The definitive volume on opossums, a group of ecologically and scientifically important mammals, covering natural history, evolution, behavior, and biogeography. Opossums are the most diverse and ecologically important group of New World marsupials, although only the Virginia opossum is familiar to North American residents. In fact, many species of opossums are found in Neotropical rainforests, savannas, and other habitats, where they are key participants in food webs and other ecological relationships. One species, the short-tail opossum (Monodelphis domestica), has recently become a model organism for biomedical researchers. Eclipsed in the public imagination by their Australian relatives, opossums remained for many years a somewhat obscure group, of interest primarily to taxonomists and students of mammalian reproduction. While thousands of scientific articles have appeared in recent years on opossum systematics, morphology, behavior, physiology, genetics, and ecology, this important but widely scattered literature has never been effectively summarized-until now. In Opossums, the first book-length treatment of these fascinating organisms, recognized authorities Robert S. Voss and Sharon A. Jansa synthesize a wide range of available information about the diversity, comparative biology, and natural history of the opossum. Peering into every biological facet of the lives of these long-neglected mammals, the volume includes * introductory chapters explaining the paleontological and biogeographic context for opossum evolution * an overview of the extant fauna, which includes over 100 species in 18 genera * a section devoted to opossum phenotypes: morphology, physiology, and behavior * detailed information on opossum natural history, including habitats, diets, predators, and parasites * in-depth and novel interpretations of opossums' adaptive radiation in a phylogenetic context Intended for undergraduate biology majors, graduate students, and research professionals, this coherent and original portrait of opossums will be of particular interest to mammalogists, evolutionary biologists, and Neotropical field biologists as well as biomedical researchers working with Monodelphis domestica as a model organism.

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“It blew my mind to discover that teenage animals and teenage humans are so similar. Both are naive risk-takers. I loved this book!” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human and Animals in Translation

A revelatory investigation of human and animal adolescence and young adulthood from the New York Times bestselling authors of Zoobiquity.

With Wildhood, Harvard evolutionary biologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and award-winning science writer Kathryn Bowers have created an entirely new way of thinking about the crucial, vulnerable, and exhilarating phase of life between childhood and adulthood across the animal kingdom.

In their critically acclaimed bestseller, Zoobiquity, the authors revealed the essential connection between human and animal health. In Wildhood, they turn the same eye-opening, species-spanning lens to adolescent young adult life. Traveling around the world and drawing from their latest research, they find that the same four universal challenges are faced by every adolescent human and animal on earth: how to be safe, how to navigate hierarchy; how to court potential mates; and how to feed oneself. Safety. Status. Sex. Self-reliance. How human and animal adolescents and young adults confront the challenges of wildhood shapes their adult destinies.

Natterson-Horowitz and Bowers illuminate these core challenges through the lives of four animals in the wild: Ursula, a young king penguin; Shrink, a charismatic hyena; Salt, a matriarchal humpback whale; and Slavc, a roaming European wolf. Through their riveting stories—and those of countless others, from adventurous eagles and rambunctious high schooler to inexperienced orcas and naive young soldiers—readers get a vivid and game-changing portrait of adolescent young adults as a horizontal tribe, sharing behaviors and challenges, setbacks and triumphs.

Upending our understanding of everything from risk-taking and anxiety to the origins of privilege and the nature of sexual coercion and consent, Wildhood is a profound and necessary guide to the perilous, thrilling, and universal journey to adulthood on planet earth.

In Different, world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal draws on decades of observation and studies of both human and animal behavior to argue that despite the linkage between gender and biological sex, biology does not automatically support the traditional gender roles in human societies. While humans and other primates do share some behavioral differences, biology offers no justification for existing gender inequalities. Using chimpanzees and bonobos to illustrate this point-two ape relatives that are genetically equally close to humans-de Waal challenges widely held beliefs about masculinity and femininity, and common assumptions about authority, leadership, cooperation, competition, filial bonds, and sexual behavior. Chimpanzees are male-dominated and violent, while bonobos are female-dominated and peaceful. In both species, political power needs to be distinguished from physical dominance. Power is not limited to the males, and both sexes show true leadership capacities. Different is a fresh and thought-provoking approach to the long-running debate about the balance between nature and nurture, and where sex and gender roles fit in. De Waal peppers his discussion with details from his own life-a Dutch childhood in a family of six boys, his marriage to a French woman with a different orientation toward gender, and decades of academic turf wars over outdated scientific theories that have proven hard to dislodge from public discourse. He discusses sexual orientation, gender identity, and the limitations of the gender binary, exceptions to which are also found in other primates. With humor, clarity, and compassion, Different seeks to broaden the conversation about human gender dynamics by promoting an inclusive model that embraces differences, rather than negating them.

Coordination in Human and Primate Groups presents one of the first collections of the different methods and approaches used to assess coordination processes in groups. Written by psychologists and primatologists, the book represents a broad range of coordination research fields such as social psychology, work and organizational psychology, medicine, primatology, and behavioral ecology. It is designed for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the behavioral aspects of group coordination.

Wolves are controversial figures worldwide and much effort has focused on how to conserve them while addressing public concerns. With its solitary habits and fruit-eating diet, the endangered maned wolf roams the South American grasslands and swamps, playing a vital part in maintaining biodiversity hotspots. Compared to the grey wolf, little is known about its relationship with local people and the environment and the reasons for its decline, making research about this unique species an urgent concern. Ecology and Conservation of the Maned Wolf: Multidisciplinary Perspectives gathers the work of leading researchers from diverse disciplines and countries, covering up-to-date research on the biology, ecology, and conservation of the maned wolf. It presents innovative insights that can benefit conservation strategies and offers perspectives for the future of the species. The book is divided into three parts. Part I explains the general issues concerning the maned wolf: population viability, the relationship between maned wolves and people, and the management of captive maned wolves. It also reviews current aspects of species biology, including conservation genetics, feeding ecology, social structure and reproduction, and conservation medicine. Part II contains case studies that present knowledge gathered from conservation programs and field research in all countries where the species is currently found-Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Part III offers perspectives from diverse fields of research, exploring the challenges and opportunities connecting maned wolf conservation efforts with those of its habitat and of other endangered species. This includes education and communication tools, the application of human dimensions research to maned wolf conservation, ethnoconservation perspectives, and the ecological and socioeconomic challenges to the conservation of the cerrado habitat.

This guide to the mammals of Botswana offers a detailed roundup of more than 80 animals – with maps, travel information and a photographic field guide in a single, handy volume. It covers the six major mammal groups: non-ruminants, ruminants, carnivores, non-carnivorous small mammals, rodents and shrews, and bats – in colour-coded sections for quick reference, and with animal names in seven languages.

An initial section examines mammal anatomy, physiology and behaviour, supported by photographs and illustrations and containing fascinating information on skull muscles, dentition, locomotion, senses, reproduction, digestion and thermoregulation.

The field guide section treats one animal per page, with interesting text about their habits, behaviour, communication, social structures, etc, supported by photographs, distribution maps, and images of skulls, horns, tracks and droppings to ensure quick and easy ID. Pictorial keys at the start of each mammal group help readers navigate within the section.

Packed with interesting facts, photographs and maps, this is an essential guide to Botswana's rich mammal legacy.

Chimpanzees, including common chimpanzees and bonobos, are our closest living relatives. This book, which is the first photographic and descriptive musculoskeletal atlas of the genus Pan, adopts the same format as the photographic atlases of Gorilla and Hylobates previously published by the same authors. These three books are part of a series of monographs that will set out the comparative and phylogenetic context of the gross anatomy and evolutionary history of the soft tissue morphology of modern humans and their closest relatives. The atlas, which includes detailed high-quality photographs of musculoskeletal structures from most anatomical regions of the body as well as textual information about the attachments, innervation, function and weight of the respective muscles, is based on dissections of up to 12 chimpanzees and on an extensive review of the literature. It provides an updated review of the anatomical variations within chimpanzees as well as an extensive list of the synonyms used in the literature. The book is designed for students, teachers and researchers studying primatology, comparative anatomy, functional morphology, zoology, and physical anthropology and to medical students, doctors and researchers who are curious about the origin, evolution, homology and variations of the musculoskeletal structures of modern humans.

One animal left India in 1515, caged in the hold of a Portuguese ship, and sailed around Africa to Lisbon-the first of its species to see Europe for more than a thousand years. The other crossed the Atlantic from South America to Madrid in 1789, its huge fossilized bones packed in crates, its species unknown. How did Europeans three centuries apart respond to these two mysterious beasts-a rhinoceros, known only from ancient texts, and a nameless monster? As Juan Pimentel explains, the reactions reflect deep intellectual changes but also the enduring power of image and imagination to shape our understanding of the natural world. We know the rhinoceros today as "Durer's Rhinoceros," after the German artist's iconic woodcut. His portrait was inaccurate-Durer never saw the beast and relied on conjecture, aided by a sketch from Lisbon. But the influence of his extraordinary work reflected a steady move away from ancient authority to the dissemination in print of new ideas and images. By the time the megatherium arrived in Spain, that movement had transformed science. When published drawings found their way to Paris, the great zoologist Georges Cuvier correctly deduced that the massive bones must have belonged to an extinct giant sloth. It was a pivotal moment in the discovery of the prehistoric world. The Rhinoceros and the Megatherium offers a penetrating account of two remarkable episodes in the cultural history of science and is itself a vivid example of the scientific imagination at work.

Rats have long been recognized as a valuable biomedical research model, notably in the investigation of aging, toxicology, addiction, and common human diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. In many instances, individuals conducting such research studies are charged with important responsibilities, including animal facility management, animal husbandry, veterinary care, regulatory compliance, and various experimental methodologies. With the advent of genetic manipulations and biomedical research technological advances such as bioimaging, the versatility and usefulness of the rat as an animal model has soared. The Laboratory Rat, Second Edition captures the multiple advances in this important animal model's husbandry, veterinary care, and experimental methodology. This edition features augmented, expanded, and novel information on biology, anesthesia, analgesia, and experimental techniques benefiting personnel working with rats-from the animal care staff to the researcher and everyone in between. The book is also extremely useful to institutional animal care and use program supporters and elements, including animal care and use committees, institutional officials, occupational health and safety professionals, veterinary technicians, and veterinarians.

Laboratory animals, including ferrets, play an important role in biomedical research and advances. The humane care and management of these animals remains an ongoing concern. Published in color to provide greater clarity to the techniques and concepts discussed, The Laboratory Ferret presents basic information and common procedures in detail to provide a quick reference for investigators, technicians, and caretakers in the laboratory setting. The book presents a greater understanding of the use of the ferret in research, such as in studies on influenza. It is a valuable, handy reference for experienced individuals and for those without extensive training in working with ferrets.

East Africa comprises a varied range of habitats, which provide living space for more than 360 diverse species of mammal. These range in size from the elephant to the tiniest bats, shrews and mice.

This compact guide covers all of the common and some of the less common mammal species of the region. For each species it offers: key identification features; behaviour, diet, breeding biology, occurrence and size; clear, full-colour photographs; track illustrations; silhouettes to indicate size relative to human figure; and, distribution map. There is a section on droppings/dung of many of the animals that concludes the book.

Compact and easy-to-use, this is the ideal companion both for regulars and visitors to the region.

Mammalian predators are keystone species in any ecosystem. But many are elusive by nature and have territories that cover large areas of land, which makes them challenging to monitor. When tracks and signs prove difficult to interpret or are non-existent, hair samples recovered from the field offer a fantastic resource – one that is often overlooked. The Hair Scale Identification Guide to Terrestrial Mammalian Carnivores of Canada provides a fully illustrated, up-to-date hair scale reference for all 25 of the terrestrial carnivorous mammals of Canada. From the tiny least weasel (Mustela nivalis) to the giant polar bear (Ursus maritimus), unique traits – as well as tricky similarities – can clearly be observed through hair scale patterns magnified at the medial portion of the hair impression. These scale patterns aid in species identification when hair is the only possible evidence available. This guide also outlines hair impression techniques for samples found in the field, assisting ecologists and technicians with wildlife monitoring studies on predatory mammals where additional identification is required. Including range maps and key identification characteristics for all species represented, as well as superb images of hair scale impressions at two magnification levels, this book is a comprehensive tool for animal hair ID.

The preeminent guide to the world's mammals is now enhanced with a dramatically expanded volume covering 19 orders, including such creatures as elephants, armadillos, and manatees. Since its first publication in 1964, Walker's Mammals of the World has become a favorite guide to the natural world for general readers and professionals alike. This new Walker's volume is a completely revised and updated compendium of information on five of the earliest clades to diverge from ancient mammal stock. Uniquely comprehensive in inimitable Walker's style, it incorporates a full account of every genus that has lived in the past 5,000 years. Every named species of each genus is listed in systematic order and accompanied by detailed descriptions of past and present range. This new edition includes * 500+ full-color images throughout * citations to more than 2,200 new references * extensive bioconservation data, with discussion of every species in an IUCN Red List threatened category This volume's thorough updates reflect 20 years of advances in our knowledge of taxonomy, ecology, behavior, life history, and conservation. Substantive changes to 100% of previously existing generic accounts, plus the addition of 17 entirely new generic accounts, double the information in the last edition on the 19 orders covered. The black-and-white illustrations of earlier editions have been replaced by over 500 superb new color images. Remaining true to Ernest P. Walker's vision, the text smoothly combines in-depth scholarship with a popular, readable style to preserve and enhance what the Washington Post called a "landmark of zoological literature."

Researchers have studied non-human primate cognition along different paths, including social cognition, planning and causal knowledge, spatial cognition and memory, and gestural communication, as well as comparative studies with humans. This volume describes how primate cognition is studied in labs, zoos, sanctuaries, and in the field, bringing together researchers examining similar issues in all of these settings and showing how each benefits from the others. Readers will discover how lab-based concepts play out in the real world of free primates. This book tackles pressing issues such as replicability, research ethics, and open science. With contributors from a broad range of comparative, cognitive, neuroscience, developmental, ecological, and ethological perspectives, the volume provides a state-of-the-art review pointing to new avenues for integrative research.

A fascinating natural history of an incredibly curious substance. "Preternaturally hardened whale dung" is not the first image that comes to mind when we think of perfume, otherwise a symbol of glamour and allure. But the key ingredient that makes the sophisticated scent linger on the skin is precisely this bizarre digestive by-product-ambergris. Despite being one of the world's most expensive substances (its value is nearly that of gold and has at times in history been triple it), ambergris is also one of the world's least known. But with this unusual and highly alluring book, Christopher Kemp promises to change that by uncovering the unique history of ambergris. A rare secretion produced only by sperm whales, which have a fondness for squid but an inability to digest their beaks, ambergris is expelled at sea and floats on ocean currents for years, slowly transforming, before it sometimes washes ashore looking like a nondescript waxy pebble. It can appear almost anywhere but is found so rarely, it might as well appear nowhere. Kemp's journey begins with an encounter on a New Zealand beach with a giant lump of faux ambergris-determined after much excitement to nothing more exotic than lard-that inspires a comprehensive quest to seek out ambergris and its story. He takes us from the wild, rocky New Zealand coastline to Stewart Island, a remote, windswept island in the southern seas, to Boston and Cape Cod, and back again. Along the way, he tracks down the secretive collectors and traders who populate the clandestine modern-day ambergris trade. Floating Gold is an entertaining and lively history that covers not only these precious gray lumps and those who covet them, but presents a highly informative account of the natural history of whales, squid, ocean ecology, and even a history of the perfume industry. Kemp's obsessive curiosity is infectious, and eager readers will feel as though they have stumbled upon a precious bounty of this intriguing substance.

A photographic celebration of the return of otters to our rivers and freshwater wetlands after a drastic decline. Ripples of excitement are spreading through Europe's rivers and wetlands. A generation ago, otter watching was a wildlife highlight restricted to remote coastal areas - otter populations had been decimated over the previous century by pesticide poisoning and habitat disturbance. Now we are seeing the positive effect of determined conservation efforts over recent decades. As our waterways improve, otters are returning and spreading throughout their former habitats. One of the UK's leading natural history photographers, Laurie Campbell got to know otters while working in Scotland's Highlands and Islands, but he had never seen these elusive predators on his home beat. Then, in the early 1990s, he was delighted to find otters back on the Tweed and its tributaries, a river system he has lived close to for most of his life. The discovery launched him on a quest to create a photographic account of their lives on his home river. More than two decades later, otter numbers continue to increase, and new generations of otters have become more confident around people, sometimes appearing in broad daylight and in town centres. Laurie continues his long-standing study, still photographing the otters through the changing seasons - always with an eye on the bigger picture of the river itself and the plants and animals that share the otters' habitat. Wildlife journalist and writer Anna Levin accompanies Laurie to the riverbank and learns of his working philosophy and fieldcraft. Together they weave a wealth of information into the stories that the pictures tell. While extracts from Anna's notebooks offer a vivid glimpse of the photographer at work and the otters that enchant them both.

This book describes the major steps by which the mammalian ear transforms sound into nerve impulses. The author leads us along the pathway followed by an acoustic signal--collected by the outer ear, augmented by the middle ear, then delivered to the inner ear where the minuscule vibrations of the sound waves are transformed into nerve impulses. At each stage, the basic mechanisms are described qualitatively in terms of current theories and illustrated with experimental data. Where appropriate, related mechanisms in the ears of other vertebrates are considered. It is shown that the mammalian ear does an exquisite job of translating sound signals into a very robust nerve-pulse code. The book concludes with descriptions of some common ear impairments and a brief survey of the treatments available for them. The text is integrated with animations of mechanical and neural phenomena available through the Internet.

The book aims to integrate our understanding of mammalian societies into a novel synthesis that is relevant to behavioural ecologists, ecologists, and anthropologists. It adopts a coherent structure that deals initially with the characteristics and strategies of females, before covering those of males, cooperative societies and hominid societies. It reviews our current understanding both of the structure of societies and of the strategies of individuals; it combines coverage of relevant areas of theory with coverage of interspecific comparisons, intraspecific comparisons and experiments; it explores both evolutionary causes of different traits and their ecological consequences; and it integrates research on different groups of mammals with research on primates and humans and attempts to put research on human societies into a broader perspective.

Madagascar is home to one of the most remarkable assemblages of mammals on earth. Millions of years of isolation has resulted in the evolution of a suite of species that are exceptional for two major reasons. Firstly, every native non-volant species (approximately 210 species) is endemic. No other island or place on earth boasts such a combination of species richness and endemism. And secondly, these mammals have evolved an extraordinary diversity of body forms and lifestyles often displaying significant convergence with forms elsewhere but also at times evolving utterly unique features. Handbook of the Mammals of Madagascar describes all 217 native species, including bats, tenres, mice and lemurs, and a small number of introduced, non-native species. Species accounts are subdivided into sections covering description and identification, habitat and distribution (including distribution maps), behaviour and where to see. Over the past 15 years, major advances in research have been made into the island's mammal fauna and species accounts include all the latest information. Supporting chapters cover the island's regions and habitats, threats to mammals, conservation and important mammal watching sites. There is also a section covering the bizarre extinct mammal fauna. Throughout, the book is illustrated with exceptional, high-quality photography, often featuring species rarely photographed previously.

Easy-to-use and compact, this is the perfect pocket ID guide to mammals of the region. It covers some 120 mammals, from the smallest (bats, sengis and shrews) to the largest (lion, rhinoceros and elephant), as well as marine species, such as seals, dolphins and whales. Clear, full-color photographs and distribution maps.

A must-have for tourists and nature-lovers alike.This authoritative guide offers concise information, clear images of each animal, distribution maps and illustrations of tracks and droppings. This colorfully illustrated guide offers concise information on key ID pointers, similar species, habitat, behavior, diet, reproduction, longevity, calls, occurrence and measurements. Clear images of each animal, distribution maps, silhouettes indicating size relative to humans and illustrations of tracks and droppings offerconcise yet detailed information enabling quick and easy mammal ID.

Scientific developments have increasingly been transforming our understanding of the place of human beings in nature. The study of humanity, carried out in a variety of disciplines from anthropology and paleontology to genetics and neurosciences, is shedding new light on the origins and biological bases of human nature and culture. The findings of these relatively new hyphenated sciences have profound implications for the interpretation of human behavior within spiritual life no less than the material culture. This fine compendium serves as a splendid introduction to sociobiology. Sociobiology, now frequently being referred to by many as evolutionary psychology and evolutionary anthropology, first offered a radically selfish and individualist account of human nature. However, later researchers have moved away from such reductionisms, and into a sense of the common good that characterizes many species, and human brings as well. The emergence of discourses on the role of religion in understanding behavior in terms of moral considerations that permit people to live in community contexts has generated a lively examination within the new social sciences on the source of instinct, impulse, intelligence and interest. This compendium is clearly etched in a new and generous vision of human behavior that is at the same time rooted in the best of the current social sciences. "The Origins and Nature of" Sociality comes out of a symposium sponsored by the Program for Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and co-chaired by the editors. The contributors focus on the current status of research on sociality and the evolution of cooperative and altruistic behavior in nonhuman and human primates. They examine questions related to the evolution, cultural viability, and hormonal underpinnings of human sociality in specific detail, and describe patterns of sociality among nonhuman primates that many shed light on human social behavior. "Robert W. Sussman" is professor of anthropology, at Washington University in St. Louis. His work has appeared, among other places, in "The American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Folia Primatology," and Zygon. "Audrey R. Chapman" serves as director of the Science and Human Rights program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in Washington D.C.

Scientific developments have increasingly been transforming our understanding of the place of human beings in nature. The study of humanity, carried out in a variety of disciplines from anthropology and paleontology to genetics and neurosciences, is shedding new light on the origins and biological bases of human nature and culture. The findings of these relatively new hyphenated sciences have profound implications for the interpretation of human behavior within spiritual life no less than the material culture. This fine compendium serves as a splendid introduction to sociobiology. Sociobiology, now frequently being referred to by many as evolutionary psychology and evolutionary anthropology, first offered a radically selfish and individualist account of human nature. However, later researchers have moved away from such reductionisms, and into a sense of the common good that characterizes many species, and human brings as well. The emergence of discourses on the role of religion in understanding behavior in terms of moral considerations that permit people to live in community contexts has generated a lively examination within the new social sciences on the source of instinct, impulse, intelligence and interest. This compendium is clearly etched in a new and generous vision of human behavior that is at the same time rooted in the best of the current social sciences. "The Origins and Nature of" Sociality comes out of a symposium sponsored by the Program for Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and co-chaired by the editors. The contributors focus on the current status of research on sociality and the evolution of cooperative and altruistic behavior in nonhuman and human primates. They examine questions related to the evolution, cultural viability, and hormonal underpinnings of human sociality in specific detail, and describe patterns of sociality among nonhuman primates that many shed light on human social behavior. "Robert W. Sussman" is professor of anthropology, at Washington University in St. Louis. His work has appeared, among other places, in "The American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Folia Primatology," and Zygon. "Audrey R. Chapman" serves as director of the Science and Human Rights program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in Washington D.C.

Pinnipeds are marine mammals that include eared seals, true seals, and walruses. This book presents detailed reviews on the ecology and conservation of 10 pinniped species along the coasts and islands in Latin America, from Mexico to Chile and Argentina. Topics covered include their population dynamics, trophic ecology, reproduction, and behavior. In addition, the book addresses major conservation issues regarding climate change, interaction with fisheries, ecotourism, and other human activities.

This book examines the biology of tuco-tucos (Ctenomys) from an evolutionary perspective. Historically, these subterranean rodents have long attracted the attention of scientists due to its remarkable chromosomes variability and rapid diversification. A wealth of knowledge on physiology, ecology, genetics, morphology, paleontology, and taxonomy has been documented in the last 70 years through numerous single publications. In this volume, expert investigators review and frame these essays with the breadth of current understanding. The collection of chapters are presented into the major topics: i) Evolution of Ctenomys, ii) Geographic Patterns, iii) Organismal Biology, and iv) Environmental Relationships. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to both students and researchers and may stimulate further research with this exciting model on a wide range of evolutionary topics.