Throughout North America, non-native wild pigs have become an ecologically and economically destructive invasive species. Though they are regarded as a popular game species by some, provide economic benefits to others, and are even engrained into societal heritage in some areas, wild pigs are responsible for an extraordinary amount of damage in both natural and anthropogenic systems throughout North America. As the density and range of wild pig habitat have substantially increased over the last several decades, the magnitude and diversity of their negative impacts are not yet fully realized or quantified. With various conflicts continually emerging, wild pig management is difficult and expensive to achieve. As a result, wild pigs represent one of the greatest wildlife management challenges North America faces in the 21st century. Invasive Wild Pigs in North America: Ecology, Impacts, and Management addresses all aspects of wild pig biology, ecology, damage, and management in a single comprehensive volume. It assimilates and organizes information on the most destructive introduced vertebrate species in the United States, establishing a foundation from which managers, researchers, policy makers, and other stakeholders can build upon into the future. The book provides comprehensive coverage of wild pig biology and ecology, techniques for management and research, and regional chapters. It is an asset to readers interested in wild pigs, the resources they impact, and how to mitigate those impacts, and establishes a vision of the future of wild pigs in North America. Features: Compiles valuable knowledge for a broad audience including wild pig managers, researchers, adversaries, and enthusiasts from across North America Addresses taxonomy, morphology, genetics, physiology, spatial ecology, population dynamics, diseases and parasites, and the naturalized niche of wild pigs Includes chapters on damage to resources, management, research methods, human dimensions and education, and policy and legislation Contains full color images and case studies of interesting and informative situations being created by wild pigs throughout North America Includes a chapter on wild pigs at the wildland-urban interface, a more recent and especially challenging issue

Rory Putman addresses the question of how, in many temporate ecosystems, diverse and species-rich assemblies of ungulates manage to co-exist despite often quite extensive overlap in ecological requirements. Putman explores the potential for competition, competition tolerance and even positive facilitation amongst the members of such guilds of ungulates. As a central worked example, the author employs data resulting from over 20 years of personal research into the ecology and population dynamics of various large herbivores of the New Forest in Southern England. With these, he applies formal protocols in resource use, evidence for resource limitation and evidence for interaction between species in changing population size over the years.

From marsupials to bats to carnivores to cetaceans, fully one-fourth of the world's mammals can be found on the South American continent. Rexford D. Lord provides the most vivid snapshot of South American fauna ever produced. With 252 stunning photographs -- most taken by the author during his 40 years as an ecologist and mammalogist in the region -- and engaging descriptions of each of the mammal families found on the continent, Lord reveals the diversity of these incredible animals.

Among the mammals profiled here are the unusual and exotic spectacled bear, the capybara (the world's largest rodent), and the common llama. Lord includes such fascinating facts as details about the "third eyelid" of the manatee, the strange hair of sloths, how vampire bats actually feed, and the unusual lives of river dolphins. Intertwined with the facts and photographs are stories of the connection between mammals and humans in South America, including current conservation issues.

This breathtaking overview will find a place in the library of anyone with interests in the fauna of the continent. Arranged according to the recognized mammal families, it will serve as a valuable reference for both students and professional mammalogists.

Neurobiology has undergone a revolution with many advances dependent on new techniques and approaches. This fully updated second edition reflects the recent growth areas in this subject. Its major themes are the fractionation and study of cellular and subcellular components of the nervous system, chemical neuroanatomy, and the measurement of neuronal metabolism in vivo and in vitro. Topics include the neuronal cytoskeleton; isolation of synaptosomes and their subcellular components; aspects of mitochondrial defects in neurones; and synaptic transport processes exemplified by the GABA transporter. This is an invaluable practical laboratory manual for all researchers in neurobiology; it contains step-by-step protocols and a troubleshooting guide, as well as examples of experimental data and their interpretation.

With its iconic appearance and historic popular appeal, the giraffe is the world's tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant. Recent years have seen much-needed new research undertaken to improve our understanding of this unique animal. Drawing together the latest research into one resource, this is a detailed exploration of current knowledge on the biology, behaviour and conservation needs of the giraffe. Dagg highlights striking new data, covering topics such as species classification, the role of infrasound in communication, biological responses to external temperature changes and motherly behaviour and grief. The book discusses research into behaviour alongside practical information on captive giraffe, including diet, stereotypical behaviour, ailments and parasites, covering both problems and potential solutions associated with zoo giraffe. With giraffe becoming endangered species in Africa, the book ultimately focuses on efforts to halt population decline and the outlook for conservation measures.

Over the past 30 years or so, research effort in behaviour and ecology has progressed from simple documentation of the habits or habitats of differ ent species to asking more searching questions about the adaptiveness of the patterns of behaviour observed; moved from documenting simply what occurs, to trying to understand why. Increasingly, studies of behav iour or ecology explore the function of particular responses or patterns of behaviour in individuals or populations - looking for the adaptiveness that has led to the adoption of such patterns either at a proximate level (what environmental circumstances have favoured the adoption of some particular strategy or response from within the animal's repertoire at that specific time) or at an evolutionary level (speculating upon what pres sures have led to the inclusion of a particular pattern of behaviour within the repertoire in the first place). Many common principles have been established - common to a wide diversity of animal groups, yet showing some precise relationship between a given aspect of behaviour or population dynamics and some particular ecological factor. In particular, tremendous advances have been made in understanding the foraging behaviour of animals - and the 'decision rules' by which they seek and select from the various resources on offer - and patterns of social organization and behaviour: the adap tiveness of different social structures, group sizes or reproductive tactics.

Since the initial description of techniques to immortalize anti body-producing B-lymphocytes by fusion with tissue culture-adapted myeloma cells, methods have been developed to produce monoclonal antibodies of defined specificity in multiple animal species. Stable hybrids can be readily produced in mice using a number of myeloma and hybridoma cell lines. To obviate the problem of identifying fusion partners in other animal species, xenohybrids have been produced using B-lymphocytes from the relevant species and mouse myeloma cells. The use of xenohybrids has minimized the problem of obtain ing stable antibody-producing hybrids in all species examined thus far. Although alternative techniques are being developed to produce monoclonal antibodies by molecular methods, hybridoma technol ogy will remain the technology of choice for producing monoclonal antibodies for a variety of applications in research and industry. The objective of Monoclonal Antibody Protocols is to provide investigators with a set of methods for producing and using mono clonal antibodies in biomedical, agricultural, and biological sciences. The book is not intended to provide methodology for all possible applications, but rather a series of methods presented in an easy-- follow format that can be used by new and established investiga tors, graduate and postgraduate fellows, and technical staff.

In this unique book, Sir Donald Harrison draws on his wide-ranging experience as a surgeon and comparative anatomist to produce an authoritative and detailed account of the anatomy and physiology of the mammalian larynx. His investigation of the larynx has involved the study of over 1400 specimens of mammalian larynges from around the world, as well as using data from his own clinical experiences. The comparative morphology of the larynx is discussed from a developmental and functional perspective and the involvement of the larynx in respiration, locomotion and vocalisation is highlighted. Throughout the book the relationship of structure to function is drawn out and the clinical relevance of features of the human larynx is emphasised. This book will be an invaluable reference for all researchers and clinicians involved in laryngology as well as for anatomists, zoologists and anaesthesiologists.

However well the anatomy of the gastrointestinal tracts of a wide range of mammals are described and quantified, there can be no real explanation of observed patterns without consideration of the mechanical and chemical properties of the food consumed, and digestive stages involved in its processing. This book aims to integrate findings from the many different types of investigations of mammalian digestive systems into a coherent whole. Using the themes of food, form and function, researchers discuss models of digestive processes, linking this with evolutionary aspects of food utilization. Macroscopic and ultrastructural studies of the gastrointestinal tract are also presented, as are physiological, ecological and biochemical aspects of the digestion of different food types. The book ends with an integrative chapter, bringing together the themes running through the earlier sections.

This book arrays recent research on the neural and behavioral lateralization of the brain relying heavily on animal modes. The authors employ the comparative method to enhance our understanding of behavior, specifically through hand use and "handedness" by drawing comparisons with studies involving primates. Topics discussed include Patterns of Lateralized Behavior in Prosimians; Behavioral Lateralization in Language-Trained Chimpanzees; Patterns of Handedness: Comparative Study of Nursery School Children and Captive Gorillas; and Rotational Behavior in Children and Adults. It is the first book of its kind devoted entirely to the question of behavioral asymmetries in all primates and thus presents a milestone as it recognizes the accumulating evidence of asymmetry and lateralized behavior in the non-human nervous system.

Rodents are the predominant experimental animals found in life-sciences research laboratories. The body temperature of a rodent is markedly affected by surgical, chemical or environmental manipulation. Because temperature regulation is controlled essentially by a 'holistic' regulatory system, meaning that its responses affect the activities of all other psychological and behavioural processes, it is clear that researchers working with rodents must be familiar with thermoregulatory physiology. With the help of extensive data tables and figures, this book explains the key facets of rodent thermal physiology, including neurological control and gender and intraspecies variations. There is a novel chapter on the effects of trauma, toxic chemicals and other factors. The book should therefore find use in government, academic or industrial laboratories whose researchers are working with rodents.

The North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana) generally is regarded as an important animal, phylogenetically. It is considered to represent a prototype marsupial and closely resembles fossil didelphids (Tyndale-Biscoe 1973). Numerous studies concerning the reproductive biology, embryology, and neurobiology of the opossum have been published. More recently, Didelphis has become popular as an animal model for gastroenterological studies because of the remarkable anatomical and physiological similarities of the esophagus as compared to that of man. Most of the studies of early development have concentrated on early cleavage stages and the formation of the three primary germ layers (Hartman 1916, 1919) and fetal membranes (Selenka 1887; McCrady 1938). The ova of Didelphis remain in the oviduct only for about 24 h before entering the uterus. A corona radiata is absent and each oocyte is surrounded only by a perivitel- line space and a zona pellucida (Talbot and DiCarlantonio 1984). During the short transit period, the egg is fertilized by a single spermatozoon (Rodger and Bedford 1982a,b).

This book describes the basic electrical properties of a variety of mammalian tissues in scientific terms that even a student who has had little formal training in the physics of electricity should find understandable. Familiarity with Ohm's Law is one of the few basic tenets of physics which a reader of this book is assumed to possess. Mathematical treatment is kept to a minimum and formal thermodynamic reasoning is avoided. Instead, reliance is placed upon intuitive ideas of energy with which any undergraduate student of biology who needs to study electric events should feel comfortable.

Not since the early 1970s has there been an attempt to describe and illustrate the anatomy of the developing mouse embryo. More than ever such material is needed by biologists as they begin to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying development and differentiation. After more than ten years of painstaking work, Matt Kaufman has completed The Atlas of Mouse Development--the definitive account of mouse embryology and development.
For all those researching or studying mammalian development, The Atlas of Mouse Development will be the standard reference work for many years to come.
Key Features
* Provides a comprehensive sequential account of the development of the mouse from pre-implantation to term
* Contains clear and concise descriptions of the anatomical features relevant to each stage of development
* Large format for easy use
* Contains explanatory notes and legends, and more than 180 meticulously labeled plates, 1,300 photographs of individual histological sections, and 200 electron micrographs, illustrating:
* Intermittent serial histological sections through embryos throughout embryogenesis and organogenesis
* Differentiation of specific organs and organ systems, including the spinal cord, eyes, gonads, kidneys, lungs and skeletal system
* External appearance of intact embryos throughout development

Carnivores have always fascinated us, even though they make up only 10% of all mammalian genera and only about 2% of all mammalian biomass. In Greek mythology most of the gods adorned their robes and helmets with depictions of carnivores, and the great hero Hercules' most famous feat was killing the "invulnerable" lion with his bare hands. Part* of our fascination with carnivores stems from fright and intrigue, and sometimes even hatred because of our direct competition with them. Cases of "man-eating" lions, bears, and wolves, as well as carnivores' reputation as killers of livestock and game, provoke communities and governrpents to adopt sweeping policies to exterminate them. Even President Theodore Roosevelt, proclaimer of a new wildlife protectionism, described the wolf as "the beast of waste and desolation. " The sheer presence and power of carnivores is daunt ing: they can move quickly yet silently through forests, attaining rapid bursts of speed when necessary; their massive muscles are aligned to deliver powerful attacks, their large canines and strong jaws rip open carcasses, and their scis sor-like carnassials slice meat. Partly because of our fear of these attributes, trophy hunting of carnivores has been, and to a certain extent still is, a sign of bravery and skill. Among some Alaskan Inuit, for example, a man is not eligible for marriage until he has killed a succession of animals of increasing size and dangerousness, culminating with the most menacing, the polar bear.

Organized under broad ecological headings, this book provides a representative selection of present knowledge of mammal ecology with examples selected from a wide range of species and from all parts of the world.

The first work to illustrate and describe every living species of mammal on Earth. Volume 2 is devoted to Hoofed Mammals. The Handbook of the Mammals of the World (HMW) will be an unprecedented reference work for the Class Mammalia. This series of eight volumes will describe every currently recognized mammal species, along with an overview of each mammalian family. It will provide up-to-date information on the systematic relationships, natural history, ecology, and current conservation status for all mammals. Every species will be illustrated and each chapter will also include many color photographs. HMW will provide comprehensive worldwide coverage by involving an international group of expert authors.

Mammalian sociobiology is a rapidly advancing field which has made enormous strides in the last ten years. The last major monograph on the subject (Ewer, 1968) was published sixteen years ago, and there is a need for this information to be examined in terms of modern sociobiological theory. My approach throughout is evolutionary and is therefore directed strongly towards research which throws light on the ways in which mammals behave in their natural environments. I have tried to cover as wide a range of mammalian species as possible, although, in some cases, the only data available were obtained from captive individuals. The coverage of this book is not a reflection of the volume of literature published on different species, as I have tried to avoid undue emphasis on the social behaviour of primates and laboratory rodents. I have made scrupulous efforts throughout to avoid an anthropomorphic approach to mammalian behaviour. Terms such as 'strategy', 'evaluation' or 'choice' do not therefore imply conscious planning, but are used neutrally in the way in which they would be applied to a chess-playing computer. In the case of mammals, the programmer was natural selection. While I am fully aware that human beings are mammals, any detailed consideration of human social behaviour lies outside the scope of this book. However, the book may provide a complementary text to those interested in that subject.

Muntjac and water deer were introduced to Britain from East Asia. This book provides a comprehensive overview of their natural history and the management of their environmental impacts. In lowland England, muntjac deer are one of the drivers of changes in woodland structure and species composition, and many of the principles relating to such woodland impact are also applicable to the activities of other species of deer. Interest in environmental impacts of deer is not solely restricted to woodlands. The highest densities of water deer occur in wetlands, where there is potential for conflict, and considerable numbers are also found on agricultural land. Muntjac have also settled in suburbia and frequently cause impacts there. Conservationists and national decision makers are concerned both about invasive alien species and about increasing deer populations. The first section covers the natural history of both species including: breeding biology, deer in the field, colonisation of Britain, a detailed look at colonisation in a single county, methods for studying deer populations and a review of deer population numbers. The second section covers environmental impact: risk assessment, impact management, control of muntjac, effect of muntjac browsing and grazing, habitat recovery from muntjac impacts and a study on the impacts of water deer. The section concludes with an overview of management and monitoring. The costs and benefits of both species are discussed, and questions asked about whether we are getting on top of problems caused by muntjac (locally and nationally) and will water deer turn out to be similar to muntjac? Attitudes and approaches to these species are changing: with water deer we are actively studying whether it might be an environmental problem, not waiting until after it has obviously become one. What will happen to distribution, numbers, impacts and attitudes in the future? Will water deer ever become a suburban animal? What does the future hold for water deer in China and Korea - and how important is the English population as a global conservation resource?

For most of us, the story of mammal evolution starts after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, but over the last 20 years scientists have uncovered remarkable fossils and new technologies that have upended this story. In Beasts Before Us, palaeontologist Elsa Panciroli charts the emergence of the mammal lineage, the Synapsida, beginning with their murky split from the reptiles in the Carboniferous period, more than three-hundred million years ago; these animals made the world theirs long before the rise of dinosaurs. Travelling forward into the Permian and then Triassic periods, we learn how our ancient mammal ancestors evolved from large, hairy beasts with fast metabolisms to exploit miniaturisation, the key to unlocking the traits that define mammals as we now know them. Elsa criss-crosses the globe to explore the sites where discoveries are being made and to meet the people who make them. In Scotland, she traverses the desert dunes of prehistoric Moray, where quarry workers unearthed the footprints of Permian synapsids; in South Africa, she introduces us to animals that gave scientists the first hints that our furry kin evolved from a lineage of egg-laying burrowers; and in China, new and astounding fossil finds reveal a suite of ancient mammals including gliders, shovel-pawed moles, and flat-tailed swimmers. This brilliantly written book radically reframes the narrative of our mammalian ancestors, providing a counterpoint to the stereotype of cowering Mesozoic mammals hiding away from their mighty dinosaur overlords. The earliest mammals weren't just precursors - they were pioneers.

First published in 1986, Smithers' mammals is an authoritative and popular guide to the mammals of Southern Africa. This revised and updated edition incorporates the latest information brought to light by molecular genetics, while remaining accessible to the layperson and handy in the field. Each entry includes an in-depth species description; notes on habitat, behaviour, diet and conservation status; accurate illustrations and spoor drawings; and a distribution map.

The title also details the whales, dolphins and seals seen along our coast.

This highly regarded field guide will appeal to general readers and wildlife enthusiasts, as well as to specialists in the field of mammals.

The first work to illustrate and describe every living species of mammal on Earth. Volume 1 of this 8-volume series is devoted to Carnivores. The Handbook of the Mammals of the World (HMW) will be an unprecedented reference work for the Class Mammalia. This series of eight volumes will describe every currently recognized mammal species, along with an overview of each mammalian family. It will provide up-to-date information on the systematic relationships, natural history, ecology, and current conservation status for all mammals. Every species will be illustrated and each chapter will also include many color photographs. HMW will provide comprehensive worldwide coverage by involving an international group of expert authors.