throw a plastic-free birthday party * How to convince others to join you in giving up plastic Plastic is not going away without a fight. We need a movement made up of billions of individual acts, bringing people together from all backgrounds and all cultures, the ripples of which will be felt from the smallest village to the tallest skyscrapers. This is a call to arms - to join forces across the world and to end our dependence on plastic. #BreakFreeFromPlastic Plastic is not going away without a fight. We need a movement made up of billions of individual acts, bringing people together from all backgrounds and all cultures, the ripples of which will be felt from the smallest village to the tallest skyscrapers. 'Plastic waste is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world' Theresa May 'As Head of Oceans at Greenpeace, Will is on the front line of humanity's global fight against plastic. This timely book not only explains how we got into this mess, but most importantly offers an optimistic and proactive approach as to how we can get out of it'. - Richard Walker, Managing Director at Iceland

What happens when a chemical is released into the environment? It diffuses, disperses, adsorbs, reacts, and/or changes state. To predict and analyze this process, the mathematics of diffusion is applied to lakes, rivers, groundwater, the atmosphere, the oceans, and transport between these media. A sustainable world requires a deep understanding of the transport of chemicals through the environment and how to address and harness this process. This volume presents a succinct and in-depth introduction to this critical topic. Featuring authoritative, peer-reviewed articles from the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, Transport and Fate of Chemicals in the Environment represents an essential one-stop reference for an audience of researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, and industry professionals.

Geochemical kinetics as a topic is now of importance to a wide range of geochemists in academia, industry, and government, and all geochemists need a rudimentary knowledge of the field. This book summarizes the fundamentals of geochemical kinetics with examples drawn especially from mineral dissolution and precipitation. It also encompasses discussion of high temperature processes and global geochemical cycle modeling. Analysis of textures of rocks, sediments, and mineral surfaces are incorporated throughout and provide a sub-theme of the book.

Greatly anticipated and sorely needed, this book updates the successful guide to North American mosquitoes published by the American Mosquito Control Association in 1981. It includes 12 new species that have since been added to the North American mosquito fauna, revised distribution maps of all species, and revised and completely illustrated identification keys for the adult females and fourth instar larvae of all 174 species and subspecies known to occur in North America, north of Mexico. In chapters on adult and larval morphology, the coauthors-both world-renowned in their field of taxonomy-discuss the anatomical structures mentioned in the keys and pictured on full-page plates. They provide separate generic keys for adult females and larvae and keys to the species of each genus. In addition, they show the geographical distribution of each taxon in a series of maps and include a synopsis of the occurrence of species in the states and provinces of the United States and Canada. This book's usefulness to mosquito control programs cannot be overestimated. For example, it deals with 9 exotic species that have been introduced and today successfully thrive in North America. Several are increasing their range and this book will help identify these species when they first invade an area. Because of the occurrence of mosquito-borne diseases and the widespread distribution of mosquitoes as pests to humans, professionals must know how to identify them. With its wealth of up-to-date information, this book is the only one of its kind available for specialists working on mosquito-borne diseases and in mosquito control units and for both introductory and advanced students who study entomology.

A reappraisal of Lamarckism-its historical impact and contemporary significance.In 1809-the year of Charles Darwin's birth-Jean-Baptiste Lamarck published Philosophie zoologique, the first comprehensive and systematic theory of biological evolution. The Lamarckian approach emphasizes the generation of developmental variations; Darwinism stresses selection. Lamarck's ideas were eventually eclipsed by Darwinian concepts, especially after the emergence of the Modern Synthesis in the twentieth century. The different approaches-which can be seen as complementary rather than mutually exclusive-have important implications for the kinds of questions biologists ask and for the type of research they conduct. Lamarckism has been evolving-or, in Lamarckian terminology, transforming-since Philosophie zoologique's description of biological processes mediated by "subtle fluids." Essays in this book focus on new developments in biology that make Lamarck's ideas relevant not only to modern empirical and theoretical research but also to problems in the philosophy of biology. Contributors discuss the historical transformations of Lamarckism from the 1820s to the 1940s, and the different understandings of Lamarck and Lamarckism; the Modern Synthesis and its emphasis on Mendelian genetics; theoretical and experimental research on such "Lamarckian" topics as plasticity, soft (epigenetic) inheritance, and individuality; and the importance of a developmental approach to evolution in the philosophy of biology. The book shows the advantages of a "Lamarckian" perspective on evolution. Indeed, the development-oriented approach it presents is becoming central to current evolutionary studies-as can be seen in the burgeoning field of Evo-Devo. Transformations of Lamarckism makes a unique contribution to this research.

The second edition of this widely cited textbook continues to provide a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave and subterranean biology, describing this fascinating habitat and its biodiversity. It covers a range of biological processes including ecosystem function, evolution and adaptation, community ecology, biogeography, and conservation. The authors draw on a global range of examples and case studies from both caves and non-cave subterranean habitats. One of the barriers to the study of subterranean biology has been the extraordinarily large number of specialized terms used by researchers; the authors explain these terms clearly and minimize the number that they use. This new edition retains the same 10 chapter structure of the original, but the content has been thoroughly revised and updated throughout to reflect the huge increase in publications concerning subterranean biology over the last decade.

The southeastern United States is home to the richest, most diverse freshwater mussel faunas on the planet, and Mississippi is no exception in this regard. Until fairly recent times, however, only qualitative lists of taxa were available and/or sampling was unsystematic and spotty. More recent work has taken place in waterways that have been significantly impacted by erosion, other forms of water pollution, and impoundment in modern times. Thus, even the best modern studies could benefit from a better knowledge of ranges and community characteristics as they existed prehistorically, when human impact, though present, an to this end this work presents a robust synthesis of pre-industrial mussel distributions and relative abundances in the state.

Why do we find polar bears only in the Arctic and penguins only in the Antarctic? Why do oceanic islands often have many types of birds but no large native mammals? As Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace travelled across distant lands studying the wildlife they both noticed that the distribution of plants and animals formed striking patterns - patterns that held strong clues to the past of the planet. The study of the spatial distribution of living things is known as biogeography. It is a field that could be said to have begun with Darwin and Wallace. In this lively book, Denis McCarthy tells the story of biogeography, from the 19th century to its growth into a major field of interdisciplinary research in the present day. It is a story that encompasses two great, insightful theories that were to provide the explanations to the strange patterns of life across the world - evolution, and plate tectonics. We find animals and plants where we do because, over time, the continents have moved, separating and coalescing in a long, slow dance; because sea levels have risen, cutting off one bit of land from another, and fallen, creating land bridges; because new and barren volcanic islands have risen up from the sea; and because animals and plants vary greatly in their ability to travel, and separation has caused the formation of new species. The story of biogeography is the story of how life has responded and has in turn altered the ever changing Earth. It is a narrative that includes many fascinating tales - of pygmy mammoths and elephant birds; of changing landscapes; of radical ideas by bold young scientists first dismissed and later, with vastly growing evidence, widely accepted. The story is not yet done: there are still questions to be answered and biogeography is a lively area of research and debate. But our view of the planet has been changed profoundly by biogeography and its related fields: the emerging understanding is of a deeply interconnected system in which life and physical forces interact dynamically in space and time.