This work represents an exhaustive review of one of the most important late Cenozoic radiations of Australian marsupials: the short-faced, or sthenurine kangaroos. Sthenurines originated in the Miocene, diversified in the Pliocene, and radiated in the Quaternary to become one of Australia's most conspicuous mammal groups, the only lineage of browsing marsupials comparable in diversity to the browsing artiodactyl guilds of other continents. The culmination of 12 years' research, the monograph details the taxonomy of the sthenurines, redescribing each of the six genera (two new) and 26 species (four new), and is amply illustrated with line drawings and more than 100 pages of plates. It presents the first cladistic analysis of sthenurines, and by synthesizing systematic, functional morphological, biochronologic and zoogeographic data, considers the major directions of adaptive change within the group, and the major environmental factors that drove their evolution. It is one of the most comprehensive studies of an extinct marsupial lineage ever made, and should be an essential reference for students of Australian late Cenozoic vertebrates, marsupial evolution, environmental change and Pleistocene extinctions.

Intrigued by a slide showing a woman breast-feeding a monkey, anthropologist Loretta A. Cormier spent fifteen months living among the Guaj?, a foraging people in a remote area of Brazil. The result is this ethnographic study of the extraordinary relationship between the Guaj? Indians and monkeys. While monkeys are a key food source for the Guaj?, certain pet monkeys have a quasi-human status. Some infant monkeys are adopted and nurtured as human children while others are consumed in accordance with the "symbolic cannibalism" of their belief system.

The apparent contradiction of this predator/protector relationship became the central theme of Cormier's research: How can monkeys be both eaten as food and nurtured as children? Her research reveals that monkeys play a vital role in Guaj? society, ecology, economy, and religion. In Guaj? animistic beliefs, all forms of plant and animal life -- especially monkeys -- have souls and are woven into a comprehensive kinship system. Therefore, all consumption can be considered a form of cannibalism.

Cormier sets the stage for this enlightening study by examining the history of the Guaj? and the ecological relationships between human and nonhuman primates in Amazonia. She also addresses the importance of monkeys in Guaj? ecological adaptation as well as their role in the Guaj? kinship system. Cormier then looks at animism and life classification among the Guaj? and the role of pets, which provide a context for understanding "symbolic cannibalism" and how the Guaj? relate to various forms of life in their natural and supernatural world. The book concludes with a discussion of the implications of ethnoprimatology beyond Amazonia, including Western perceptions of primates.

One of Rick Bass's most widely respected works of natural history, The Ninemile Wolves follows the fate of a modern wolf pack, the first known group of wolves to attempt to settle in Montana outside protected national park territory. The wolf inspires hatred, affection, myth, fear, and pity; its return polarizes the whole of the West -- igniting the passions of cattle ranchers and environmentalists, wildlife biologists and hunters. One man's vigorous, emotional inquiry into the proper relationship between man and nature, The Ninemile Wolves eloquently advocates wolf reintroduction in the West. In a new preface, Bass discusses the enduring lessons of the Ninemile story.

How did we become the linguistic, cultured, and hugely successful apes that we are? Our closest relatives--the other mentally complex and socially skilled primates--offer tantalizing clues. In "Tree of Origin" nine of the world's top primate experts read these clues and compose the most extensive picture to date of what the behavior of monkeys and apes can tell us about our own evolution as a species.

It has been nearly fifteen years since a single volume addressed the issue of human evolution from a primate perspective, and in that time we have witnessed explosive growth in research on the subject. "Tree of Origin" gives us the latest news about bonobos, the "make love not war" apes who behave so dramatically unlike chimpanzees. We learn about the tool traditions and social customs that set each ape community apart. We see how DNA analysis is revolutionizing our understanding of paternity, intergroup migration, and reproductive success. And we confront intriguing discoveries about primate hunting behavior, politics, cognition, diet, and the evolution of language and intelligence that challenge claims of human uniqueness in new and subtle ways.

"Tree of Origin" provides the clearest glimpse yet of the apelike ancestor who left the forest and began the long journey toward modern humanity.

From cave paintings to the latest Siberian finds, woolly mammoths have fascinated people across Europe, Asia, and North America for centuries. Remains of these enormous prehistoric animals were among the first fossils to be recognized as such, and they have played a crucial role in the birth and development of paleontology. In this lively, wide-ranging look at the fate of the mammoth, Claudine Cohen reanimates this large mammal with heavy curved tusks and shaggy brown hair through its history in science, myth, and popular culture.
Cohen uses the mammoth and the theories that naturalists constructed around it to illuminate wider issues in the history of science, showing how changing views about a single object reveal the development of scientific methods, practices, and ideas. How are fossils discovered, reconstructed, displayed, and interpreted? What stories are told about them, by whom, and how do these stories reflect the cultures and societies in which they are told?
To find out, Cohen takes us on a grand tour of the study of mammoth remains, from England, Germany, and France to Russia and America, and from the depths of Africa to the frozen frontiers of Alaska and Siberia, where intact mammoth corpses have been discovered in the permafrost. Along the way, she shows how paleontologists draw on myth and history, as well as on scientific evidence, to explore the deep history of the earth and of life. Cohen takes her history from the sixteenth century right up to the present, when researchers are using molecular biology to retrieve mammoth DNA, calling up dreams of cloning the mammoth and one day seeing herds of woolly mammoths roaming the frozen steppes.

Using Shakespeare's play The Tempest and its characters Prospero and Caliban as structural metaphors representing the master-slave relationship between humans and chimpanzees, authors Dale Peterson and Jane Goodall collaborate in this exploration of our interaction with the species that shares more than 98 percent of our genetic makeup. After introducing us to an animal that fashions and uses tools, exploits forest medicines, transmits learned cultural behaviors, and exhibits human-like emotions, Peterson and Goodall present an illuminating, frequently startling study of the current threats to wild chimpanzees' habitats and the many abuses that chimps have endured and continue to face at the hands of humans. They address conservation issues and ethical questions concerning keeping chimpanzees in captivity, whether as pets or for entertainment or research, and offer firsthand evidence of the drastically declining numbers of chimpanzees in the wild.

Through their in-depth exploration of our relationship with chimpanzees, Peterson and Goodall demonstrate our close ties to these animals and also reveal how distant humans have become from their own place in nature. Both an informative, entertaining collection of stories about the authors' research experiences with chimps and a poignant call for a change in our perceptions and treatment of them, Visions of Caliban is a moving and important work.

The Chang Tang, the vast, remote Tibetan steppe, is home to a unique assemblage of large mammals, including Tibetan antelope, gazelle, argali sheep, wild ass, wild yak, wolves, snow leopards, and others. Since 1985, George B. Schaller and his Chinese and Tibetan co-workers have surveyed the flora and fauna of the Chang Tang. Their research provides the first detailed look at the natural history of one of the world's least known ecosystems.
The plains ungulates are the main focus of this book--especially the Tibetan antelope, or "chiru," whose migrations define this ecosystem much as those of the wildebeest define the Serengeti. Schaller's descriptions of mammal numbers and distribution, behavior, and ecology provide baseline information that may allow wildlife, grasslands, and pastoralists to continue to coexist harmoniously in this region.
This project led to the creation of the 130,000-square-mile Chang Tang Reserve by the Tibetan government in 1993, and "Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe" should help promote future studies as well as conservation and management efforts.
"Schaller makes significant contributions to an understanding of the origins and ecology of Tibetan wildlife that will thrill specialists. . . . Schaller's book is much more than an ecological synthesis. It is a quest for conservation, a case history by a very brave and capable man, driven by no small passion to prevent the tragedy of extinction that looms over Tibet's fauna. His book touches not only the mind but also the heart, and in the context of conservation and the future it raises questions to torture the soul. . . . "Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe" will long remain a unique, important source ofbiological, but also sociological, insights and challenges. I found it well written and difficult to put down."--Valerius Geist, "Nature"
"The topics in "Wildlife of the Tibetan Steppe" are at least as diverse as the topography; they range from geology and paleoecology to descriptions of ungulates and carnivores unknown to most of the non-Chinese speaking world. Individual chapters focus on kiangs, Bactrian camels, yaks, chirus, blue sheep, and Tibetan argalis and gazelles. Not only is much of the biological information new, but subsumed within these chapters are current and past estimates of population sizes both in the Chang Tang Reserve and in protected and nonprotected areas of 'the' plateau. Insights are provided into social structure, and speculations about the evolution and adaptive bases of behavior are carefully offered. Subsequent chapters involve discussions of carnivore communities and interactions between people and wildlife, including the localized but devastating effects of poachers. . . . This book has something for all audiences. . . . [A]n exciting testimony to the past and present status of a biologically spectacular region."--Joel Berger, "Conservation Biology"

This text presents the results of a research project carried out on foraging behaviour among African baboons and its consequences for survival and reproduction. Detailed data is provided on the feeding habits of each baboon, with an analysis of its nutrient intake. These figures are then compared with those in optimum diets. The most striking result of this study is that the baboon's subsequent survival and reproductive success could be accurately predicted from what they had eaten as yearlings. The animals with energy intakes closest to the optimum and protein intakes furthest above their requirements were most likely to survive to adulthood and to successfully produce offspring.

Introduction to the Primates is a comprehensive but compact guide to the long evolutionary history of the world's prosimians, monkeys, and apes, and to the much shorter history of humankind's interactions with them, from our earliest recorded observations to the severe threats we now pose to their survival. Daris Swindler provides a detailed description of the major primate groups and their environments, from the smallest lemurs of Madagascar to the gorillas of central Africa. He compares and contrasts the primate species, looking at each with a specific anatomical focus. The range of diversity emerges as the particular characteristics of the species becomes increasingly distinct. Swindler also considers primate behavior and its close connections with environment and evolutionary differences. His account of 65 million years of successful adaptation and evolution demonstrates the drama of paleontology as evidence accrues and gaps in the history of primate evolution gradually close.

Do chimpanzees have something akin to culture? Bringing together studies of behavioral variation within and among chimpanzees and bonobos --the sibling species of the genus "Pan"--this book provides the basis for answering this question. In "Chimpanzee Cultures," the world's leading authorities on chimpanzees and bonobos chronicle the animals' behaviors from one study site to the next, in both captive and wild groups, in laboratory and field settings.

Emotional Stress in Monkeys

Discusses the physiology and behavior of dolphins including care of young, hunting and feeding, intelligence, social patterns, and habitats.

Every once in a while a book comes along that combines both art and research so completely, so intuitively, that it becomes a classic, offering the reader not only a wealth of information, but an escape into the life of the subject covered. "Polar Bears" is such a book.
Here, you will learn from one of the world's leading polar bear experts, Ian Stirling, how the polar bear evolved and adapted to its world of snow and ice. You will follow the life of the polar bear from its birth in a snowy den in the middle of winter through its fascinating methods of hunting seals on the sea ice, its seasonal migrations, and its passage into old age. And you will learn about the impact of man on the survival of this magnificent animal.
Renowned wildlife photographer Dan Guravich's spectacular visual commentary captures the playfulness and the majestic beauty of the polar bear. Over 150 color photographs portray the animals as the powerful predators they are. You will see the scars of battle, and you will see the tenderness between a mother and her cubs. In all, you will experience a truly fitting tribute to one of the most beautiful creatures in the world--the very spirit of Arctic living.
"Few men other than the Inuit themselves have had as intimate an acquaintance with polar bears as Ian Stirling and Dan Guravich. The combination of Stirling's scholarly research and Guravich's incomparable photographs are a superb celebration of these glamorous 'Lords of the Arctic.'" --Roger Tory Peterson
"Here fascinating, accurate science is interwoven in an icy matrix with humanly rich Inuit lore. The result is the best available book on polar bears." --Stephen Herrero
"Nowhere before have we seen photos that capture polar bears in such a diverse range of situations and poses. . . . Stirling beguiles us with fascinating facts." --"Northwest Explorer"
"Of all the books on polar bears that I have seen, this is certainly the finest." --"Beaver"
Ian Stirling is Senior Research Scientist with the Canadian Wildlife Service, Edmonton, and Adjunct Professor of Zoology, University of Alberta, Edmonton. For over fourteen years he has supervised the Canadian Wildlife Service Polar Bear Project. Photographer Dan Guravich was widely known for his many articles and books on nature and wildlife.

Mammalian Dispersal Patterns examines the ways that social structure affects population genetics and, in turn, rates of evolution, in mammalian groups. It brings together fieldwork in animal behavior and wildlife biology with theoretical work in demography and population genetics. The focus here is dispersal--whether, how, and when individuals leave the areas where they are born.
Theoretical work in population genetics indicates that such social factors as skewed sex ratios, restrictive mating patterns, and delayed age of first reproduction will lower the reproductive variability of a population by reducing the number of genotypes passed from one generation to the next. Field studies have shown that many mammalian species do exhibit many such social characteristics. Among horses, elephant seals, and a number of primates, the majority of females are inseminated by only a fraction of the males. In pacts of wolves and mongooses, usually only the highest-ranking male and female breed in a given season. Although socially restricted mating tends to lower genetic variability in isolated populations, it actually tends to increase genetic variability in subdivided populations with low rates of migration between subunits. Among some species there is little dispersal and thus little gene flow between subpopulations; other species travel far afield before mating.
The contributors to this volume examine actual data from populations of mammals, the way patterns of dispersal correlate with the genetic structure of individuals and populations, and mathematical models of population structure. This interdisciplinary approach has an important bearing on work in conservation of both wildlife and zoo populations, for it shows that the home range and the population size needed to maintain genetic variability can differ greatly from one species to the next. The volume also offers a fruitful model for future research.

This book takes a new approach to understanding primate conservation research, adding a personal perspective to allow readers to learn what motivates those doing conservation work. When entering the field over a decade ago, many young primatologists were driven by evolutionary questions centered in behavioural ecology. However, given the current environment of cascading extinctions and increasing threats to primates we now need to ensure that primates remain in viable populations in the wild before we can simply engage in research in the context of pure behavioural ecology. This has changed the primary research aims of many primatologists and shifted our focus to conservation priorities, such as understanding the impacts of human activity, habitat conversion or climate change on primates. This book presents personal narratives alongside empirical research results and discussions of strategies used to stem the tide of extinction. It is a must-have for anyone interested in conservation research.

The jaguar is one of the most mysterious and least-known big cats of the world. The largest cat in the Americas, it has survived an onslaught of environmental and human threats partly because of an evolutionary history unique among wild felines, but also because of a power and indomitable spirit so strong, the jaguar has shaped indigenous cultures and the beliefs of early civilizations on two continents. In An Indomitable Beast: The Remarkable Journey of the Jaguar, big-cat expert Alan Rabinowitz shares his own personal journey to conserve a species that, despite its past resilience, is now on a slide toward extinction if something is not done to preserve the pathways it prowls through an ever-changing, ever-shifting landscape dominated by humans. Rabinowitz reveals how he learned from newly available genetic data that the jaguar was a single species connected genetically throughout its entire range from Mexico to Argentina, making it unique among all other large carnivores in the world. In a mix of personal discovery and scientific inquiry, he sweeps his readers deep into the realm of the jaguar, offering fascinating accounts from the field. Enhanced with maps, tables, and colour plates, An Indomitable Beast brings important new research to life for scientists, anthropologists, and animal lovers alike. This book is not only about jaguars, but also about tenacity and survival. From the jaguar we can learn better strategies for saving other species and also how to save ourselves when faced with immediate and long-term catastrophic changes to our environment.

Pathology of the Developing Mouse provides, in so far as feasible, one complete reference on the design, analysis, and interpretation of abnormal findings that may be detected in developing mice before and shortly after birth. In particular, this book is designed specifically to be not only a "how to do" manual for developmental pathology experimentation in mice but, more importantly, a "how to interpret" resource for pathologists and other biomedical scientists faced for the first or hundredth time with defining the significance of distorted features in some fantastic murine developmental monstrosity. The topics covered in this volume include a full range of subjects encountered when building and wielding a developmental pathology tool kit: baseline anatomic and physiologic traits of developing mice principles of good experimental design and statistical analysis for mouse developmental pathology studies procedures for anatomic pathology examinations, to evaluate structural changes at the macroscopic (gross), microscopic (cells and tissues), and ultrastructural (subcellular) levels, suing conventional autopsy-based or novel non-invasive imaging techniques; methods for clinical pathology testing, to assess the biochemical and cellular composition of tissues and fluids; options and protocols for in situ molecular pathology analysis, to undertake site-specific explorations of the various mechanisms responsible for producing adverse findings (i.e., "lesions") during development; and well-referenced and illustrated guides to the interpretation of anatomic pathology and clinical pathology changes in the animal (embryos, fetuses, neonates, and juveniles) and its support system (placenta).

The widespread use of mouse models in developmental, behavioural and genetic studies has sparked wider interest in rodent biology as a whole. This book brings together the latest research on rodents to better understand the evolution of both living and extinct members of this fascinating group. Topics analysed include the role of molecular techniques in the determination of robust phylogenetic frameworks; how geometric morphometric methods help quantify and analyse variation in shape; and the role of developmental biology in elucidating the origins of skeletal elements and the teeth. The editors unite these disciplines to present the current state of knowledge in rodent biology, whilst setting the landscape for future research. This book highlights interdisciplinary links across palaeontology, developmental biology, functional morphology, phylogenetics and biomechanics, making it a valuable resource for evolutionary biologists in all fields.

All humans share certain components of tooth structure, but show variation in size and morphology around this shared pattern. This book presents a worldwide synthesis of the global variation in tooth morphology in recent populations. Research has advanced on many fronts since the publication of the first edition, which has become a seminal work on the subject. This revised and updated edition introduces new ideas in dental genetics and ontogeny and summarizes major historical problems addressed by dental morphology. The detailed descriptions of 29 dental variables are fully updated with current data and include details of a new web-based application for using crown and root morphology to evaluate ancestry in forensic cases. A new chapter describes what constitutes a modern human dentition in the context of the hominin fossil record.

The fascinating and heartbreaking account of the first publicly exhibited captive killer whale — a story that forever changed the way we see orcas and sparked the movement to save them Killer whales had always been seen as bloodthirsty sea monsters. That all changed when a young killer whale was captured off the west coast of North America and displayed to the public in 1964. Moby Doll — as the whale became known — was an instant celebrity, drawing 20,000 visitors on the one and only day he was exhibited. He died within a few months, but his famous gentleness sparked a worldwide crusade that transformed how people understood and appreciated orcas. Because of Moby Doll, we stopped fearing “killersâ€� and grew to love and respect “orcas.â€�

This book summarizes and analyzes the biology, ecology, exploitation and management of small cetaceans in Japan. It describes the various types of cetacean fisheries in Japan and their historical development, the life histories and ecologies of the main species involved, and the history and problems of conservation and management. The data show that in some cases the number of small cetaceans harvested exceed sustainable limits and have led to depletion of populations. The book provides a case study of what can go wrong when the needs of industry and conservation collide. The descriptions of life history and ecology are relevant to issues of conservation and management, not just for cetaceans, but for all fisheries around the world.