|
Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences > Vertebrates > Mammals > General
Humans are mammals. Most of us appreciate that at some level. But what does it mean for us to have more in common with a horse and an elephant than we do with a parrot, snake or frog?
After a misdirected football left new father Liam Drew clutching a uniquely mammalian part of his anatomy, he decided to find out more. Considering himself as a mammal first and a human second, Liam delves into ancient biological history to understand what it means to be mammalian.
In his humorous and engaging style, Liam explores the different characteristics that distinguish mammals from other types of animals. He charts the evolution of milk, warm blood and burgeoning brains, and examines the emergence of sophisticated teeth, exquisite ears, and elaborate reproductive biology, plus a host of other mammalian innovations. Entwined are tales of zoological peculiarities and reflections on how being a mammal has shaped the author's life.
I, Mammal is a history of mammals and their ancestors and of how science came to grasp mammalian evolution. And in celebrating our mammalian-ness, Liam Drew binds us a little more tightly to the five and a half thousand other species of mammal on this planet and reveals the deep roots of many traits humans hold dear.
Paxinos and Franklin's The Mouse Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates,
Fifth Edition, emulates in design and accuracy Paxinos and Watson's
The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates, the most cited
publication in neuroscience.
Many Japanese once revered the wolf as Oguchi no Magami, or
Large-Mouthed Pure God, but as Japan began its modern
transformation wolves lost their otherworldly status and became
noxious animals that needed to be killed. By 1905 they had
disappeared from the country. In this spirited and absorbing
narrative, Brett Walker takes a deep look at the scientific,
cultural, and environmental dimensions of wolf extinction in Japan
and tracks changing attitudes toward nature through Japan's long
history. Grain farmers once worshiped wolves at shrines and left
food offerings near their dens, beseeching the elusive canine to
protect their crops from the sharp hooves and voracious appetites
of wild boars and deer. Talismans and charms adorned with images of
wolves protected against fire, disease, and other calamities and
brought fertility to agrarian communities and to couples hoping to
have children. The Ainu people believed that they were born from
the union of a wolflike creature and a goddess. In the eighteenth
century, wolves were seen as rabid man-killers in many parts of
Japan. Highly ritualized wolf hunts were instigated to cleanse the
landscape of what many considered as demons. By the nineteenth
century, however, the destruction of wolves had become decidedly
unceremonious, as seen on the island of Hokkaido. Through
poisoning, hired hunters, and a bounty system, one of the
archipelago's largest carnivores was systematically erased. The
story of wolf extinction exposes the underside of Japan's
modernization. Certain wolf scientists still camp out in Japan to
listen for any trace of the elusive canines. The quiet they
experience reminds us of the profound silence that awaits all
humanity when, as the Japanese priest Kenko taught almost seven
centuries ago, we "look on fellow sentient creatures without
feeling compassion."
Paxinos and Franklin's The Mouse Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates,
Compact Fifth Edition, is the compact version of the most widely
used and cited atlas of the mouse brain in print. It emulates in
design and accuracy Paxinos and Watson's The Rat Brain in
Stereotaxic Coordinates, the most cited publication in
neuroscience. The compact edition provides the coronal plates and
diagrams of the full mouse atlas in a smaller, more convenient
spiral format and at a student friendly price. High resolution
digital photographs of the coronal plane of section from the full
5th edition complement the coronal drawings. Unique to the compact,
it includes an introduction to the use of the atlas in stereotaxic
surgery.
Antelopes constitute a fundamental part of ecosystems throughout
Africa and Asia where they act as habitat architects, dispersers of
seeds, and prey for large carnivores. The fascication they hold in
the human mind is evident from prehistoric rock paintings and
ancient Egyptian art to today's wildlife documentaries and
popularity in zoos. In recent years, however, the spectacular herds
of the past have been decimated or extripated over wide areas in
the wilds, and urgent conservation action is needed to preserve
this world heritage for generations to come. As the first book
dedicated to antelope conservation, this volume sets out to
diagnose the causes of the drastic declines in antelope
biodiversity and on this basis identify the most effective points
of action. In doing so, the book covers central issues in the
current conservation debate, especially related to the management
of overexploitation, habitat fragmentation, disease transmission,
climate change, populations genetics, and reintroductions. The
contributions are authored by world-leading experts in the field,
and the book is a useful resource to conservation scientists and
practitioners, researchers, and students in related disciplines as
well as interested lay people.
Probably no extinct mammal can be studied in more detail, from a
fuller fossil record, than the Cave Bear, Ursius Spelaeus. In his
delightful, award-winning portrait, renowned finnish paleontologist
Bjorn Kurten takes readers on a tour of cave bear life in the ice
age. The Cave Bear story conveys the facts about these largest of
bears, including the habits and society of Cave Bears, their ice
age environment, biological variations, and extinction. Kurten also
details the relationship between man and bear - namely, the
theories surrounding bear-hunting and Cave Bear cults. Complete
with brilliant illustrations by Margaret Lambert Newman that show
restoration scenes of the ice age and its vanished animals, the
Cave Bear story not only represents the authoritative work of an
eminent paleontologist but remains accessible to any reader with an
interest in the rich prehistory of our planet.
By far, the most widely used subjects in psychological and
biological research today are rodents. Although rats and mice
comprise the largest group of animals used in research, there are
over 2,000 species and 27 families of rodents, living all over the
world (except Antarctica) and thriving in many different habitat
types. The vast environmental diversity that rodents face has led
to numerous adaptations for communication, including vocalizing and
hearing in both the sonic and ultrasonic ranges, effectively
communicating in the open air and underground, and using
vocalizations for coordinating sexual behavior, for mother-pup
interactions, and for signaling an alarming situation to the group.
Some rodent species have even developed foot drumming behaviors for
communication. Comparative studies from around the globe, using
both field and laboratory methodologies, reveal the vast
differences in acoustic communication behavior across many rodent
species. Some rodents are amenable to training and have been
domesticated and bred purely for research purposes. Since the early
1900s, rats and mice have been indispensable to research programs
around the world. Thus, much of what we know about hearing and
vocalizations in rodents come from these two species tested in the
laboratory. The sequencing of the mouse genome in 2002, followed by
the rat genome in 2004, only increased the utility of these animals
as research subjects since genetically engineered strains mimicking
human diseases and disorders could be developed more easily. In the
laboratory, rats and mice are used as models for human
communication and hearing disorders and are involved in studies on
hearing loss and prevention, hormones, and auditory plasticity, to
name a few. We know that certain strains of mice retain hearing
better than others throughout their lifespan, and about the genes
involved in those differences. We know about the effects of noise,
hormones, sex, aging, and circadian rhythms on hearing in mice and
other rodents. We also know about normal hearing in many families
of rodents, including the perception of simple and complex stimuli
and the anatomy and physiology of hearing and sound localization.
The importance of acoustic communication to these animals, as well
as the significance of these mammals to biomedical research, are
summarized in the chapters.
"25 years - 30,000 citations "
The sixth edition of the Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates marks
the 25th anniversary of this landmark publication and is a thorough
update and a major expansion over earlier editions. The Rat Brain
in Stereotaxic Coordinates has attracted over 30,000 citations and
is ranked among the 50 most cited items in the history of science.
This book is also available in a hardcover binding at the same
price.
* 161 coronal diagrams and 161 coronal photographic plates from a
single brain spaced at constant 120-micron intervals giving
scientists the most comprehensive and convenient to use atlas of
the rat brain
* 19 sagittal diagrams and 19 sagittal photographic plates
(expanded over previous editions)
* 27 horizontal diagrams and 27 horizontal photographic plates
* Thoroughly revised delineations in the coronal, sagittal and
horizontal plane
* Color plates and diagrams for the first time
* Unparalleled stereotaxic accuracy
* Identifies over 1000 structures
* CD-ROM includes all drawings in pdf and eps formats, and
electronic files of photographs of the histological
preparations
* Now available as hardcover version and softcover version with a
spiral binding at the same price
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.
|
|