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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences > Vertebrates > Mammals > General
Dog Behavior: Modern Science and Our Canine Companions provides readers with a better understanding of canine science, including evolutionary concepts, ethograms, brain structures and development, sensory perspectives, the science of emotions, social structure, and the natural history of the species. The book also analyzes relationships between humans and dogs and how the latter has evolved. Readers will find this to be an ideal resource for researchers and students in animal behavior, specifically focusing on dog behavior and human-canine relationships. In addition, veterinarians seeking further information on dog behavior and the social temperament of these companion animals will find this book to be informative.
Wolves are charismatic emblems of wilderness. Dogs, which descended from wolves, are models of urbanity. Do free-ranging dogs revert to pack living or are their societies only reminiscent of a wolfish heritage? Focusing on behavioral ecology, this is the first book to assess societies of both gray wolves and domestic dogs living as urban strays and in the feral state. It provides a comprehensive review of wolf genetics, particularly of New World wolves and their mixture of wolf, coyote and dog genomes. Spotte draws on the latest scientific findings across the specialized fields of genetics, sensory biology, reproductive physiology, space use, foraging ecology and socialization. This interdisciplinary approach provides a solid foundation for a startling and original comparison of the social lives of wolves and free-ranging dogs. Supplementary material, including a full glossary of terms, is available online at www.cambridge.org/9781107015197.
This book brings a unique perspective to animal movement studies because all cases came from tropical environments where the great diversity, either biological and structurally (trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes), presents the animal with several options to fulfill its live requirements. These conditions have forced the evolution of unique movement patterns and ecological strategies. Movement is an essential process in the life of all organisms. Animals move because they are hungry, thirsty, to avoid being eaten, or because they want to find mates. Understanding the causes and consequences of animal movement is not an easy task for behavioural ecologists. Many animals are shy, move in secretive ways and are very sensible to human presence, therefore, studying the movements of mammals in tropical environments present logistical and methodological challenges that have recently started to be solved by ecologist around the world. In this book we are compiling a set of extraordinary cases where researchers have used some of the modern technology and the strongest methodological approaches to understand movement patterns in wild tropical mammals. We hope this book will inspire and encourage young researchers to investigate wild mammals movements in some of the amazing tropical environments of the world.
Because of its central situation in the Eastern United States and the variety of habitats to be found within its borders, Kentucky has an interesting mixture of mammals, including some characteristic of the Deep South, the West, and the North. All 63 species native to the state are described and illustrated in this volume, the fifth in a series of guides to the wildlife of Kentucky. The book is conveniently arranged by orders, families, and species, and identification is facilitated by illustrated keys and by a series of dramatic color photographs. In the account of each species, the authors describe its distinguishing features, similar species with which it might be confused, its habitat, range, characteristic behavior, and life history. Much of the information in these accounts is drawn from the authors' personal observation of the animals in the wild and, in some cases, in captivity.
A comprehensive book intended for anyone maintaining bats in captivity. Bats in Captivity is the only book of its kind, detailing the captive care of bats worldwide. This volume comprises 38 papers by 41 contributing authors. It contains a user-friendly guide to bat identification, subjects on reproductive patterns and parental care, social organization and communication, capturing and handling, releasing bats into the wild, marking bats for individual identification, torpor and hibernation, lactation and postnatal growth, simulating mother's milk and hand rearing pups of all bat groups, plus much more.
Thomas Pennant (1726 98) was a keen geologist, naturalist and antiquary. Linnaeus supported his election to the Royal Swedish Society of Sciences in 1757, and in 1767 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. His History of Quadrupeds (1793), aimed to promote natural history among a wider readership, originated in an informal index to John Ray's Synopsis of 1693. In his preface, Pennant acknowledges the monumental Histoire naturelle by the Comte de Buffon, as well as works by Klein (1751), Brisson (1756), and particularly the work of Linnaeus, though Pennant strongly disagreed with Linnaueus's classification of primates as including humans with apes. Pennant's two-volume book, beautifully illustrated with over 100 engravings, provides an overview of the state of zoological classification at the end of the eighteenth century. Charles Darwin owned a copy and had it sent to him in South America during the Beagle voyage.
Thomas Pennant (1726 98) was a keen geologist, naturalist and antiquary. Linnaeus supported his election to the Royal Swedish Society of Sciences in 1757, and in 1767 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. His History of Quadrupeds (1793), aimed to promote natural history among a wider readership, originated in an informal index to John Ray's Synopsis of 1693. In his preface, Pennant acknowledges the monumental Histoire naturelle by the Comte de Buffon, as well as works by Klein (1751), Brisson (1756), and particularly the work of Linnaeus, though Pennant strongly disagreed with Linnaueus's classification of primates as including humans with apes. Pennant's two-volume book, beautifully illustrated with over 100 engravings, provides an overview of the state of zoological classification at the end of the eighteenth century. Charles Darwin owned a copy and had it sent to him in South America during the Beagle voyage.
This book explores the fascinating and complex lives of the honey badger, the African jackals (black-backed and side-striped), African golden wolves, and Eurasian golden jackals. In recent years, interest in these creatures has grown exponentially, through wildlife documentaries and media clips showing the aggressive, fearless, and tenacious behaviour of the honey badger, with jackals often presented in a supporting role. Written by renowned journalist and educator Keith Somerville, this accessible volume includes historical narratives, folklore, and contemporary accounts of human-wildlife relationships and conflicts. It traces the evolution of the species; their foraging and diet; the development of their relationships with humans; and their commensal, kleptocratic, and symbiotic relationships with other carnivores, raptors and birds. It also charts the recent expansion in European jackal numbers and ranges, now including as far west as the Netherlands and as far north as Finland. Blending historical observations by non-scientists, colonial officials, administrators, and early conservationists with contemporary scientific accounts, it presents a new multidisciplinary approach that will interest researchers, scientists, and students in wildlife conservation, human-wildlife relations, zoology, biology, and environmental science.
The social calls of bats are an area about which relatively little is known, with more research still required to expand our understanding. However, these calls are increasingly recognised as a useful aid to identification: they appear to be species specific and are indicative of behaviour – as in territorial activity of males during the mating season. Because the gathering and interpretation of bat echolocation data are a matter of course during research, conservation and consultancy, it is a logical progression to build momentum behind the consideration of social calls in mainstream bat-related work. A better understanding of this subject could mean that non-intrusive survey methods are developed, ensuring that what is being observed is, as far as possible, purely natural behaviour. In turn this will contribute to better interpretation and more suitable mitigation, compensation and/or enhancement solutions. The book summarises what is understood so far about social calls of the bat species occurring in Britain and Ireland, and north-west Europe. This new edition has been updated and expanded throughout, now containing: foreword by the bat authority Michel Barataud, author of Acoustic Ecology of European Bats  almost double the number of figures and tables as appeared in the first edition completely overhauled call library, all in full spectrum format, with new additional examples three entirely new chapters, covering bat-related acoustics, settings for social interaction, and survey guidelines The material will be useful to people carrying out bat studies, at whatever level and for whatever purpose, and will also encourage others to undertake further research. What's more, social calls are fascinating to listen to: they are, after all, produced with listeners in mind (other bats). In light of this, the book is accompanied by an extensive downloadable library of sound files which offer a unique gateway into the private life of bats.Â
Sasol Eerste Veldgids tot Soogdiere van Suider-Afrika bied aan die jong leser ’n fassinerende blik op die diere lewe van die streek. Met behulp van volkleur foto’s en verspreidings kaarte, asook maklik leesbare teks, sal die jong volwassene en ontluikende natuur liefhebber die meer algemene soogdierspesies in Suider-Afrika kan identifiseer, kan vasstel waar hulle leef, en meer te wete kom oor hul unieke vreet- en teelgewoontes.
This handbook presents an up-to-date review of the ecology and behavior of ungulates inhabiting eastern Europe and northern and central Asia, a vast area covering one sixth of the Earth. It provides detailed descriptions of 26 ungulate species focusing on quantitative data and condensing presentations of the autecology of the species, in order to facilitate comparisons between species, including data from several areas. Each species description includes data on geographical range and variability of body measurements over its range; preferred biotopes and evaluations of limiting factors of the abiotic environment; descriptions of social and territorial behavior; feeding features including lists of used plants; parameters of breeding in different parts of the range; factors of mortality with information on predators, diseases and parasites; and dynamics of numbers and harvesting in all parts of the range.
This comprehensive volume, which brings together outstanding investigators of cutaneous epidermal differentiation, contributes to a general appreciation of the modulation of gene action and provides valuable insights into the causes of certain cutaneous pathologies that involve abnormal epidermal differentiation.
This comprehensive handbook covers all the rodents occurring in Southern, Central, East and West Africa, south of the Sahara. Detailed treatments of 79 genera and 420 species are provided for the following families: Anomaluridae (anomalures), Bathyergidae (mole-rats), Gliridae (dormice), Hystricidae (porcupines), Muridae (rats and mice), Nesomyidae (nesomyids), Pedetidae (springhares), Sciuridae (squirrels) and Thryonomyidae (canerats). The work comprises short reviews of the systematics of African rodents and African biogeography, identification matrices and keys,79 detailed genus accounts, 420 species accounts and an extensive bibliography. Genus and species accounts include diagnostic descriptions, systematics and taxonomy, biogeographical environment, fossil species, photographs of skull and mandible, illustrations of molar dentition, photographs of live animals, distribution maps and tables of standard museum measurements. This is an essential handbook for all zoologists.
Elephants are a keystone species and have been a part of the magic of the thickly forested land of South Africa for millennia. This book focuses on the history and work of Knysna Elephant Park, a leading South African elephant research facility that has been home to more than 40 elephants in 25 years. Unfortunately, all the mystique of the Knysna elephant has been reduced to a single elephant left alive. Exploring a wide range of topics, this book covers the impact of elephants' interactions with tourists, how they recover from trauma and even their relevance in human healthcare. Renowned elephant researchers explain the majesty of the elephant brain, which has the largest temporal lobe devoted to communication, language, spatial memory and cognition. To this effect, the book emphasizes the threat of poaching to these gentle giants, which has almost forced them to extinction. Perhaps if humans pay attention to how elephants symbolize our relationship with nature, we can learn important lessons about humanity itself.
Denis Noble Nearly a decade after completion of the first draft of the entire Human Genome sequence we are in a better position to assess the nature and the consequences of that heroic achievement, which can be seen as the culmination of the molecular biological revolution of the second half of the twentieth century. The achievement itself was celebrated at the highest levels (President and Prime Minister) on both sides of the Atlantic, and rightly so. DNA sequencing has become sufficiently c- mon now, even to the extent of being used in law courts, that it is easy to forget how technically difficult it was and how cleverly the sequencing teams solved those problems in the exciting race to finish by the turn of the century [1, 2]. The fanfares were misplaced, however, in an important respect. The metaphors used to describe the project and its biological significance gave the impression to the public at large, and to many scientists themselves, that this sequence would reveal the secrets of life. DNA had already been likened to a computer program [3]. The "genetic program" for life was therefore to be found in those sequences: A kind of map that had simply to be unfolded during development. The even more colo- ful "book of life" metaphor gave the promise that reading that book would lead to a veritable outpouring of new cures for diseases, hundreds of new drug targets, and a brave new world of medicine.
The biological importance of the auditory system of vertebrates lies in its ability to provide animals with information about where sounds arise and what they mean. The auditory system can alert animals to the presence of danger or prey and, in many animals, serves as a basis for communication. This volume summarizes how the electrical signals used to represent sounds are encoded and interpreted through the integrated roles of various nuclei. It builds on the information about the anatomy and physiology of the auditory pathway found in volumes 1 and 2 of the Springer Handbook of Auditory Research. While the first two volumes describe the structure and function of auditory pathways, this volume will explain how these pathways lead to an animal's ability to localize and interpret sounds. The authors discuss how a variety of species recognize the location of sources and complex features of sound, thus contributing to the ongoing research toward an understanding of the general functional strategies of mammalian auditory systems.
This book focuses on the use of molecular tools to study small populations of rare and endangered mammals, and presents case studies that apply an evolutionary framework to address innovative questions in the emerging field of mammalian conservation genomics using a highly diverse set of novel molecular tools. Novel and more precise molecular technologies now allow experts in the field of mammology to interpret data in a more contextual and empirical fashion and to better describe the evolutionary and ecological processes that are responsible for the patterns they observe. The book also demonstrates how recent advances in genetic/genomic technologies have been applied to assess the impact of environmental/anthropogenic changes on the health of small populations of mammals. It examines a range of issues in the field of mammalian conservation genomics, such as the role that the genetic diversity of the immune system plays in disease protection and local adaptation; the use of noninvasive techniques and genomic banks as a resource for monitoring and restoring populations; the structuring of population by physical barriers; and genetic diversity. Further, by integrating research from a variety of areas - including population genetics, molecular ecology, systematics, and evolutionary and conservation biology - it enables readers to gain a deeper understanding of the conservation biology of mammals that are at increasing risk of extinction at local, regional and global scales. As such, it offers a unique resource for a broad readership interested in the conservation biology of mammals and conservation management strategies to better preserve biodiversity.
This book provides new insights into the social behavior of bats - one of the most fascinating topics currently being pursued by researchers. After an introduction reviewing the history of research in bat behavioral ecology, it covers three major themes: bat sociality per se (Part I), bat communication (Part II), and ecological aspects (Part III). Part I offers a concise overview of the social organization and systems of bats, introducing readers to the complexity and dynamics of group structures. Part II is devoted to the innovative field of social communication, focusing on bat songs, dialects and calls. Part III discusses the influence of the environment on bat behavior, particularly with regard to roosting and foraging. This book addresses the needs of researchers working in behavioral sciences, evolution and ecology.
The twelve papers consider: the origins of the study of mammalogy in North America; aspects of economic importance of mammals; ecology of mammals; anatomy and physiology of the anterior pituitary and endocrine hypothalamus and their interactions; evolution of mammalian behavior; evolution of mammals
The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates Compact, Seventh Edition is a smaller sized (8.5 x 11inch), abridged version of the most referenced work in neuroscience (over 35,000 citations). The compact edition provides the coronal plates and diagrams of the current seventh edition in a smaller, more convenient spiral format and at a student friendly price. This book includes an introduction on current concepts in neuroanatomy, such as neuromeres and brain development. Students and seasoned researchers will find the first major unified nomenclature ontology tree based on development that features coronal photographic plates and juxtaposed diagrams.
This book examines case studies of North American Quaternary mammalian evolution within the larger domain of modern evolutionary theory. It presents previously unpublished studies of a variety of taxa (xenarthrans, rodents, carnivores, ungulates) examined over several temporal scales, from a few thousand years during the Holocene to millions of years of late Pliocene and Pleistocene time. Different organizational levels are represented, from mosaic population variation, to a synopsis of Quaternary evolution of an entire order (Rodentia). In addition to specific case histories, the book includes purely theoretical and methodological contributions, for example, on the statistical recognition of stasis in the fossil record, new ways to calculate evolutionary rates, and the use of digital image analysis in the study of dental ontogeny. Perhaps the most important aspect of the studies reported in this book is that they span the time between the "ecological moment" and "deep time." Modern taxa can be traced back into the fossil record, and variation among extant taxa can be used as a control against which variation in the extinct ones can be understood.
This guide is designed as an introduction to the basic methods for identifying mammal bones and teeth. It is intended to highlight for beginners the main points on which identifications can be made on the bulk of bones and teeth from a small range of common Old World mammals.
Beavers are widely recognised as a keystone species which play a pivotal role in riparian ecology. Their tree felling and dam building behaviours coupled with a suite of other activities create a wealth of living opportunities that are exploited by a range of other species. Numerous scientific studies demonstrate that beaver-generated living environments that are much richer in terms of both biodiversity and biomass than wetland environments from which they are absent. Emerging contemporary studies indicate clearly that the landscapes they create can afford sustainable, cost-effective remedies for water retention, flood alleviation, silt and chemical capture. Beaver activities, especially in highly modified environments, may be challenging to certain land use activities and landowners. Many trialled and tested methods to mitigate against these impacts, including a wide range of non-lethal management techniques, are regularly implemented across Europe and North America. Many of these techniques will be new to people, especially in areas where beavers are newly re-establishing. This handbook serves to discuss both the benefits and challenges in living with this species, and collates the wide range of techniques that can be implemented to mitigate any negative impacts. The authors of this handbook are all beaver experts and together they have a broad range of scientific knowledge and practical experience regarding the ecology, captive husbandry, veterinary science, pathology, reintroduction and management of beavers in both continental Europe and Britain. |
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