![]() |
![]() |
Your cart is empty |
||
Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Life sciences: general issues > Taxonomy & systematics
From the more than one million square miles of the six eastern provinces of Canada 154 species of freshwater fishes have been reported. This edition of Freshwater Fishes of Canada provides the game and commercial fisherman and the naturalist with detailed information regarding these fishes, and assists in the accurate identification of the various species. The species are arranged in order of development: primitive first and the more highly specialized fishes last. Each description includes a picture, a list of other common names, the distinguishing features, size, habitat, life history and habits, food, and additional comments. Technical language has been avoided wherever possible but with no loss of accuracy. In this second edition the author has employed a system of keys for easier identification of families, and of the individuals in the two largest and most difficult species, the trout and minnow groups.
An up-to-date and comprehensive herpetological guide to Alabama. Lizards and Snakes of Alabama is the most comprehensive taxonomy gathered since Robert H. Mount's seminal 1975 volume on the reptiles and amphibians of Alabama. This richly illustrated guide provides an up-to-date summary of the taxonomy and life history of lizards and snakes native to, or introduced to, the state. Alabama possesses one of the most species-rich biotas in north temperate areas and this richness is reflected in some groups of lizards, such as skinks, and especially in snakes. The authors examine all known species within the state and describe important regional variations in each species, including changes in species across the many habitats that comprise the state. Significant field studies, especially of Alabama's threatened and endangered species, have been performed and are used to inform discussion of each account. The life-history entry for each species is comprised of scientific and common names, full-color photographs, a morphological description, discussion of habits and life cycle, and a distribution map depicting the species range throughout the state, as well as notes on conservation and management practices. The illustrated taxonomic keys provided for families, genera, species, and subspecies are of particular value to herpetologists. This extensive guide will serve as a single resource for understanding the rich natural history of Alabama by shedding light on an important component of that biodiversity. Accessible to all, this volume is valuable to both the professional herpetologist and the general reader interested in snakes and lizards.
This new edition of a foundational text presents a contemporary review of cladistics, as applied to biological classification. It provides a comprehensive account of the past fifty years of discussion on the relationship between classification, phylogeny and evolution. It covers cladistics in the era of molecular data, detailing new advances and ideas that have emerged over the last twenty-five years. Written in an accessible style by internationally renowned authors in the field, readers are straightforwardly guided through fundamental principles and terminology. Simple worked examples and easy-to-understand diagrams also help readers navigate complex problems that have perplexed scientists for centuries. This practical guide is an essential addition for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in taxonomy, systematics, comparative biology, evolutionary biology and molecular biology.
For many years orchids have been among the most popular of ornamental plants, with thousands of species and hybrids cultivated worldwide for the diversity, beauty, and intricacy of their flowers. This book is the eagerly-awaited result of over 30 years of research into orchid anatomy by one of the world's leading authorities and is the first comprehensive publication on orchid anatomy since 1930. It describes the structure and relationships among the cells and tissues of leaves, stems, and roots, and is organized systematically in line with the taxonomy expressed in the OUP Genera Orchidacearum Series. The book is fully illustrated with over 100 photomicrographs and numerous original line drawings. This latest addition to the Anatomy of the Monocotyledons Series is an essential reference text for orchid scientists and research students and will also be of interest and use to a broader audience of orchid enthusiasts.
Annelids (the segmented worms) exist in a remarkably diverse range of mostly marine but also freshwater and terrestrial habitats, varying greatly in size and form. Annelida provides a fully updated and expanded taxonomic reference work which broadens the scope of the classic Polychaetes (OUP, 2001) to encompass wider groups including Clitellata (comprising more than a third of total annelid diversity), Sipuncula, and Thalassematidae (formerly Echiura). It reflects the enormous amount of research on these organisms that has burgeoned since the millennium, principally due to their use as model organisms to address wider and more general evolutionary and ecological questions. Beginning with a clear introduction to the phylum and an outline of annelid taxonomy, this authoritative text describes their collection, the methods to ensure their optimal preservation, and an overview of anatomy with its relevant terminology. The core of the work comprises 77 fully up-to-date taxonomic chapters, informed by anatomy and the latest molecular phylogenomic evidence and carefully organised based on a new, robust phylogenetic hypothesis. Lavishly illustrated throughout with hundreds of previously unpublished high-resolution colour images and SEM micrographs, the sheer beauty and diversity of the annelids is nowhere better presented. Annelida is the definitive reference work for annelid biologists, whilst being of interest to a broader audience of invertebrate zoologists, systematists, and organismal biologists.
For centuries orchids have been among the most popular of plant families, with thousands of species and hybrids cultivated worldwide for the diversity, beauty, and intricacy of their flowers. The Genera Orchidacearum series represents a robust and natural classification of the orchids, something that has eluded plant scientists and orchid enthusiasts for years. The editors, who are all distinguished orchid specialists, incorporate a wealth of new DNA data into a truly phylogenetic classification, identifying the areas and taxa that merit additional work. To this end, they have invited several international specialists to contribute in their particular areas of expertise. Each volume provides comprehensive coverage of one or two orchid subfamilies, and the series as a whole will be an indispensable reference tool for scientists, orchid breeders, and growers. Orchidaceae is the largest monocotyledon family and perhaps the largest plant family in terms of number of species, approximately 25,000. Although the fossil record is limited, active molecular research in recent years has unravelled many of the complexities and phylogenetics of this cosmopolitan plant family. This sixth and final volume treats 140 genera in tribes Dendrobieae and Vandeae of the largest subfamily, Epidendroideae, including some of the showiest orchids often used in hybridizing. Comprehensive treatments are provided for each genus, which include complete nomenclature, description, distribution (with map), anatomy, palynology, cytogenetics, phytochemistry, phylogenetics, pollination, ecology, and economic uses. Cultivation notes are included for those genera known to be in hobbyist collections. Genera are beautifully illustrated with line drawings and colour photographs. An Addendum updates a few generic accounts published in past volumes. A cumulative glossary, list of generic synonyms with their equivalents, and list of all series contributors round out this final volume in the series.
We live in the age of big companies where rising levels of power are concentrated in the hands of a few. Yet no government or organisation has the power to regulate these titans and hold them to account. We need big companies to share their power and we, the people of the world, need to reclaim it. In Competition is Killing Us, top business and competition lawyer Michelle Meagher establishes a new framework to control capitalism from the inside in order to make it work for the many and not just the few. Meagher has spent years campaigning against these multi-billion and trillion dollar mammoths that dominate the market and prioritise shareholder profits over all else; leading to extreme wealth inequality, inhumane conditions for workers and relentless pressure on the environment. In this revolutionary book, she introduces her wholly-achievable alternative; a fair and comprehensive competition law that limits unfair mergers, enforces accountability and redistributes power through stakeholder governance. With an afterword by Simon Holmes, Member of the UK 's Competition Appeal Tribunal, Academic Visitor at the Centre for Competition Law and Policy, Oxford University
Part One, the inaugural volume in the Fishes of the Western North Atlantic series, describes lancelets, hagfishes, lampreys, and sharks. Specialist authorships of its sections include detailed species descriptions with keys, life history and general habits, abundance, range, and relation to human activity, such as economic and sporting importance. The text is written for an audience of amateur and professional ichthyologists, sportsmen, and fishermen, based on new revisions, original research, and critical reviews of existing information. Species are illustrated by exceptional black and white line drawings, accompanied by distribution maps and tables of meristic data. Distributed for the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
The Fishes of the Western North Atlantic series, which began publication in the 1940s by Yale University's Sears Foundation for Marine Research, was from its beginnings conceived to synthesize and make accessible the wealth of information in widely scattered published accounts of the fish fauna of the region for both the layman and the specialist, presenting critical reviews rather than compilations. These reference works are still considered valuable and of interest today to both general audiences and the academic community. As described in the Preface to the first volume, the series was "written on the premise that it should be useful to those in many walks of life-to those casually ... interested ..., to the sportsman ..., to the fisherman ..., as well as to the amateur ichthyologist and the professional scientist." These books remain authoritative studies of the anadromous, estuarine, and marine fishes of the waters of the western North Atlantic from Hudson Bay southward to the Amazon, ranking as primary references for both amateurs and professionals interested in fishes, and as significant working tools for students of the sea.
The Fishes of the Western North Atlantic series, which began publication in the 1940s by Yale University's Sears Foundation for Marine Research, was from its beginnings conceived to synthesize and make accessible the wealth of information in widely scattered published accounts of the fish fauna of the region for both the layman and the specialist, presenting critical reviews rather than compilations. These reference works are still considered valuable and of interest today to both general audiences and the academic community. As described in the Preface to the first volume, the series was "written on the premise that it should be useful to those in many walks of life-to those casually ... interested ..., to the sportsman ..., to the fisherman ..., as well as to the amateur ichthyologist and the professional scientist." These books remain authoritative studies of the anadromous, estuarine, and marine fishes of the waters of the western North Atlantic from Hudson Bay southward to the Amazon, ranking as primary references for both amateurs and professionals interested in fishes, and as significant working tools for students of the sea.
The Fishes of the Western North Atlantic series, which began publication in the 1940s by Yale University's Sears Foundation for Marine Research, was from its beginnings conceived to synthesize and make accessible the wealth of information in widely scattered published accounts of the fish fauna of the region for both the layman and the specialist, presenting critical reviews rather than compilations. These reference works are still considered valuable and of interest today to both general audiences and the academic community. As described in the Preface to the first volume, the series was "written on the premise that it should be useful to those in many walks of life-to those casually ... interested ..., to the sportsman ..., to the fisherman ..., as well as to the amateur ichthyologist and the professional scientist." These books remain authoritative studies of the anadromous, estuarine, and marine fishes of the waters of the western North Atlantic from Hudson Bay southward to the Amazon, ranking as primary references for both amateurs and professionals interested in fishes, and as significant working tools for students of the sea.
Published in Association with the New York Botanical Garden The Manual of Leaf Architecture is an essential reference for describing, comparing, and classifying the leaves of flowering plants. This manual, illustrated with dozens of line drawings and more than 300 photographs of prepared stained leaves, provides a framework with comparative examples allowing consistent and detailed description of both modern and fossil leaves. This one-of-a-kind resource will be invaluable to a broad range of people who work with plants, from paleobotanists to systematists to tropical ecologists. The Manual allows for the description and identification of plants independently of their flowers, offering especially useful assistance in the case of fossil leaves (usually found in isolation) and tropical plants, whose flowering cycles can be brief and irregular, and whose fruits and flowers may be difficult to access. It provides long-needed guidelines for characterizing the organization, shape, venation, and margins of the leaves of flowering plants. Beginning with a set of illustrated definitions of leaf characters, this manual proceeds to define and illustrate the variations on each of these characters. The system presented here is based on a widely tested scheme but has been significantly expanded and refined through the detailed examination of thousands of living and fossil leaves.
Willi Hennig (1913-76), founder of phylogenetic systematics, revolutionised our understanding of the relationships among species and their natural classification. An expert on Diptera and fossil insects, Hennig's ideas were applicable to all organisms. He wrote about the science of taxonomy or systematics, refining and promoting discussion of the precise meaning of the term 'relationship', the nature of systematic evidence, and how those matters impinge on a precise understanding of monophyly, paraphyly, and polyphyly. Hennig's contributions are relevant today and are a platform for the future. This book focuses on the intellectual aspects of Hennig's work and gives dimension to the future of the subject in relation to Hennig's foundational contributions to the field of phylogenetic systematics. Suitable for graduate students and academic researchers, this book will also appeal to philosophers and historians interested in the legacy of Willi Hennig.
This plant glossary includes all descriptive terms used in floras, plant field guides and monographs. This is an essential companion for anyone working with plant descriptions, plant identification keys, floras, monographs and field guides. In this second edition 4,500 botanical terms are described with accompanying illustrations, including a new section on vegetation terms and an updated colour section. 'Catnip for the garden geek...this fascinating, authoritative volume may seduce even the most casual browser.' The New York Times, 27 May 2010
This book is a revised edition of a pictorial guide to the birds of the Indian subcontinent first published in 1983. The book deals with the birds of the Indian Subcontinent-India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, including the islands of Andaman and Nicobars, Lakshadweep, and Maldives and not includes Afghanistan and the Chagos Archipelago. The main part of the book is taken up by bird topography and complemented by 112 plates containing illustrations of 1251 species to describe how their family/species perceived in the society. Additional notes of over 100 definite species are also provided to add special flavour to the reader. The Guide contains species descriptions to aid field identification, as there are quite a few bird species where a pictorial representation is not sufficient, especially to identify similar looking birds. The brief descriptions of the species have been added to enable quick identification, except for species where more detailing is required. The detailed indices-of group and stand-alone names, common names, and scientific names of the birds of the Indian Subcontinent-would be of immense help to the serious scholars and researcher of birds of the Indian Subcontinent.
In this revision of the calanoid copepod family Heterorhabdidae, 7 genera and 59 species are recognized, and 25 species are described as new. Included are keys to the genera and descriptions and illustrations of all species. A hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships is presented, and the geographic distribution of the species is discussed.
The "coenosus group, containing 34 species, is the most speciose clade of Histerini in the Americas. The author provides the first comprehensive revision of these species, including keys for identification, complete distributional data, illustrations of diagnostic characters, and a detailed phylogenetic analysis. He uses the phylogeny to examine the evolution of several biological characteristics, with particular emphasis on myrmecophily.
A reevaluation of the history of biological systematics that discusses the formative years of the so-called natural system of classification in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Shows how classifications came to be treated as conventions; systematic practice was not linked to clearly articulated theory; there was general confusion over the "shape" of nature; botany, elements of natural history, and systematics were conflated; and systematics took a position near the bottom of the hierarchy of sciences.
A lavishly illustrated and long-overdue guidebook to the rich natural history of Long Island Sound and its coastlines, a region beloved by millions of people Long Island Sound consists of a diverse collection of unique marine, estuarine, and terrestrial ecosystems located in one of the most densely populated regions in the United States. The Sound and its coastlines are home not only to myriad species of plants and animals-from shorebirds and turtles to whales, seals, and fish-but also to more than twenty million people. Until now there has been no one-stop reference for those interested in exploring the Sound's rich natural history. Author, photographer, and scientific illustrator Patrick Lynch has filled this gap. Brimming with maps, photographs, and drawings, Lynch's guide introduces readers to the full breadth of the Sound's environs from shorelines to deepest waters. With coastal areas at particular risk from climate change and pollution, his timing couldn't be better. Whether readers are interested in the area's geology and meteorology, its history of human intervention, or simply locating nature reserves and bird sanctuaries, they're sure to find Lynch's compendium indispensable.
Phylogenetic Systematics: Haeckel to Hennig traces the development of phylogenetic systematics against the foil of idealistic morphology through 100 years of German biology. It starts with the iconic Ernst Haeckel-the German Darwin from Jena-and the evolutionary morphology he developed. It ends with Willi Hennig, the founder of modern phylogenetic systematics. Written in English, the book presents a unique perspective on a vast body of German biological literature. The book also offers a perspective on German biology in the Third Reich. The author looks at how idealistic morphology and phylogenetic systematics represented two antagonistic traditions in German biology, the first organicist-holistic, the latter empiricist-positivistic. In addition, he explains the ways in which both traditions acquired socio-political and ideological connotations, culminating in their accommodation to different strands of Nazi ideology. The book's nine chapters summarize a century of the conceptual development of systematics, describe both the history and philosophy of phylogenetic approaches to the understanding of the history of life, examine the role of important people such as Haeckel, Gegenbauer, Portman, von Bertalanffy, Stresemann, and Hennig, and critically evaluate the impact and influence of Nazism on evolutionary biology. Chapter titles include: The Evolutionary Turn in Comparative Anatomy; Of Parts and Wholes; The Turn against Haeckel; The Rise of Holism in German Biology; The Rise of German ("Aryan") Biology; Ganzheitsbiologie; The Ideological Instrumentalization of Biology; A New Beginning: From Speciation to Phylogenetics; and Grundzuge: The Conceptual Foundations of Phylogenetic Systematics.
Have humans always waged war? Is warring an ancient evolutionary adaptation or a relatively recent behavior-and what does that tell us about human nature? In War, Peace, and Human Nature, editor Douglas P. Fry brings together leading experts in such fields as evolutionary biology, archaeology, anthropology, and primatology to answer fundamental questions about peace, conflict, and human nature in an evolutionary context. The chapters in this book demonstrate that humans clearly have the capacity to make war, but since war is absent in some cultures, it cannot be viewed as a human universal. And counter to frequent presumption the actual archaeological record reveals the recent emergence of war. It does not typify the ancestral type of human society, the nomadic forager band, and contrary to widespread assumptions, there is little support for the idea that war is ancient or an evolved adaptation. Views of human nature as inherently warlike stem not from the facts but from cultural views embedded in Western thinking. Drawing upon evolutionary and ecological models; the archaeological record of the origins of war; nomadic forager societies past and present; the value and limitations of primate analogies; and the evolution of agonism, including restraint; the chapters in this interdisciplinary volume refute many popular generalizations and effectively bring scientific objectivity to the culturally and historically controversial subjects of war, peace, and human nature.
Ernst Mayr is perhaps the most distinguished biologist of the twentieth century, and "Systematics and the Origin of Species" may be one of his greatest and most influential books. This classic study, first published in 1942, helped to revolutionize evolutionary biology by offering a new approach to taxonomic principles and correlating the ideas and findings of modern systematics with those of other life science disciplines. This book is one of the foundational documents of the "Evolutionary Synthesis." It is the book in which Mayr pioneered his new concept of species based chiefly on such biological factors as interbreeding and reproductive isolation, taking into account ecology, geography, and life history. In his new introduction for this edition, Mayr reflects on the place of this enduring work in the subsequent history of his field.
"A name is forever, or at least as long as taxonomy continues," Barry Bolton writes, and here are all the names, antique and modern, of all the ants that are or ever were--from the arctic to the tropical, the fossilized to the living, the mislabeled to the newly christened members of the family Formicidae. For every name that has ever been applied to ants, the book supplies a history and an account of current usage, together with a fully documented indication of the present-day classification. Its comprehensive bibliography provides references to original description, synonymy, homonymy, changes in rank, status, and availability, and alterations in generic status. Organized by family group, genus group, and species group, this meticulously detailed but easily used volume is the ultimate resource for myrmecology. Along with Bolton's "Identification Guide to the Ant Genera of the World, it will be the essential reference for anyone, expert or amateur, with an interest in ants.
The purpose of this volume is to emphasize the fact that biological trace element research is a multidisciplinary science which requires a prudent combination of biological insight and analytical awareness. The text frequently stresses that accurate measurements on biologically and analytically "valid" samples hold the key for success in future investigations. It reminds the analytical scientists and the life sciences researchers that their perceptions should extend beyond conventional limits - namely, the former as generators of data and the latter as interpreters of those findings. This book enables the reader to understand the intricacies of elemental composition studies in biological systems, and also provides a valuable source of information to biologists, biochemists, physicians, nutritionists and related scientific workers who intend to draw meaningful conclusions from the analytical findings. |
![]() ![]() You may like...
Recent Advancement in White…
Ajar Nath Yadav, Shashank Mishra, …
Hardcover
R2,990
Discovery Miles 29 900
Ethnobiology of Mountain Communities in…
Arshad Mehmood Abbasi, Rainer W. Bussmann
Hardcover
R5,163
Discovery Miles 51 630
The Biodiversity of African Plants…
Xander van der Maesen, J.M. van Medenbach de Rooy
Hardcover
R8,475
Discovery Miles 84 750
Flora of North America: Volume 22…
Flora of North America Editorial Committee, Nancy R. Morin
Hardcover
R2,581
Discovery Miles 25 810
Flora of North America: Volume 3…
Flora of North America Editorial Committee, Nancy R. Morin
Hardcover
R2,628
Discovery Miles 26 280
Principles of Plant and Animal Taxonomy
Austin Balfour
Hardcover
|