Detailed and concise dissection directions, updated valuable information and extraordinary illustrations make The Dissection of Vertebrates, 3rd Edition the new ideal manual for students in comparative vertebrate anatomy, as well as a superb reference for vertebrate and functional morphology, vertebrate paleontology, and advanced level vertebrate courses, such as in mammalogy, ornithology, ichthyology, and herpetology. This newly revised edition of the most comprehensive manual available continues to offer today's more visually oriented student with a manual combining pedagogically effective text with high-quality, accurate and attractive visual references. This new edition features updated and expanded phylogenetic coverage, revisions to the illustrations and text of the lamprey, shark, perch, mudpuppy, frog, cat, pigeon, and reptile skull chapters, and new sections on amphioxus or lancelet (Branchiostoma, Cephalochodata), a sea squirt (Ciona, Urochordata), shark musculature, a gravid shark, shark embryo, cat musculature, and the sheep heart. Using the same systematic approach within a systemic framework as the first two editions, The Dissection of Vertebrates, 3rd Edition covers several animals commonly used in providing an anatomical transition sequence. Nine animals are covered: amphioxus, sea squirt, lamprey, shark, perch, mudpuppy, frog, cat, and pigeon, plus five reptile skulls, two mammal skulls, and the sheep heart.

Herding and hunting, along with farming, represented the economic basis of subsistence of communities in the past. The strategies of animal husbandry and hunting were diverse and different between communities, whilst they also changed over time. The differences and variations were sometimes caused by local or regional environmental conditions, but were also the result of social, cultural, political, and even religious factors. Animal Husbandry and Hunting in the Central and Western Balkans Through Time brings new results of research on animal herding and hunting in the central and western Balkans during prehistoric and historic periods. The investigations presented here cover a wide range of topics related to animal exploitation strategies; they range from broad syntheses to specific case studies and, moreover, include interdisciplinary studies that use zooarchaeological and historical data, iconographic representations and modern laboratory analysis.

This book comprehensively summarizes the biological mechanisms of coloration and pattern formation of animals at molecular and cellular level, offering up-to-date knowledge derived from remarkable progress in the last 10 years. The brilliant coloration, conspicuous patterns and spectacular color changes displayed by some vertebrates and invertebrates are generally their strategies of the utmost importance for survival. Consists of mainly three parts, starts with introductory chapter, such as Pigments and Pigment Organelles, Developmental Genetics of Pigment Cell Formation, Adult Pigment Patterns, and Color Changes, this book introduces new pigment compounds in addition to classically known pigments and organelles, explains how the generation of multiple types of pigment cell is genetically controlled, describes the mechanisms underlying the zebrafish stripe formation as well as other animals and also summarizes the mechanism of physiological and morphological color changes of teleost, amphibian and cephalopod. Written by experts in the field, this book will be essential reading for graduate students and researchers in biological fields who are interested in pigmentation mechanisms of animals.

Herpetology, Fourth Edition presents a functional understanding of amphibians and reptiles-what they do and how they do it, and how those attributes are related to their ecology and evolutionary history. The book explains why amphibians and reptiles, which are distantly related evolutionary lineages, are nonetheless grouped in the discipline known as herpetology, and describes the position of amphibians and reptiles within the evolution of vertebrates. Initial chapters present the fossil history of amphibians and reptiles and the phylogenetic relationships of extant groups, with descriptions of the biological characteristics of each family and photographs of representative species. The phylogenetic and biogeography chapters have been extensively revised to incorporate the most recent molecular phylogenetic information, including extensive discussion of the expanding field of phylogeography. Subsequent chapters consider amphibians and reptiles from morphological, physiological, ecological, and behavioral perspectives. The book concludes with a discussion of the threats facing amphibians and reptiles and approaches to conserving herpetological diversity. Herpetology, Fourth Edition serves as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate-level courses and as a comprehensive source of information about amphibians and reptiles for professional biologists, hobbyists, and interested laypersons. "I have owned every edition of this textbook, and every one has been the best herpetology text available at the time. This one is the best of the best." - Ross A. Alford, Professor in College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University

Today, approximately 27% of households in the United States own at least one cat. This comprises a total of almost 60 million total pet cats. An 8 billion dollar pet food industry and the more than 7 billion dollars that pet owners spend on veterinary care each year provide tangible evidence of the increasing importance that companion animals have in our society. Additionally, the bond that owners have with their cats and the many health benefits that are afforded by this bond have been the topic of numerous research studies in the past 25 years. The cat as a cherished companion is here to stay, and many owners, students and pet professionals are eager to learn more about man's OTHER best friend, Felis catus.

"The Cat: Its Behavior, Nutrition and Health," the textbook of the cat, is written as a companion book to "The Dog: Its Behavior, Nutrition and Health." This book provides pet owners, undergraduate students and pet professionals with a complete guide to four topical areas that are of interest. These are: The history of the human-cat relationship; behavior of the domestic cat; feline nutrition; and feline health and disease.

"The Cat" will fill the need for an academic textbook for undergraduate animal science courses, veterinary technician programs, and cat care or breeding classes. It will also serve as an important resource for pet professionals such as breeders, exhibitors, groomers, and veterinary practitioners.

Nutrition has long been considered more the domain of medicine and agriculture than of the biological sciences, yet it touches and shapes all aspects of the natural world. The need for nutrients determines whether wild animals thrive, how populations evolve and decline, and how ecological communities are structured. "The Nature of Nutrition" is the first book to address nutrition's enormously complex role in biology, both at the level of individual organisms and in their broader ecological interactions.

Stephen Simpson and David Raubenheimer provide a comprehensive theoretical approach to the analysis of nutrition--the Geometric Framework. They show how it can help us to understand the links between nutrition and the biology of individual animals, including the physiological mechanisms that determine the nutritional interactions of the animal with its environment, and the consequences of these interactions in terms of health, immune responses, and lifespan. Simpson and Raubenheimer explain how these effects translate into the collective behavior of groups and societies, and in turn influence food webs and the structure of ecosystems. Then they demonstrate how the Geometric Framework can be used to tackle issues in applied nutrition, such as the problem of optimizing diets for livestock and endangered species, and how it can also help to address the epidemic of human obesity and metabolic disease

Drawing on a wealth of examples from slime molds to humans, "The Nature of Nutrition" has important applications in ecology, evolution, and physiology, and offers promising solutions for human health, conservation, and agriculture.