This book is an up-to-date comprehensive resource on the names (scientific, English and vernacular) of the mammals of South Asia. This work is first of its kind that deals with explanation of names of mammals at the species and subspecies level.

These volumes have, for over 30 years, been the most readily available source listing the scattered articles, theses, bulletins, and research on freshwater fish in the United States and Canada.

"The Handbook of Freshwater Fishery Biology" summarizes the available data on age, growth, length weight, fecundity, reproductive behavior feeding habits, and necessary environment for each freshwater species. The comparison of species is presented in a manner easily used by fishery mangers and biologists.

Compiles data and information on the management of important game fish, completing a trilogy of handbooks, the first two recognized as classics in the field.

This useful reference presents over a hundred full color photographs of the common Canada goose, the Cackling goose, Richardson's goose and the Brandt in natural habitats and a wide variety of classic and unusual positions. Tricia Veasey has artistically captured on film the structural details, feather patterns, colors and body forms of geese as they appear in both land and water locations. Geese is an exquisite compilation which should become a high-standard source book for artists, carvers, taxidermists and naturalists alike.

This book gives a critical overview on the evolution and population biology of salmon and their relatives. It should appeal to investigators in each of the scientific disciplines it intergrates - evolutionary biology, ecology, salmonid biology, management and conservation. Variation in salmonids can be used to illustrate virtually all evolution.

Internal fertilization is universal in chondrichthyan fishes and, as such, requires a suite of biological activities, including behavioral, morphological and physiological mechanisms, to ensure successful copulation and fertilization. This volume correlates available data and ideas concerning the development, reproductive morphology, function, and phylogeny of chondrichthyan fishes. Coverage includes oogenesis, spermatogenesis, gestation, regulation of reproductive tract function, sperm storage, nutrient provision, placentation, and phylogeny. New and exciting data is presented including the idea that yolk sac viviparity is the plesiomorphic state rather than oviparity.

This is the only book entirely devoted to the sensory circumventricular organs. It reviews research into their detailed anatomy, neurochemistry, neural connections, and functions, and provides the reader with many illustrations previously unpublished.

This new volume provides up-to-date information that emphasizes the relationships and concepts by which cell and tissue structures of fish are inextricably linked with their function. The book also describes the most recent development in the sciences of fish histology. Covers the normal histology of six fish species, the book provides detailed information on the histology of all organs of teleosts and includes 130 original photomicrographs, tables, updated terminology, and expanded information, with over 100 in color. This new volume, Fish Histology: From Cells to Organs, provides up-to-date information that emphasizes the relationships and concepts by which cell and tissue structures of fish are inextricably linked with their function. The book also describes the most recent development in the sciences of fish histology. Histology is the discipline of biology that involves the microscopic examination of tissue sections in order to study their structure and correlate it with function. Histology can detect signs of disease not easily recognized on gross examination and can therefore be of interest in fish health supervision. With fish constituting nearly 60% of all vertebrate species and of major worldwide economic importance as a food source, the information presented here will be valuable. The volume begins with concise introduction into the histological techniques for fish sampling, followed by an accurate up-to-date description of fish tissues. A chapter is devoted to each organ and organ systems in fish body as well. In addition, the book includes particular diagrams to illustrate the structure of organs and to enhance the usefulness of the text. This volume is designed for use by veterinary medical scientists, researchers, biologists, ichthyologists, fish farmers, veterinarians working in fisheries and, of course, by comparative histologists who want to learn more about the fish world. As a further aid to learning and identification, numerous photomicrographs and electron micrographs accompany the text, with particular emphasis on diagrams and tables to summarize morphologic and functional features of cells, tissues, and organs.

A simpler and more user-friendly visual approach to gull identification This unique photographic field guide to North America's gulls provides a comparative approach to identification that concentrates on the size, structure, and basic plumage features of gulls-gone are the often-confusing array of plumage details found in traditional guides. Featuring hundreds of color photos throughout, Gulls Simplified illustrates the variations of gull plumages for a variety of ages, giving readers strong visual reference points for each species. Extensive captions accompany the photos, which include comparative photo arrays, digitized photo arrays for each age group, and numerous images of each species-a wealth of visual information at your fingertips. This one-of-a-kind guide includes detailed species accounts and a distribution map for each gull. An essential field companion for North American birders, Gulls Simplified reduces the confusion commonly associated with gull identification, offering a more user-friendly way of observing these marvelous birds. Provides a simpler approach to gull identification Features a wealth of color photos for easy comparison among species Includes detailed captions that explain identification criteria and aging, with direct visual reinforcement above the captions Combines plumage details with a focus on size, body shape, and structural features for easy identification in the field Highlights important field marks and physical features for each gull

Reviews: Methods and Technology in Fish Biology and Fisheries published by Kluwer Academic Publishers is a book series dedicated to the publication of information on advanced, forward-looking methodologies, technologies, or perspectives in fish and is especially dedicated to relevant topics addressing global, fisheries. This series international concern in fish and fisheries. Humans continue to challenge our environments with new technologies and technological applications. The dynamic creativity of our own species often tends to place the greatest burden on our supporting ecosystems. This is especially true for aquatic networks of creeks, lakes, rivers and ocean environments. We also frequently use our conceptual powers to balance conflicting requirements and demands on nature and continue to develop new approaches and tools to provide sustainable resources as well as conserve what we hold most dear on local and global scales. This book series will provide a window into the developing dynamic among humans, aquatic ecosystems (both freshwater and marine), and the organisms that inhabit aquatic environments. There are many reasons to doubt the increasing social and economic value technology has gained over the last two centuries. Science and technology represent stages in human development. I agree with Ernst Mayer when he said in Toward a New Philosophy of Biology (1988) that "endeavors to solve all scientific problems by pure logic and refined measurements are unproductive, if not totally irrelevant.

The aim of this study was to investigate the development and diffferentiation of the adrenal glands in the grass snake during early stages of ontogenesis. After light microscopy and ultrastructural investigation, six developmental phases were distinguished in the grass snake adrenal glands. Similar developmental phases were described in pig embryos but they slightly differ from those presented above. In reptile and mammal embryos a similar direction of changes is observed in primaordia of both tissues forming adrenal glands.

Interest in marine mammals has increased dramatically in the last few decades, as evidenced by the number of books, scientific papers, and conferences devoted to these animals. Nowadays, a conference on marine mammals can attract between one and two thousand scientists from around the world. This upsurge of interest has resulted in a body of knowledge which, in many cases, has identified major conservation problems facing particular species. At the same time, this knowledge and the associated activities of environmental organisations have served to introduce marine mammals to a receptive public, to the extent that they are now perceived by many as the living icons of biodiversity conservation. Much of the impetus for the current interest in marine mammal conservation comes from "Save the Whale" campaigns started in the 1960s by environmental groups around the world, in response to declining whale populations after over-exploitation by humans. This public pressure led to an international moratorium on whaling recommended in 1972 by the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, and eventually adopted by the International Whaling Commission ten years later. This moratorium largely holds sway to this day, and further protective measures have included the delimitation of extensive areas of the Indian Ocean (1979) and Southern Ocean (1994) as whale sanctuaries.

There are more than 6000 species belonging to twenty-seven orders in the Class Mammalia. Comparative studies of this diverse and magnificent array of extant species provide valuable opportunities to formulate and test hypotheses concerning the evolution of reproduction. This is the first book to explore, in depth and breadth, the complex interrelationships that exist between patterns of mating behaviour and the evolution of mammalian reproductive anatomy and physiology. It focuses upon the role that copulatory and post-copulatory sexual selection have played during the evolution of the monotremes, marsupials and placental mammals, and examines the effects of sperm competition and cryptic female choice upon coevolution of the genitalia in the two sexes. In addition, due weight is also given to discussions of the modes of life of mammals, and to the roles played by natural selection and phylogeny in determining their reproductive traits.

The rapid development of molecular biology and genetics has led to renewed interest in embryology, comparative embryology, and studies of the relations between ontogeny and phylogeny. In fact, genes have been identified which are involved in the formation of shapes and structures, and it is becoming apparent that their primary morphological expressions are conspicuously similar in different species. The primarily identical shapes do not become diversified until advanced individualization of embryos, and it is here that it is possible to employ the knowledge of comparative embryology, the branch of science engaged in the study of the development and differentiation of tridimensional structures in different animal groups. However, comparative embryology has been neglected during the past decades, as its development has appeared to have been completed. In our opinion, the decreased interest in comparative embryology has been caused by the fact that often the time factor was not or could not be respected. In fact, in the case of embryos of wild animals even their ontogenetic age and sometimes the duration of intrauterine development are unknown.

Australia is home to many distinctive species of birds, and Aboriginal peoples have developed close alliances with them over the millennia of their custodianship of this country. Aboriginal Peoples and Birds in Australia: Historical and Cultural Relationships provides a review of the broad physical, historical and cultural relationships that Aboriginal people have had with the Australian avifauna. This book aims to raise awareness of the alternative bodies of ornithological knowledge that reside outside of Western science. It describes the role of birds as totemic ancestors and spirit beings, and explores Aboriginal bird nomenclature, foraging techniques and the use of avian materials to make food, medicine and artefacts. Through a historical perspective, this book examines the gaps between knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples and Western science, to encourage greater collaboration and acknowledgment in the future. Cultural sensitivity Readers are warned that there may be words, descriptions and terms used in this book that are culturally sensitive, and which might not normally be used in certain public or community contexts. While this information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided by the author in a historical context. This publication may also contain quotations, terms and annotations that reflect the historical attitude of the original author or that of the period in which the item was written, and may be considered inappropriate today. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this publication may contain the names and images of people who have passed away. Features Provides a historical review of the cultural roles of birds and their importance to Aboriginal peoples in Australia. Explores Indigenous knowledge, to inform future research in ornithology, anthropology and ethnoscience. Illustrated with photos taken by the author over 40 years of fieldwork.

Referred to in the Bible, pictured on the wall-friezes of ancient Egyptian tombs, and a subject of fascination for generations of scientists, the tilapias (Cichlidae: Tilapiini) have featured in the diet and culture of humankind for thousands of years. The present century has seen their spread from Africa throughout the tropics and sub-tropics, largely for food and fisheries purposes. This book attempts to pull together our knowledge of this important group - their biology and fisheries and aquaculture - in a single volume, something that has not been done comprehensively for nearly two decades. A succession of chapters by acknowledged authorities covers evolution, phylogenetic relationships and biogeography, reproductive biology, mating systems and parental care, diet, feeding and digestive physiology, environmental physiology and energetics, the role of tilapias in ecosystems, population dynamics and management, genetics, seed production, nutrition, farming, economics and marketing. The book is aimed at biologists, fisheries scientists, aquaculturists, and all interested in aquatic ecology.

Teleost fishes account for nearly half of all known vertebrate species. They have representatives in virtually all aquatic systems and an enormous variety in the ways they live. Moreover, teleost fishes support subsistence and commercial fisheries and aquaculture systems throughout the world. The second edition of this highly respected book retains the aims and structure of the first edition, emphasizing the responses of individual fish to their environment and the consequences of these responses for the population and community to which the individuals belong. Fully updated and rewritten, this new edition of Ecology of Teleost Fishes offers a thorough and integrated approach to the area and is essential reading for all students of fish biology and ecology, fisheries science and aquaculture. Fish biologists, fisheries scientists, ecologists and researchers in fish population studies, genetics and aquaculture will also find this book to be an invaluable reference source.

Morphogeny of the nasal skull was investigated in 92 embryos of 13 species of Cetacea. Compared to the original nasal capsule of land mammals, the nasal structures of Cetacea show many weighty transformations. As a result, the nostrils are translocated from the tip of the snout to the vertex of the head. Several structures of the embryonic nasal skull remain preserved even in adult cetaceans. The translocation of the nostrils to the highest point of the surfacing body is among the most perfect adaptations of cetaceans to the aquatic life habits. The morphogeny of the nasal skull suggests that all cetaceans are of common origin and form a single monophyletic order. The hitherto usual division of this order into two suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti, appears to be unsubstantiated. Rather, at least three closely related superfamilies should be distinguished within the order Cetacea, viz., Balaenopteroidea, Physeteroidea, and Delphinoidea. The results are in a

From eminent biologists like Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin to famous authors such as Rudyard Kipling in his Just So Stories, many people have asked, "Why do zebras have stripes?" There are many explanations, but until now hardly any have been seriously addressed or even tested. In Zebra Stripes, Tim Caro takes readers through a decade of painstaking fieldwork examining the significance of black-and-white striping and, after systematically dismissing every hypothesis for these markings with new data, he arrives at a surprising conclusion: zebra's markings are nature's defense against biting fly annoyance. Popular explanations for stripes range from camouflage to confusion of predators, social facilitation, and even temperature regulation. It is a challenge to test these proposals on large animals living in the wild, but using a combination of careful observations, simple field experiments, comparative information, and logic, Caro is able to weigh up, scientifically, the pros and cons of each idea. Eventually driven by experiments showing that biting flies avoid landing on striped surfaces, observations that striping is most intense where biting flies are abundant, and by his knowledge of zebras' susceptibility to biting flies and vulnerability to the diseases that flies carry Caro concludes that black-and-white stripes are an adaptation to thwart biting fly attack. Not just a tale of one scientist's quest to solve a classic mystery of biology, Zebra Stripes is also a testament to the tremendous value of longitudinal research in behavioral ecology, demonstrating how observation, experiment, and comparative research can reshape our understanding of the natural world.

As part of the SFI series, this book presents the most up-to-date research in the study of human and primate societies, including recent advances in software and algorithms for modelling societies, and it is ideal for professionals in archaeology, cultural anthropology, primatology, or computer science.

Due to their pronounced intraspecific variability and to difficulties in defining their evolutionary trends in mammalian phylogenies, peripheral blood vessels have been neglected in comparative studies. Supported by the Sonderforschungsbereich 89 (Car- diology) of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, we have reconstructed the ontoge- of the blood vessels of the tree shrew, Tupaia belangeri, on the netic morphogenesis basis of a series of developmental stages. The arteries of the lower extremity are described and discussed here. Besides describing the morphogenesis of the arteries in Tupaia, it is the aim of this study to explain the variability of the arteries of the pelvic extremity among mammals, and especially among primates including man, on the basis of a common developmen- tal pattern. This can be shown in the following example. In the popliteal region of most adult mammals the arteria poplitea profunda is situated under the musculus popliteus. In the adult Tupaia, as well as in primates, this artery is missing but, superficial to the musculus popliteus, an arteria poplitea super- ficialis exists. It seems difficult to explain such a case of "discontinuous evolution," because it is hard to imagine the position of the artery should have shifted through the muscle. The present investigation and the literature show that early in the embryonic development of a primate, man, and of Tupaia, both the arteria poplitea profunda and the arteria poplitea superficialis are present.

This work is a brief review of the pre- and postnatal development in the North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana) presented in two volumes. Volume I summarizes gametes and fertilization, blastocyst formation and early organogenesis, fetal membranes and placentation, parturition and migration to the pouch, general postnatal growth and development, and histogenesis/organogenesis of the integument, musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, blood and blood forming organs, lymphatic organs, nervous system, eye, and ear. Volume II summarizes the histogenesis/organogenesis of the respiratory, digestive, urinary, male and female reproductive and classical endocrine systems.

This work is a brief review of the pre- and postnatal development in the North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana) presented in two volumes. Volume I summarizes gametes and fertilization, blastocyst formationan and early organogenesis, fetal membranes and placentation, parturition and migration to the pouch, general postnatal growth and development, and histogenesis/organogenesis of the integument, musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, blood and blood forming organs, lymphatic organs, nervous system, eye, and ear. Volume II summarizes the histogenesis/organogenesis of the respiratory, digestive, urinary, male and female reproductive and classical endocrine systems.

Only five years ago, nobody in his right mind would have consid ered publishing a book on reeler as a model for brain develop ment. Although this interesting mutation has been with us for half a century, it is fair to say that, in spite of a wave of enthusiasm in the late sixties and early seventies, generated primarily by Sidman, Caviness and colleagues, studies of reeler mice fell pro gressively out of fashion during the next two decades. All that changed almost overnight when the cloning of the reeler gene, dubbed reelin, was reported in Tom Curran's laboratory in 1995. The fact that the same gene was identified at the same time independently by two other groups using positional cloning sug gested strongly that reelin was the right candidate. Although the key experiments of transgenic rescue have not been made (and perhaps will never be), the equation "reeler is reelin" has been established beyond reasonable doubt, as alterations of the reelin gene and/or its expression have been found in at least five alleles of reeler and in the mutation Shaking Rat Kawasaki (SRK), an ortholog of reeler."

1.1 Overview The precise knowledge of the three-dimensional (3-D) assembly of biological structures is still in its origin. As an example, a widely accepted concept and common belief of the structure of the airway network oflung is that of a regular, dichotomous branching pattern, also known as the trumpet model. This model, first introduced by Weibel in 1963, is often used in clinical and physiological applications. However, if this concept of dichotomy is used to model lung, a shape is obtained that is quite different from a real lung. As a matter of fact, many previous quantitative morphological and stereological investigations of lung did not concentrate on the spatial aspect of lung morphology but delivered data in a more statistical fashion. Accordingly, the functional behavior predicted by such a model becomes questionable and indeed, the morphometrically predicted lung capacity exceeds the physiological required capacity by a factor of 1.3 up to a factor of2. This problem has also been termed a paradox, as discussed by Weibel in 1983. In the rare cases where descriptive models of the mammalian bronchial tree exist, monopodial in small mammals, dichotomous in larger ones, the understanding of the historical and/or functional reasons for size-related changes in the general design is not explainable. This investigation is trying to overcome this gap by computer modeling and functional simulation.