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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences > Vertebrates > Mammals
"25 years - 30,000 citations "
Analysing the physiological adaptations of marine mammals and seabirds, this book provides a comprehensive overview of what allows these species to overcome the challenges of diving to depth on a single breath of air. Through comparative reviews of texts on diving physiology and behaviour from the last seventy-five years, Ponganis combines this research into one succinct volume. Investigating the diving performance of marine mammals and seabirds, this book illustrates how physiological processes to extreme hypoxia and pressure are relevant to the advancement of our understanding of basic cellular processes and human pathologies. This book underscores the biomedical and ecological relevance of the anatomical, physiological and molecular/biophysical adaptations of these animals to enable further research in this area. An important resource for students and researchers, this text not only provides an essential overview of recent research in the field, but will stimulate further research into the behaviour and physiology of diving.
Despite an astonishing 100 million-fold range in adult body mass from bumblebee bat to blue whale, all mammals are formed of the same kinds of molecules, cells, tissues and organs and to the same overall body plan. A scaling approach investigates the principles of mammal design by examining the ways in which mammals of diverse size and taxonomy are quantitatively comparable. This book presents an extensive reanalysis of scaling data collected over a quarter of a century, including many rarely or never-cited sources. The result is an unparalleled contribution to understanding scaling in mammals, addressing a uniquely extensive range of mammal attributes and using substantially larger and more rigorously screened samples than in any prior works. An invaluable resource for all those interested in the 'design' of mammals, this is an ideal resource for postgraduates and researchers in a range of fields from comparative physiology to ecology.
A topic of perpetual fascination, the kangaroos of Australia have been the focus of myriad books and documentaries. "Kangaroos in Outback Australia" focuses on Yathong Nature Reserve, where three species of kangaroo -- red, eastern grey, and western grey -- overlap and create a unique opportunity for ecological study. Dale and Yvette McCullough spent fifteen months in Yathong examining the comparative ecology and behavior of the different species. The McCulloughs used systematic counts, radio telemetry, direct observations, and other techniques to characterize and compare the different species' population sizes, home ranges and movements, activity patterns, habitat selection, feeding behavior, and social organization. The researchers' previous work on the kangaroos' closest ecological counterparts in North America, the white-tailed and the mule deer, serves as a subject for comparison and enlarges the overall scope of the work.
Looking to the vast human history of water worship, a crucial study of our broken relationship with all things aquatic - and how we might mend it. Early human relationships with water were expressed through beliefs in serpentine aquatic deities: rainbow-coloured, feathered or horned serpents, giant anacondas and dragons. Representing the powers of water, these beings were bringers of life and sustenance, world creators, ancestors, guardian spirits and law makers. Worshipped and appeased, they embodied people's respect for water and its vital role in sustaining all living things. Yet today, though we still recognise that 'water is life', fresh- and saltwater ecosystems have been critically compromised by human activities. This major study of water beings, and what has happened to them in different cultural and historical contexts, demonstrates how and why some - but not all - societies have moved from worshipping water to wreaking havoc upon it, and asks what we can do to turn the tide. 'A far-ranging and gorgeously illustrated study, Water Beings explores humanity's enduring but always transforming connections to the wellsprings of life. A profound and entertaining book for a time when reimagining humanity's future has never been more vital.' - Caspar Henderson, author of The Book of Barely Imagined Beings 'With passion, rigor and creative depth, Strang eloquently takes readers across the world to further our understanding of water's natural, cultural, and symbolic qualities. Water beings are brought to life alongside relational beliefs and practices. This is a magnificent work that reflects a rich human/water/culture relationship, and explores possibilities to avoid a climate crisis future.' - Sandy Toussaint, University of Western Australia 'A spellbinding anthropological itinerary through the winding ways of serpentine water beings as they have manifested through history and across cultures. Luminously illustrated, ingeniously researched, and beautifully narrated, Strang's book is a treasure, a store of revelatory stories about how materiality, meaning, and myth have intertwined to create the aqueous spirits and deities that have accompanied human being and becoming.' - Stefan Helmreich, Elting E. Morison Professor of Anthropology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Every three years a major international conference on bats draws the leading workers in the field to a carefully orchestrated presentation of the research and advances and current state of understanding of bat biology. Bats are the second most populous group of mammalia species, after rodents, and they are probably the most intensively studied group of mammals. Virtually all mammologists and a large proportion of organismic biologists are interested in bats. The earlier two edited books deriving from previous bat research conferences, as well as this one, have been rigorously edited by Tom Kunz and others, with all chapters subjected to peer review. The resulting volumes, published first by Academic Press and most recently by Smithsonian, have sold widely as the definitive synthetic treatments of current scientific understanding of bats.
From foraging patterns in a single tree to social interactions across a home range, how primates use space is a key question in the field of primate behavioral ecology. Drawing on the latest advances in spatial analysis tools, this book offers practical guidance on applying geographic information systems (GIS) to central questions in primatology. An initial methodological section discusses niche modelling, home range analysis and agent-based modelling, with a focus on remote data collection. Research-based chapters demonstrate how ecologists apply this technology to a suite of topics including: calculating the intensity of use of both range and travel routes, assessing the impacts of logging, mining and hunting, and informing conservation strategies.
Covering all thirteen species of wild cattle, Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour of Wild Cattle brings together the contributions of international leading experts on the biology, evolution, conservation status and management of the tribe Bovini, providing: * A comprehensive review of current knowledge on systematic, anatomy and ecology of all wild cattle species (chapters 1 to 8); * A clear understanding of the conservation status of each species and the gaps in our current knowledge (chapters 9 to 20); * A number of case studies on conservation activities and an investigation of some of the most threatened and poorly understood species (chapters 21 to 27). An invaluable resource for students, researchers, and professionals in behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation biology, this beautifully illustrated reference work reveals the extraordinary link between wild cattle and humans, the benefits some of these species have brought us, and their key roles in their natural ecosystems.
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.
Pocket Guide to the Mammals of Costa Rica is the first guide to provide comprehensive coverage of every currently known mammal species found in Costa Rica. From the Central American Silky Anteater to the West Indian Manatee, Fiona A. Reid and Gianfranco Gomez Zamora introduce readers to over 200 species inhabiting the country and its waters. This pocket guide features: * 60 plates with full-color illustrations and over 100 photographs * An illustrated introduction covering the history of mammalogy in Costa Rica, how to find mammals, and more * Up-to-date species accounts, range maps, and natural history vignettes Lavishly illustrated and highly portable, the Pocket Guide to the Mammals of Costa Rica is indispensable for biologists, eco-tourists, and naturalists eager to learn more about the mammalian fauna of this small but biologically rich country.
Current dominant thinking and practice in the private and public sectors asserts that peoples' development needs are in conflict with, or mutually exclusive to, the need to conserve the biosphere on which we depend. Consequently, we are asked to either diminish development in the name of conservation or diminish conservation in the name of development. Efforts to identify complementary objectives, or mutually acceptable trade-offs and compromises indicate, however, that this does not always have to be the case. This first volume in the State of the Apes series draws attention to the evolving context within which great ape and gibbon habitats are increasingly interfacing with extractive industries. Intended for a broad range of policy makers, industry experts, decision makers, academics, researchers and NGOs, these publications aim to influence debate, practice and policy, seeking to reconcile ape conservation and welfare, and economic and social development, through objective and rigorous analysis.
With its iconic appearance and historic popular appeal, the giraffe is the world's tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant. Recent years have seen much-needed new research undertaken to improve our understanding of this unique animal. Drawing together the latest research into one resource, this is a detailed exploration of current knowledge on the biology, behaviour and conservation needs of the giraffe. Dagg highlights striking new data, covering topics such as species classification, the role of infrasound in communication, biological responses to external temperature changes and motherly behaviour and grief. The book discusses research into behaviour alongside practical information on captive giraffe, including diet, stereotypical behaviour, ailments and parasites, covering both problems and potential solutions associated with zoo giraffe. With giraffe becoming endangered species in Africa, the book ultimately focuses on efforts to halt population decline and the outlook for conservation measures.
Definitive work covering 70 species from 17 groups. Each species is described with sections on characters (external, cranial and dental), recognised subspecies, morphology, taxonomy, ecology, echolocation, distribution and conservation status. The volume contains a key to groups and species, a gazeteer, many line illustrations and colour plates illustrating many of the species.
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.
Examining mating from the male perspective, this book provides an overview of mammalian reproduction to illustrate the important role that male desire plays in the life of mammals. Written in a conversational style that will appeal to those without specialist knowledge of the field, it begins with a broad overview of sexual reproduction in mammals, explaining the importance of mixing genes, sexual selection and the concept of mating seasons. Subsequent chapters examine some of the most important aspects in detail including mating behaviour, the structure and function of the male organs of reproduction and their physiological control and modes of copulation. A final chapter considers human reproduction, explaining how our physical and social evolution have contributed to the development of sexual behaviour that is markedly different to that of other mammals, due in particular to the absence of oestrus and seasonality in the human female.
Do you think identifying bats in Europe or in North America is difficult? Well, try it in the Amazon. The planet's green lung is home to the most diverse bat communities on the planet with more than 160 species currently described. Local species richness often surpasses 100 and for many, their identification in the field is, to say the least, challenging. This task will now become easier with the publication of the Field Guide to the Bats of the Amazon: a landmark handbook aimed at facilitating species identification in the field. The book, written and designed by an international bat research team mainly based in the University of Lisbon in collaboration with the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), is a guide for anyone conducting field work on bats in the Amazon or interested in bat biodiversity. It is largely based on previous published keys with modifications derived from both personal observations and years of field experience in the Brazilian Amazon at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP), as well as a thorough revision of available bat keys and species descriptions. The field guide also features the first acoustic key for Amazonian bats, illustrated with the echolocation spectrogram of most species. This represents a major step towards alleviating the daunting task of identifying the numerous species of aerial insectivorous bats that occur in the Amazon based on their echolocation calls. It further constitutes an important tool to improving the knowledge and optimizing surveys of aerial insectivorous Neotropical bats, a group which remains largely understudied. The field guide provides an essential tool, not only for researchers, but also for bat conservationists, consultancies and anyone interested in Neotropical bats in general, and Amazonian bats in particular.
The chimpanzees are the closest living evolutionary relatives to our own species, Homo sapiens. As such, they have long exerted a fascination over those with an interest in human evolution, and human uniqueness. Chrisophe Boesch and Hedwige Boesch-Acherman undertook an incredible observational study of a group of wild chimpanzees in Cote D'Ivoire, spending some fifteen years in the West African forest with them. This fascinating book is the result of these years of painstaking research among the chimps. Chimpanzee behaviour is documented here in all its impressive diversity and variety, and placed within the broader context of research in behavioural ecology. The authors also succeed in shedding light on some of the central questions around the evolutionary relationships between the primates, and in particular the affinity between chimpanzees and humans.
Embracing more than 5,000 genera, distributed in 425 families and 46 orders, Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell's "Classification of Mammals" is the most comprehensive work to date on the systematics, relationships, and occurrences of all mammal taxa, living and extinct, down through the rank of genus. Since George Gaylord Simpson's 1945 classification, the paleontological record has been recalibrated, and the intervening years have seen much debate and progress concerning the theoretical underpinnings of systematization. McKenna inherited the project from Simpson and, with Bell, has constructed a completely updated hierarchical system that reflects the genealogy of Mammalia.
This book contains up-to-date methods for all aspects of breeding and studying mice as a model for the way that genes work to control development, physiology and behaviour. The mouse has recently become the model organism for human genetics. The chapters are written by experts in the field and aimed both at an audience of scientists new to the field, and those who want an overview of the latest techniques.
This beautifully illustrated field guide enables you to easily identify the tracks and signs left by a wide variety of mammal and bird species found in Britain and Europe, covering behaviors ranging from hunting, foraging, and feeding to courtship, breeding, and nesting. Introductory chapters offer detailed drawings of footprints and tracks of large and small mammals, which are followed by sections on mammal scat, bird droppings, and the feeding signs of animals on food sources such as nuts, cones, and rose hips. The book then describes specific mammal species, providing information on size, distribution, behavior, habitat, and similar species, as well as more specific detail on tracks and scat. Distribution maps are also included. This indispensable field guide covers 175 species of mammals and birds, and features a wealth of stunning color photos and artwork throughout.Helps you easily identify the tracks and signs of a variety of mammals and birdsCovers 175 speciesIllustrated throughout with photos, drawings, and artworkncludes informative descriptions of mammal species along with distribution maps
Comparative Neuropsychology is a collection of state-of-the-art essays by some of the world's leading neuropsychologists. It is prepared as a tribute to the late George Ettlinger, one of the leading figures in comparative neuropsychology research over the last 40 years, and reflects current research in the many areas where Ettlinger made a particular contribution to our understanding. Taking as their starting point the assumption that the human brain shares many of its most important functional systems with its primate relatives, the authors take a comparative evolutionary approach to understanding human cognition and brain function. The book's fifteen chapters cover a wide range of subject areas, including memory, visual and somatosensory perception, motor control, attention, cross-modality integration, interhemispheric transmission, and behavioural intelligence. The final chapters of the book critically discuss questions basic to the comparative enterprise: whether we can in fact apply concepts derived from human cognitive psychology to primate neuropsychology, and whether there are evolutionary discontinuities in cortical brain structure among the higher primate species. One of the first and most comprehensive books to be written on the topic, Comparative Neuropsychology forms a fascinating and wide-ranging collection. It will be read by undergraduate and post-graduate students in psychology, neuroscience, and neuropsychology, as well as researchers in those areas.
Building on the success of the first edition and bringing together contributions from a range of experts in the field, the second edition of this guide to research on wild primates covers the latest advances in the field, including new information on field experiments and measuring behaviour. It provides essential information and advice on the technical and practical aspects of both field and laboratory methods, covering topics such as ethnoprimatology; remote sensing; GPS and radio-tracking; trapping and handling; dietary ecology; and non-invasive genetics and endocrinology. This integrated approach opens up new opportunities to study the behavioural ecology of some of the most endangered primates and to collect information on previously studied populations. Chapters include methodological techniques; instructions on collecting, processing and preserving samples/data for later analysis; ethical considerations; comparative costs; and further reading, making this an invaluable tool for postgraduate students and researchers in primatology, behavioural ecology and zoology.
Bat detector surveys are carried out by ecological consultants, researchers, conservationists and hobbyists. Understanding and categorising non-bat sounds in surveys offers the potential of knock-on benefits for informing development projects (e.g. other important records discovered within a site), as well as the possibility of associated conservation benefits. In recent years the number of people carrying out these surveys and recording calls with bat detectors has grown considerably. These surveys often generate vast amounts of audio recordings, resulting in the heavy workload associated with completing the sound analysis and reporting process. Those carrying out analysis can be distracted, intrigued or delayed owing to the occurrence of recordings that are unfamiliar and not identifiable to them. These recordings can relate to 'difficult to ID' bat species, but also, often, sounds not related to bats. This can be especially true when noise triggers such as insects, small mammals or birds look like bat-related noise. Therefore, only knowing what bats sound like is not enough. It is extremely useful to know what other sources of noise look and sound like within the same soundscape. This resource will help bat workers, in whatever environment they are in, to be more confident in recognising, categorising and dismissing other sounds. The book includes a substantial downloadable sound library (.wav format) that readers can listen to by ear or process through sound analysis software. Is That a Bat? also caters for sounds that are also heard by ear alone, in the field, during the hours of darkness. These scenarios often have bat surveyors intrigued or confused as to what they are listening to. Occasionally, knowing what these sounds are could be important, or at the very least, of interest. The first chapter caters for the subject overall, including suggestions from the author as to why the subject matter is of value. It also discusses bat-related calls (including social calls) with a view to offering comparisons against the other sources of sound discussed in separate chapters. Continuing through the book, there are chapters covering the following: small mammals; amphibians; insects; birds; electrical/mechanical noise; and other noise/nuisances. Within each chapter there are sub-sections about bat detector recorded sound, sound by ear, as well as advice on techniques and methods to reduce or increase the likelihood of recording other sounds. The book concludes with associated appendices, including a 'Problem Solving Key' to help those encountering an unfamiliar sound to narrow it down to the likely source. With technology advancing at pace, the technical ability of the analyst is of huge importance. With a wider perspective and more knowledge, those responsible for interpreting field encounters can be more confident when making decisions about sources of sound. Apart from that, 'knowing stuff' makes the job far more interesting and gives the bat worker a greater appreciation of the natural world within which they are working.
This stunningly illustrated guide to the world's primates covers nearly 300 species, from the feather-light and solitary pygmy mouse lemurs of Madagascar--among the smallest primates known to exist--to the regal mountain gorillas of Africa. Organized by region and spanning every family of primates on Earth, the book features 72 splendid color plates, facing-page descriptions of key features of each family, and 86 color distribution maps. "Primates of the World" also includes concise introductory chapters that discuss the latest findings on primate origins and evolution, behavior and adaptations, and classification, making it the most comprehensive and up-to-date primate guide available.Covers nearly 300 species and every family of primates worldwideFeatures 72 color plates--the finest illustrations of primates ever producedIncludes facing-page descriptions for each family and 86 color distribution mapshe most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the world's primates
This detailed 1983 study of the African buffalo is distinguished by the extraordinary first-hand data obtained by the author in ten years of study. During this time, Dr Mloszewski virtually lived with the herds, moving among the animals and becoming accepted by them as a companion in their wanderings. The result is a book written from a highly unusual viewpoint and containing unique data. The book discusses the ancestry, zoological classification, and biogeographical setting of the African buffalo and describes the interactions of buffaloes with other species. The individual and collective behavior of the buffalo in the wild, as directly observed by the author, is the central subject, covering herd movements, feeding activities, hierarchies and individuals and agnostic, reproductive and other behaviors. |
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