|
|
Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences > Vertebrates > Mammals > General
This book uses many data sources to illuminate patterns of mammal
evolution. Leading mammalogists are the contributors for this book.
Including cutting edge analyses, this volume combines a series of
rigorous, original research papers with more informal recollections
of James L. Patton, who served as Curator of Mammals in the Museum
of Vertebrate Zoology and as Professor of Integrative Biology at
the University of California, Berkeley, from 1969 until 2001. As a
curator and a member of the Berkeley faculty, Patton made an
indelible mark on vertebrate evolutionary biology. In addition to
significantly advancing studies of mammalian evolutionary genetics,
systematics, and phylogeography, he was instrumental in shaping the
careers of vertebrate biologists throughout the Americas. This book
brings to life both the distinguished career and the distinctive
personality of this highly respected evolutionary biologist.
"Return to the Sea" portrays the life and evolutionary times of
marine mammals - from giant whales and sea cows that originated 55
million years ago to the deep diving elephant seals and clam-eating
walruses of modern times. This fascinating account of the origin of
various marine mammal lineages, some extinct, others extant but
threatened, is for the non-specialist. Set against a backdrop of
geologic time, changing climates, and changing geography, evolution
is the unifying principle that helps us to understand the present
day diversity of marine mammals and their responses to
environmental challenges. Annalisa Berta explains current
controversies and explores patterns of change taking place today,
such as shifting food webs and predator-prey relationships, habitat
degradation, global warming, and the effects of humans on marine
mammal communities.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which
commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and
impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes
high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using
print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in
1951.
The largest of all seals, elephant seals rank among the most
impressive of marine mammals. They are renowned for their
spectacular recovery from near-extinction at the end of the
nineteenth century when seal hunters nearly eliminated the entire
northern species. No other vertebrate has come so close to
extinction and made such a complete recovery. The physiological
extremes that elephant seals can tolerate are also remarkable:
females fast for a month while lactating, and the largest breeding
males fast for over one hundred days during the breeding seasons,
at which times both sexes lose forty percent of their body weight.
Elephant seals dive constantly during their long foraging
migrations, spending more time under water than most whales and
diving deeper and longer than any other marine mammal. This first
book-length discussion of elephant seals brings together worldwide
expertise from scientists who describe and debate recent research,
including the history and status of various populations, their
life-history tactics, and other findings obtained with the help of
modern microcomputer diving instruments attached to free-ranging
seals. Essential for all marine mammalogists for its information
and its methodological innovations, Elephant Seals will also
illuminate current debates about species extinctions and possible
means of preventing them. This title is part of UC Press's Voices
Revived program, which commemorates University of California
Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and
give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to
1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship
accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title
was originally published in 1994.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which
commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and
impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes
high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using
print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in
1951.
Key features: Beautifully illustrated with detailed, full-colour
images - very user-friendly for investigators, students, and
technicians who work with animals Provides essential information
for research and clinical purposes, describing some structures not
usually shown in any other anatomy atlas In each set of
illustrations, the same view is depicted in the mouse and the rat
for easy comparison Text draws attention to the anatomical features
which are important for supporting the care and use of these
animals in research Endorsed by the American Association of
Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) Comparative Anatomy of the Mouse
and Rat: a Color Atlas and Text provides detailed comparative
anatomical information for those who work with mice and rats in
animal research. Information is provided about the anatomical
features and landmarks for conducting a physical examination,
collecting biological samples, making injections of therapeutic and
experimental materials, using imaging modalities, and performing
surgeries.
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.
From shrews to blue whales, placental mammals are among the most
diverse and successful vertebrates on the Earth. Arising sometime
near the Late Cretaceous, this broad clade of mammals contains more
than 1,000 genera and approximately 4,400 extant species. Although
much studied, the origin and diversification of the placentals
continue to be a source of debate.
Paleontologists Kenneth D. Rose and J. David Archibald have
assembled the world's leading authorities to provide a
comprehensive and up-to-date evolutionary history of placental
mammals. Focusing on anatomical evidence, the contributors present
an unbiased scientific account of the initial radiation and ordinal
relationships of placental mammals, representing both the consensus
and significant minority viewpoints. This book will be invaluable
to paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, mammalogists, and
students.
Contributors: J. David Archibald, San Diego State University;
Robert J. Asher, Institut fA1/4r Systematische Zoologie; Jonathan
I. Bloch, University of Michigan; Douglas M. Boyer, University of
Michigan; Daryl P. Domning, Howard University; Eduardo Eizirik,
National Cancer Institute; Robert J. Emry, Smithsonian Institution;
JArg Erfurt, Martin-Luther-University; John J. Flynn, The Field
Museum; Timothy J. Gaudin, University of Tennessee; Emmanuel
Gheerbrant, MusA(c)um National d'Histoire Naturelle; Philip D.
Gingerich, The University of Michigan; Patricia A. Holroyd,
University of California, Berkeley; J. J. Hooker, The Natural
History Museum; LA(c)o F. Laporte, University of California, Santa
Cruz; Jin Meng, American Museum of Natural History;William J.
Murphy, National Cancer Institute; Jason C. Mussell, TheJohns
Hopkins University School of Medicine; Michael J. Novacek, American
Museum of Natural History; Stephen J. O'Brien, National Cancer
Institute; Kenneth D. Rose, The Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine; Guillermo W. Rougier, University of Louisville; Eric J.
Sargis, Yale University; Mary T. Silcox, University of Winnipeg;
Nancy B. Simmons, American Museum of Natural History; Mark S.
Springer, University of California, Riverside; Gerhard Storch,
Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg; Pascal Tassy, MusA(c)um National
d'Histoire Naturelle; Jessica M. Theodor, Illinois State Museum;
Gina D. Wesley, The University of Chicago; John R. Wible, Carnegie
Museum of Natural History; AndrA(c) Wyss, University of California,
Santa Barbara.
After decades of research, monitoring, and analysis, we still have
so much to learn about sea turtles. As reptiles, they are
environmentally sensitive animals and thus can sense acute changes
in their habitat. This rudimentary tactic of ectothermic animals
has possibly conceded to the survival of sea turtle populations
over millions of years. They have endured cooling and warming of
the earth. The habitats they depend on have endured fierce
hurricanes and erosion. Now the question remains if sea turtle
populations and their habitats will survive the challenges and
pressures that humans place on the world. The anthology of research
presented in this textbook is diverse and yet so interconnected. We
cannot work to conserve wildlife populations without a fundamental
understanding of habitat or the range of changes that individuals
within a population can tolerate. Sea turtles are no exception.
Changes in migration patterns due to climate change, diversity of
food sources between species, acute habitat selection for nesting,
mutations in genetics, and differences in anatomy, physiology, and
biochemistry between species and even individuals make the study of
sea turtles dynamic and challenging.
The second installment in a planned three-volume series, this book
provides the first substantive review of South American rodents
published in over fifty years. Increases in the reach of field
research and the variety of field survey methods, the introduction
of bioinformatics, and the explosion of molecular-based genetic
methodologies have all contributed to the revision of many
phylogenetic relationships and to a doubling of the recognized
diversity of South American rodents. The largest and most diverse
mammalian order on Earth-and an increasingly threatened
one-Rodentia is also of great ecological importance, and Rodents is
both a timely and exhaustive reference on these ubiquitous
creatures. From spiny mice and guinea pigs to the oversized
capybara, this book covers all native rodents of South America, the
continental islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean
Netherlands off the Venezuelan coast. It includes identification
keys and descriptions of all genera and species; comments on
distribution; maps of localities; discussions of subspecies; and
summaries of natural, taxonomic, and nomenclatural history. Rodents
also contains a detailed list of cited literature and a separate
gazetteer based on confirmed identifications from museum vouchers
and the published literature.
The study of fossilised remains of herbivorous animals,
particularly those rare findings with well-preserved
gastrointestinal tracts filled with plant remains, is crucial to
our understanding of the environment in which they lived.
Summarising thirty years of research, Ukraintseva presents evidence
on plants once eaten by Siberia's major herbivorous mammals. The
collection of pollen and plant spores from food remains sheds light
on the vegetation of these ancient habitats, enabling researchers
to reconstruct local floras of the time. This also promotes further
insight into the causes of the extinction of various species due to
changing environmental conditions and food availability. Providing
a history of the research undertaken, the book also includes
specific chapters on the Cherski horse and bison, along with the
vegetation and climate of Siberia in the late Anthropogene period,
making it a lasting reference tool for graduate students and
researchers in the field.
In this book the authors discuss the domestication history,
behaviour and common health problems of dogs. Topics include the
epidemiological trends and neuropathological manifestations of
canine distemper virus; behaviour and welfare of dogs; marketing
and the domestication of dogs; responsible ownership and
behaviours; advances in the canine coproparasitological
examination; and an examination of ovariohysterectomy (spaying) and
healthy longevity in dogs.
The original, 2006 edition of Timothy Edward Fulbright and J.
Alfonso Ortega-S.'s "White-Tailed Deer Habitat: Ecology and
Management on Rangelands" was hailed as "a splendid reference for
the classroom and those who make their living from wildlife and the
land" and as "filling a niche that is not currently approached in
the literature."In this second, full-color edition, revised and
expanded to include the entire western United States and northern
Mexico, Fulbright and Ortega-S. provide a carefully reasoned
synthesis of ecological and range management principles that
incorporates rangeland vegetation management and the impact of
crops, livestock, predation, and population density within the
context of the arid and semiarid habitats of this broad region. As
landowners look to hunting as a source of income and to the other
benefits of managing for wildlife, the clear presentation of the
up-to-date research gathered in this book will aid their efforts.
Essential points covered in this new edition include:
White-tailed deer habitat requirements
Nutritional needs of White-tailed deer
Carrying capacity
Habitat management
HuntingFocused across political borders and written with an
understanding of environments where periodic drought punctuates
long-term weather patterns, this revised and expanded edition of
"White-Tailed Deer Habitat: Ecology and Management on Rangelands"
will aid landowners, researchers, and naturalists in their efforts
to integrate land management and use with sound ecological
practices.
Insects are more similar in structure and physiology to mammals
than plants or fungi. Consequently, insecticides are often of
greater toxicity to mammals than herbicides. This is particularly
the case with neurotoxins. However, some insecticides are targeted
at structures or hormonal systems specific to insects (insect
growth regulators/chitin synthesis inhibitors) so are less harmful
but can still be mildly haematotoxic. There are, therefore, issues
specific to insecticides, which do not occur with other pesticides
- hence the need for a book specifically on insecticide toxicology
in mammals. The book starts with general issues relating to the
mammalian toxicity of insecticides, including target/non-target
specificity, nomenclature and metabolism of insecticides. It then
goes on to discuss specific types of insecticides including:
organochlorines; anticholinesterases; pyrethrum and synthetic
pyrethroids; nicotine and the neonicotinoids; insect growth
regulators/ecdysone agonists/chitin synthesis inhibitors;
insecticides of natural origin; biological insecticides; and
insecticides used in veterinary medicine.
A compilation of highly sought-after research focusing on wolf
management and recovery programs in North America. Reviews the
status of wolves in Canada, the United States, Greenland, and the
Trans-Himalayan region. Specific chapters address several themes:
historical perspectives and the evolution of wolf-human
relationships; the status, biology, and management of wolves;
restoration, reintroduction, and control programs; wolf-prey
dynamics and implications of conservation practices; behavior and
social interactions; taxonomy; diseases and physiology; and,
research and management techniques. Proceedings of the Second North
American Symposium on Wolves, 1992. Papers by: L. Boitani; F.F.
Gilbert; R.D. Hayes and J.R. Gunson; F.L. Miller; R.O. Stephenson,
W.B. Ballard, C.A. Smith, and K. Richardson; U. Marquard-Peterson;
R.P. Thiel and R.R. Ream; P. Schullery and L. Whittlesey; C.E. Kay;
D. Dekker, W. Bradford, and J.R. Gunson; J.L. Fox and R.S.
Chundawat; S.H. Fritts, D.R. Harms, J.A. Fontaine and M.D. Jimenez;
D.K. Boyd, P.C. Pacquet, S. Donelon, R.R. Ream, D.H. Pletscher, and
C.C. White; D.R. Parsons and J.E. Nicholopoulos; A.P. Wydeven, R.N.
Schultz, and R.P. Thiel; M.K. Phillips, R. Smith, V.G. Henry, and
C. Lucash; R.P. Thiel and T. Valen; D.R. Seip; F. Messier; M.S.
Boyce; D.J. Vales and J.M. Peek; B.W. Dale, L.G. Adams, and R.T.
Bowyer; L.D. Mech, T.J. Meier, J.W. Burch, and L.G. Adams; L.G.
Adams, B.W. Dale, and L.D. Mech; D.C. Thomas; D.R. Klein; C.S. Asa;
C.S. Asa and L.D. Mech; T.J. Meier, J.W. Burch, L.D. Mech, and L.G.
Adams; G.J. Forbes and J.B. Theberge; R.O. Peterson; T.K. Fuller;
S.G. Fancy and W.B. Ballard; C. Vila, V. Urios, and J. Castroviejo;
R.E. Anderson, B.L.C. Hill, J. Ryon, and J.C. Fentress; W.G.
Brewster and S.H. Fritts; R.M. Nowak; R.K. Wayne, N. Lehman, and
T.K. Fuller; R.M. Nowak, M.K. Phillips, V.G. Henry, W.C. Hunter,
and R. Smith; C.J. Brand, M.J. Pybus, W.B. Ballard, and R.O.
Peterson; M.R. Johnson, T.N. Bailey, E.E. Bangs, and R.O. Peterson;
M.D. Drag, W.B. Ballard, G.M. Matson, and P.R. Krausman. W.B.
Ballard, D.J. Reed, S.G. Fancy, and P.R. Krausman; W.B. Ballard,
M.E. McNay, C.L. Gardner, and D.J. Reed; D.A. Haggstrom, A.k.
Ruggles, C.M. Harms, and R.O. Stephenson; H.D. Cluff and D.L.
Murray; R.D. Boertje, D.G. Kelleyhouse, and R.D. Hayes; R. Reid and
D. Janz; R. Coppinger and L. Coppinger; P.L. Clarkson; L.D. Mech;
Epilogue by M. Hummel
"An important and timely message about the biological roots of
human kindness."
--Desmond Morris, author of "The Naked Ape"
Are we our brothers' keepers? Do we have an instinct for
compassion? Or are we, as is often assumed, only on earth to serve
our own survival and interests? In this thought-provoking book, the
acclaimed author of "Our Inner Ape" examines how empathy comes
naturally to a great variety of animals, including humans.
By studying social behaviors in animals, such as bonding, the herd
instinct, the forming of trusting alliances, expressions of
consolation, and conflict resolution, Frans de Waal demonstrates
that animals-and humans-are "preprogrammed to reach out." He has
found that chimpanzees care for mates that are wounded by leopards,
elephants offer "reassuring rumbles" to youngsters in distress, and
dolphins support sick companions near the water's surface to
prevent them from drowning. From day one humans have innate
sensitivities to faces, bodies, and voices; we've been designed to
feel for one another.
De Waal's theory runs counter to the assumption that humans are
inherently selfish, which can be seen in the fields of politics,
law, and finance, and whichseems to be evidenced by the current
greed-driven stock market collapse. But he cites the public's
outrage at the U.S. government's lack of empathy in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina as a significant shift in perspective-one that
helped Barack Obama become elected and ushered in what may well
become an Age of Empathy. Through a better understanding of
empathy's survival value in evolution, de Waal suggests, we can
work together toward a more just society based on a more generous
and accurate view of human nature.
Written in layman's prose with a wealth of anecdotes, wry humor,
and incisive intelligence, "The Age of Empathy" is essential
reading for our embattled times.
"From the Hardcover edition."
|
You may like...
Hot Water
Nadine Dirks
Paperback
R280
R259
Discovery Miles 2 590
|