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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences > Vertebrates > Mammals > General
The house mouse is the source of almost all genetic variation in
laboratory mice; its genome was sequenced alongside that of humans,
and it has become the model for mammalian speciation. Featuring
contributions from leaders in the field, this volume provides the
evolutionary context necessary to interpret these patterns and
processes in the age of genomics. The topics reviewed include mouse
phylogeny, phylogeography, origins of commensalism, adaptation, and
dynamics of secondary contacts between subspecies. Explorations of
mouse behaviour cover the nature of chemical and ultrasonic
signalling, recognition, and social environment. The importance of
the mouse as an evolutionary model is highlighted in reviews of the
first described example of meiotic drive (t-haplotype) and the
first identified mammalian speciation gene (Prdm9). This detailed
overview of house mouse evolution is a valuable resource for
researchers of mouse biology as well as those interested in mouse
genetics, evolutionary biology, behaviour, parasitology, and
archaeozoology.
This book provides a resource of current understandings about
various aspects of the biology of spermatogonia in mammals.
Considering that covering the entire gamut of all things
spermatogonia is a difficult task, specific topics were selected to
provide foundational information that will be useful for seasoned
researchers in the field of germ cell biology as well as
investigators entering the area. Looking to the future, the editors
predict that the foundational information provided in this book --
combined with the advent of new tools and budding interests in use
of non-rodent mammalian models -- will produce another major
advance in knowledge regarding the biology of spermatogonia over
the next decade. In particular, we anticipate that the core
molecular machinery driving different spermatogonial states in
most, if not all, mammals will be described fully, the extrinsic
signals emanating from somatic support cell populations to
influence spermatogonial functions will become fully known, and the
capacity to derive long-term cultures of SSCs and transplant the
population to regenerate spermatogenesis and fertility will become
a reality for higher order mammals.
Cheetahs: Biology and Conservation reports on the science and
conservation of the cheetah. This volume demonstrates the
interdisciplinary nature of research and conservation efforts to
study and protect the cheetah. The book begins with chapters on the
evolution, genetics, physiology, ecology and behavior of the
species, as well as distribution reports from range countries.
These introductory chapters lead into discussions of the challenges
facing cheetah survival, including habitat loss, declining prey
base, human-wildlife conflict, illegal trade, and newly-emerging
threats, notably climate change. This book also focuses on
conservation strategies and solutions, including environmental
education and alternative livelihoods. Chapters on the role of
captive cheetahs to conservation and the long-term research of the
species are included, as are a brief discussion of the methods and
analyses used to study the cheetah. The book concludes with the
conservation status and future outlook of the species. Cheetahs:
Biology and Conservation is a valuable resource for the regional
and global communities of cheetah conservationists, researchers,
and academics. Although cheetah focussed the book provides
information relevant to the study of broader topics such as
wildlife conservation, captive breeding, habitat management,
conservation biology and animal behaviour. Cover photograph by
Angela Scott
This is the first scholarly book on the antelope that dominates the
savanna ecosystems of eastern and southern Africa. It presents a
synthesis of research conducted over a span of fifty years, mainly
on the wildebeest in the Ngorongoro and Serengeti ecosystems, where
eighty percent of the world's wildebeest population lives.
Wildebeest and other grazing mammals drive the ecology and
evolution of the savanna ecosystem. Richard D. Estes describes this
process and also details the wildebeest's life history, focusing on
its social organization and unique reproductive system, which are
adapted to the animal's epic annual migrations. He also examines
conservation issues that affect wildebeest, including range-wide
population declines.
This book sheds new light on the causes and consequences of
elephant migration in the Panchet Forest Division of Bankura
District in West Bengal, India- an area characterized by fragmented
forested landscape modified by agriculture and settlement
expansion. Anthropogenic activities result in the decline in
quality and coverage of forests, loss of biodiversity and removal
of forest corridors which ultimately restrict or modify the
movement of elephants causing a forceful change of their habitats.
A major objective of this monograph is to identify the
characteristics of man-elephant conflicts in terms of land use
change, cropping patterns, ecological characteristics of the
fragmented dry deciduous forest, trends and patterns of elephant
migration, and livelihood patterns of the inhabitants in the
affected areas. Readers will discover insights into changes in the
behavioral pattern of elephants and local people in the conflict
ridden zones, and how this influences food selection. Through this
book we also learn about rational management strategies that can be
employed on the local and national level to mitigate human-elephant
conflicts. Ecologists, landscape conservation planners and
environmental managers engaged in the conservation of large
vertebrates in fragmenting and human-dominated landscapes will find
this book valuable.
A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS PLACING THE HUMAN-WOLF RELATIONSHIP IN
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVEInternational in range and chronological in
organisation, this volume aims to grasp the maincurrents of thought
about interactions with the wolf in modern history. It focuses on
perceptions, interactions and dependencies, and includes cultural
and social analyses as well as biological aspects. Wolves have been
feared and admired, hunted and cared for. At the same historical
moment, different cultural and social groups have upheld widely
diverging ideas about the wolf. Fundamental dichotomies in modern
history, between nature and culture, wilderness and civilisation
and danger and security, have been portrayed in terms of wolf-human
relationships. The wolf has been part of aesthetic, economic,
political, psychological and cultural reasoning albeit it is
nowadays mainly addressed as an object of wildlife management.
There has been a major shift in perception from dangerous predator
to endangered species, but the big bad fairytale wolf remains a
cultural icon. This volume roots study of human-wolf relationships
coherently within the disciplines of environmental and animal
history for the first time.
'Predators are the best wildlife managers, ' writes George
Schaller. They weed out the sick and old and keep herds healthy and
alert. Yet the large predators of the world have been and are still
being exterminated because they are thought to harm wildlife.
Schaller's award-winning work, based on three years of study in the
Serengeti National Park, describes the impact of the lion and other
predators on the vast herds of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle for
which the area is famous.
The book combines information about the behaviour that allowed
ruminants to survive and to evolve on Earth: the rumen.
Furthermore, the reader will find aspects involving rumen anatomy,
physiology, microbiology, fermentation, metabolism, manipulation,
kinetics and modeling. Thus, the book was not only organized to
help students involved in areas such as ruminant nutrition and
ruminant production but collegians gathering material for teaching
practices.
Beginning in 1984, Eric Dinerstein led a team directly responsible
for the recovery of the greater one-horned rhinoceros in the Royal
Chitwan National Park in Nepal, where the population had once
declined to as few as 100 rhinos. The Return of the Unicorns is an
account of what it takes to save endangered large mammals. In its
pages, Dinerstein outlines the multifaceted recovery
program-structured around targeted fieldwork and scientific
research, effective protective measures, habitat planning and
management, public-awareness campaigns, economic incentives to
promote local guardianship, and bold, uncompromising
leadership-that brought these extraordinary animals back from the
brink of extinction. In an age when scientists must also become
politicians, educators, fund-raisers, and activists to safeguard
the subjects that they study, Dinerstein's inspiring story offers a
successful model for large-mammal conservation that can be applied
throughout Asia and across the globe.
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