In recent years researchers have discovered that bats play key roles in many ecosystems as insect predators, seed dispersers, and pollinators. Bats also display astonishing ecological and evolutionary diversity and serve as important models for studies of a wide variety of topics, including food webs, biogeography, and emerging diseases. In "Bat Ecology," world-renowned bat scholars present an up-to-date, comprehensive, and authoritative review of this ongoing research.
The first part of the book covers the life history and behavioral ecology of bats, from migration to sperm competition and natural selection. The next section focuses on functional ecology, including ecomorphology, feeding, and physiology. In the third section, contributors explore macroecological issues such as the evolution of ecological diversity, range size, and infectious diseases (including rabies) in bats. A final chapter discusses conservation challenges facing these fascinating flying mammals.
"Bat Ecology" is the most comprehensive state-of-the-field collection for scientists and researchers.
Contributors:
John D. Altringham, Robert M. R. Barclay, Tenley M. Conway, Elizabeth R. Dumont, Peggy Eby, Abigail C. Entwistle, Theodore H. Fleming, Patricia W. Freeman, Lawrence D. Harder, Gareth Jones, Linda F. Lumsden, Gary F. McCracken, Sharon L. Messenger, Bruce D. Patterson, Paul A. Racey, Jens Rydell, Charles E. Rupprecht, Nancy B. Simmons, Jean S. Smith, John R. Speakman, Richard D. Stevens, Elizabeth F. Stockwell, Sharon M. Swartz, Donald W. Thomas, Otto von Helversen, Gerald S. Wilkinson, Michael R. Willig, York Winter

Spontaneous Pathology of the Laboratory Non-human Primate serves as a "go to" resource for all pathologists working on primates in safety assessment studies. In addition, it helps diagnostic veterinary pathologists rule out spontaneous non-clinical disease pathologies when assigning cause of death to species in zoological collections. Primate species included are rhesus, cynomolgus macaques and marmosets. Multi-authored chapters are arranged by organ system, thus providing the necessary information for continued research. Pathologists often face a lack of suitable reference materials or historical data to determine if pathologic changes they are observing in monkeys are spontaneous or a consequence of other treatments or factors.

Mother and infant negotiate over food; two high-status males jockey for power; female kin band together to get their way. It happens among humans and it happens among our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom, the great apes of Africa. In this eye-opening book, we see precisely how such events unfold in chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas: through a spontaneous, mutually choreographed dance of actions, gestures, and vocalizations in which social partners create meaning and come to understand each other.

Using dynamic systems theory, an approach employed to study human communication, Barbara King is able to demonstrate the genuine complexity of apes' social communication, and the extent to which their interactions generate meaning. As King describes, apes create meaning primarily through their body movements--and go well beyond conveying messages about food, mating, or predators. Readers come to know the captive apes she has observed, and others across Africa as well, and to understand "the process of creating social meaning."

This new perspective not only acquaints us with our closest living relatives, but informs us about a possible pathway for the evolution of language in our own species. King's theory challenges the popular idea that human language is instinctive, with rules and abilities hardwired into our brains. Rather, "The Dynamic Dance" suggests, language has its roots in the gestural "building up of meaning" that was present in the ancestor we shared with the great apes, and that we continue to practice to this day.

Cats have been popular household pets for thousands of years, and their numbers only continue to rise. Today there are three cats for every dog on the planet, and yet cats remain more mysterious, even to their most adoring owners. Unlike dogs, cats evolved as solitary hunters, and, while many have learned to live alongside humans and even feel affection for us, they still don't quite "get us" the way dogs do, and perhaps they never will. But cats have rich emotional lives that we need to respect and understand if they are to thrive in our company.
In "Cat Sense," renowned anthrozoologist John Bradshaw takes us further into the mind of the domestic cat than ever before, using cutting-edge scientific research to dispel the myths and explain the true nature of our feline friends. Tracing the cat's evolution from lone predator to domesticated companion, Bradshaw shows that although cats and humans have been living together for at least eight thousand years, cats remain independent, predatory, and wary of contact with their own kind, qualities that often clash with our modern lifestyles. Cats still have three out of four paws firmly planted in the wild, and within only a few generations can easily revert back to the independent way of life that was the exclusive preserve of their predecessors some 10,000 years ago. Cats are astonishingly flexible, and given the right environment they can adapt to a life of domesticity with their owners--but to continue do so, they will increasingly need our help. If we're to live in harmony with our cats, Bradshaw explains, we first need to understand their inherited quirks: understanding their body language, keeping their environments--however small--sufficiently interesting, and becoming more proactive in managing both their natural hunting instincts and their relationships with other cats.
A must-read for any cat lover, "Cat Sense" offers humane, penetrating insights about the domestic cat that challenge our most basic assumptions and promise to dramatically improve our pets' lives--and ours.

This volume brings together more than a decade of information collected in the field and lab on the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), a northeast African mammal unique for its physical characteristics and eusociality. Nearly blind and virtually hairless, naked mole-rats inhabit large subterranean colonies in which only one female and her one to three mates conceive offspring, while the young from previous litters maintain and defend the group as do workers in colonies of the social insects. In this first major treatise on naked mole-rats an international group of researchers covers such topics as the evolution of eusociality, phylogeny and systematics of the rodent family Bathyergidae, population and behavioral ecology and genetics of naked mole-rats in the field, vocal and nonvocal behaviors, social organization and divisions of labor within colonies, and climatic, social, and physiological factors affecting growth, reproduction, and reproductive suppression. In addition to the editors, the contributors are D. H. Abbott, M. W. Allard, N. C. Bennett, R. A. Brett, S. H. Braude, B. Crespi, S. V. Edwards, C. G. Faulkes, L. M. George, R. L. Honeycutt, E. A. Lacey, C. E. Liddell, E. McDaid, K. Nelson, K. M. Noonan, J. O'Riain, J. W. Pepper, H. K. Reeve, and D. A. Schlitter. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This volume brings together more than a decade of information collected in the field and lab on the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), a northeast African mammal unique for its physical characteristics and eusociality. Nearly blind and virtually hairless, naked mole-rats inhabit large subterranean colonies in which only one female and her one to three mates conceive offspring, while the young from previous litters maintain and defend the group as do workers in colonies of the social insects. In this first major treatise on naked mole-rats an international group of researchers covers such topics as the evolution of eusociality, phylogeny and systematics of the rodent family Bathyergidae, population and behavioral ecology and genetics of naked mole-rats in the field, vocal and nonvocal behaviors, social organization and divisions of labor within colonies, and climatic, social, and physiological factors affecting growth, reproduction, and reproductive suppression. In addition to the editors, the contributors are D. H. Abbott, M. W. Allard, N. C. Bennett, R. A. Brett, S. H. Braude, B. Crespi, S. V. Edwards, C. G. Faulkes, L. M. George, R. L. Honeycutt, E. A. Lacey, C. E. Liddell, E. McDaid, K. Nelson, K. M. Noonan, J. O'Riain, J. W. Pepper, H. K. Reeve, and D. A. Schlitter. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Cynthia Moss has studied the elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park for over twenty-seven years. Her long-term research has revealed much of what we now know about these complex and intelligent animals. Here she chronicles the lives of the members of the T families led by matriarchs Teresia, Slit Ear, Torn Ear, Tania, and Tuskless. With a new afterword catching up on the families and covering current conservation issues, Moss's story will continue to fascinate animal lovers.
"One is soon swept away by this 'Babar' for adults. By the end, one even begins to feel an aversion for people. One wants to curse human civilization and cry out, 'Now God stand up for the elephants!'"--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, "New York Times"
"Moss speaks to the general reader, with charm as well as scientific authority. . . . [An] elegantly written and ingeniously structured account." --Raymond Sokolov, "Wall Street Journal"
"Moss tells the story in a style so conversational . . . that I felt like a privileged visitor riding beside her in her rickety Land-Rover as she showed me around the park." --Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, "New York Times Book Review"
"A prose-poem celebrating a species from which we could learn some moral as well as zoological lessons." --"Chicago Tribune"

This is the only field guide to provide comprehensive coverage of the mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. This edition features 21 new species accounts, including nine for bats. Four new full-color maps show parks and protected areas, biomes, elevations, and habitat loss. From Funnel-eared Bats and Spider Monkeys to Climbing Rats and Pocket Mice, Anteaters and Sloths to Sperm Whales and Ocean Dolphins, the guide fully describes every known regional species. Over 150 range maps have been updated along with present conservation status and habitat information. The new book features descriptions and measurements, where and when each species might be found, what type of nests or dens it uses, feeding habits, and reproductive cycles. Highlights include the 49 (previously 48) vibrant full-color animal illustrations, most painted directly from live subjects. Tracks and feet appear on facing-pages. A glossary and updated bibliography round out the usefulness of this indispensable guide.

There is little doubt that the vertebrate brain is the most complex structure we know. As with any complex structure, there is the immediate question about its origins. How could such a complex design develop from the simplest multicellular animals? This problem has pervaded the study of evolutionary biology since its beginnings. Although Darwin (1859, 1871) proposed an impecable mechanism (natural selection) for the gradual transformation of species including human origins, even he sometimes expressed certain doubts about the origin of highly complex structures. This issue has been highly debated both within science and outside it.

The authors follow an approach that has been termed "developmental evolutionary genetics," which seeks to establish a correspondence between embryological processes and the phylogenetic history of an organism. Modern understanding of these hypotheses acknowledges that in fact, early embryos are readily distinguishable among them, and that human embryos are human embryos during all development; they do not pass from a jellyfish stage to a fish stage and so on (Garstang 1922; Gould 1977; Richardson et al. 1997). However, it is also recognized that embryos pass through successive stages in which they acquire the characters proper to each of the nested phylogenetic categories to which they belong. Thus, there is a general concordance between embryonic stages and the phylogenetic history.

"Cheetahs of the Serengeti Plains" is the most comprehensive account of carnivore social behavior to date. Synthesizing more than a decade of research in the wild, this book offers a detailed account of the behavior and ecology of cheetahs. Compared with other large cats, and other mammals, cheetahs have an unusual breeding system; whereas lions live in prides and tigers are solitary, some cheetahs live in groups while others live by themselves. Tim Caro explores group and solitary living among cheetahs and discovers that the causes of social behavior vary dramatically, even within a single species.
Why do cheetah cubs stay with their mother for a full year after weaning? Why do adolescents remain in groups? Why do adult males live in permanent associations with each other? Why do adult females live alone? Through observations on the costs and benefits of group living, Caro offers new insight into the complex behavior of this extraordinary species. For example, contrary to common belief about cooperative hunting in large carnivores, he shows that neither adolescents nor adult males benefit from hunting in groups.
With many surprising findings, and through comparisons with other cat species, Caro enriches our understanding of the evolution of social behavior and offers new perspectives on conservation efforts to save this charismatic and endangered carnivore.

Kingdon's remarkable seven-volume masterwork on East African mammals concludes with two volumes on the bovids, placing them in a broad comparative, ecological, and evolutionary context. Volume IIIC covers cattle, water buffalo, kudus, elands, dwarf antelopes, duikers, reedbucks, and waterbucks; IIID covers gazelles, impalas, wildebeests, oryxes, sheep, and goats. In addition to the stunning, lifelike drawings that are an integral part of the text, the volumes include a reappraisal of bovid taxonomy and original analyses of the form and function of body shape and size, horn shape, coat pattern, and tooth structure.

'A must-read' New Scientist 'Fascinating' Greta Thunberg 'Enthralling' George Monbiot 'Brilliant' Philip Hoare A thrilling investigation into the pioneering world of animal communication, where big data and artificial intelligence are changing our relationship with animals forever In 2015, wildlife filmmaker Tom Mustill was whale watching when a humpback breached onto his kayak and nearly killed him. After a video clip of the event went viral, Tom found himself inundated with theories about what happened. He became obsessed with trying to find out what the whale had been thinking and sometimes wished he could just ask it. In the process of making a film about his experience, he discovered that might not be such a crazy idea. This is a story about the pioneers in a new age of discovery, whose cutting-edge developments in natural science and technology are taking us to the brink of decoding animal communication - and whales, with their giant mammalian brains and sophisticated vocalisations, offer one of the most realistic opportunities for us to do so. Using 'underwater ears,' robotic fish, big data and machine intelligence, leading scientists and tech-entrepreneurs across the world are working to turn the fantasy of Dr Dolittle into a reality, upending much of what we know about these mysterious creatures. But what would it mean if we were to make contact? And with climate change threatening ever more species with extinction, would doing so alter our approach to the natural world? Enormously original and hugely entertaining, How to Speak Whale is an unforgettable look at how close we truly are to communicating with another species - and how doing so might change our world beyond recognition.

Provides a comprehensive overview of one of nature's most engaging mammals * Covers fossil history, taxonomy, genetics, physiology, biomechanics, behavior, ecology, and conservation * Includes genetic analysis of five of the six subspecies of modern giraffes * Includes giraffe network studies from Laikipia Kenya, Etosha National Park, Namibia andSamburu National Reserve, Kenya

Wild grizzly bears, conducting their affairs undisturbed, are the essence of the wilderness spirit. Much has been written, both fact and fiction, about these awesome animals, but until very recently we have known little about the details of their daily existence.

For twenty-five years, Adolph Murie, one of North America's greatest naturalists, spent his summers in Mount McKinley National Park (since renamed Denali National Park) tracking, recording, and interpreting the lives of these magnificent animals in one of their few remaining strongholds. Murie observed the grizzlies as they moved throughout their range. He noted how families were formed, how they found food, and he described in detail how they related to other animals with whom they came in contact, including man. Often he followed a bear family for days as it traveled through the park. Even though their behavior could be quite unpredictable, Murie was able to distinguish, through careful observation, the individuals who made up many distinct families.

Originally available only in government publications which are long out of print, this classic work of natural history is now published which are long out of print, this classic work of natural history is now published for the first time in a popular edition. This edition is being published simultaneously with Adolph Murie's other classic study of the Far North, "The Wolves of Mount McKinley", thus making widely available two of the most important studies on North American wildlife.

When residents of Boulder, Colorado, suddenly began to see mountain lions in their backyards, it became clear that the cats had returned after decades of bounty hunting had driven them far from human settlement. In a riveting environmental tale that has received huge national attention, journalist David Baron traces the history of the mountain lion and chronicles one town's tragic effort to coexist with its new neighbors. As thought-provoking as it is harrowing, "The Beast in the Garden" is a tale of nature corrupted, the clash between civilization and wildness, and the artificiality of the modern American landscape. It is, ultimately, a book about the future of our nation, where suburban sprawl and wildlife-protection laws are pushing people and wild animals into uncomfortable, sometimes deadly proximity.