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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Zoology & animal sciences > Vertebrates
This second volume in the series covers such topics as DNA fingerprinting of fishes, the cytochromes P450 in fish, the molecular biology of bacterial fish diseases, and new insights into the origins of the diversity and distribution of fish antifreeze proteins. The book will be of great value to fisheries scientists, animal biochemists, physiologists and endocrinologists, and aquaculturists. It will provide researchers and students alike with a pertinent information source from theoretical and experimental angles.
This book summarizes the key adaptations enabling extremophile fishes to survive under harsh environmental conditions. It reviews the most recent research on acidic, Antarctic, cave, desert, hypersaline, hypoxic, temporary, and fast-flowing habitats, as well as naturally and anthropogenically toxic waters, while pointing out generalities that are evident across different study systems. Knowledge of the different adaptations that allow fish to cope with stressful environmental conditions furthers our understanding of basic physiological, ecological, and evolutionary principles. In several cases, evidence is provided for how the adaptation to extreme environments promotes the emergence of new species. Furthermore, a link is made to conservation biology, and how human activities have exacerbated existing extreme environments and created new ones. The book concludes with a discussion of major open questions in our understanding of the ecology and evolution of life in extreme environments.
Elwyn Simons has held professional appointments at Yale University (1960-1977), Duke University (1977-present), and was the Director of the Duke Primate Center (1977-1991) and Scientific Director (1991-2001). He has authored nearly 300 scientific publications and is the holder of many high honors. He is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, as well as many other professional associations. He was elected a Knight of the National Order by the government of Madagascar and has been the recipient of many awards including the prestigious Charles R. Darwin Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. For nearly a half century, Dr. Simons has dominated the study of primate evolution. The volume summarizes the current state of knowledge in many aspects of primate and human evolution that have been studied by Simons and his colleagues and place it in a broader paleontological and historical perspective. Elwyn Simons: A Search for Origins contains the results of new research and reviews of many of the critical issues in primate and human evolution during the last half of the twentieth century as well as aspects of African paleontology and primate conservation in Madagascar. The authors are an extremely distinguished group of international authorities on all aspects of primate and human evolution and primate behavior. Although linked primarily by their connection to Simons? own career, the chapters include a wide range of important new works that are valuable contributions to the field of physical anthropology and paleontology and are certain to be widely cited and used in teaching.Several of the papers (Simons et al., Wing et al., Seiffert et al., Gingerich, O?Conner) are broad reviews of the history of research and discoveries in the fossil deposits of the Fayum, Egypt that have formed the background of our understanding of anthropoid evolution for over a century and will be important researchers for students and researchers in primate evolution and African paleontology. Similarly, broad reviews of the history of primate paleontology and human evolution (Rasmussen, Pilbeam, Wood; Sussman and Hart) will be essential reading in courses in primate and human evolution as well as the history of physical anthropology. Other authors describe new research results on early anthropoid fossils from Egypt (Kay and Simons) Tanzania (Stevens) and Myanmar (Gunnell and Ciochon). The chapter by John Oakley, Professor of Law at the University of California addresses the challenges to the teaching of evolution in schools- both public and universities world wide. Another major focus of several chapters are the primates of Madagascar. Two chapters are reviews of the extraordinary radiation of fossil lemurs (Godfrey et al, Jungers et al.). Two review the behavior and conservation of living lemurs (Taylor and Wright) and the chapter by Tattersall bridges the two major sections of the book by discussing about the biogeographic history of Malagasy mammals.
This revised edition will continue to serve as the most complete
and up-to-date guide to the use of the avian embryo in studies of
vertebrate development. It will include new approaches to analysis
of the chick genome, gene knock-out studies using RNA interference,
morpholinos, and other cutting edge techniques. As with the
original edition, emphasis has been placed on providing practical
guidance, highlighting potentials and pitfalls of all key cell
biological and embryological techniques.
Nonhuman primates have played critical roles in biomedical research, and they are among the few animals whose use in research continues to increase. The scienti?c value of nonhuman primates derives from their close phylogenetic proximity to man and their consequent anatomic, physiologic, and genetic similarities to man. Only nonhuman primates can provide adequate models for many complex physiological and disease processes of humans. The baboon is a relative newcomer to the repertoire of nonhuman primates used in biomedical research. However, in less than 50 years since its ?rst use in the U. S. , it has become one of the most popular laboratory primate species. It is larger than the other widely used monkey species, making it advantageous for many types of experiments and technological developments. It is extraordinarily hardy and highly fecund in captivity. It closely resembles humans in a variety of physiological and disease processes, such as cholesterol metabolism, early stages of atherosclerosis, and alcoholic liver disease. Its chromosomes closely resemble those of humans, and many genes of the two species lie in the same chromosomal order. Among all primates, baboons are the most widely used models for the genetics of susceptibility to complex diseases and they are the ?rst nonhuman primate for which a framework genetic linkage map was established. In addition, the baboon genome is currently being sequenced, and as a result the utility of this species for biomedical research will be dramatically increased.
This book focuses on the use of molecular tools to study small populations of rare and endangered mammals, and presents case studies that apply an evolutionary framework to address innovative questions in the emerging field of mammalian conservation genomics using a highly diverse set of novel molecular tools. Novel and more precise molecular technologies now allow experts in the field of mammology to interpret data in a more contextual and empirical fashion and to better describe the evolutionary and ecological processes that are responsible for the patterns they observe. The book also demonstrates how recent advances in genetic/genomic technologies have been applied to assess the impact of environmental/anthropogenic changes on the health of small populations of mammals. It examines a range of issues in the field of mammalian conservation genomics, such as the role that the genetic diversity of the immune system plays in disease protection and local adaptation; the use of noninvasive techniques and genomic banks as a resource for monitoring and restoring populations; the structuring of population by physical barriers; and genetic diversity. Further, by integrating research from a variety of areas - including population genetics, molecular ecology, systematics, and evolutionary and conservation biology - it enables readers to gain a deeper understanding of the conservation biology of mammals that are at increasing risk of extinction at local, regional and global scales. As such, it offers a unique resource for a broad readership interested in the conservation biology of mammals and conservation management strategies to better preserve biodiversity.
Denis Noble Nearly a decade after completion of the first draft of the entire Human Genome sequence we are in a better position to assess the nature and the consequences of that heroic achievement, which can be seen as the culmination of the molecular biological revolution of the second half of the twentieth century. The achievement itself was celebrated at the highest levels (President and Prime Minister) on both sides of the Atlantic, and rightly so. DNA sequencing has become sufficiently c- mon now, even to the extent of being used in law courts, that it is easy to forget how technically difficult it was and how cleverly the sequencing teams solved those problems in the exciting race to finish by the turn of the century [1, 2]. The fanfares were misplaced, however, in an important respect. The metaphors used to describe the project and its biological significance gave the impression to the public at large, and to many scientists themselves, that this sequence would reveal the secrets of life. DNA had already been likened to a computer program [3]. The "genetic program" for life was therefore to be found in those sequences: A kind of map that had simply to be unfolded during development. The even more colo- ful "book of life" metaphor gave the promise that reading that book would lead to a veritable outpouring of new cures for diseases, hundreds of new drug targets, and a brave new world of medicine.
Recently, there has been an increased interest in research on personality, temperament, and behavioral syndromes (henceforth to be referred to as personality) in nonhuman primates and other animals. This follows, in part, from a general interest in the subject matter and the realization that individual differences, once consigned to error terms in statistical analyses, are potentially important predictors, moderators, and mediators of a wide variety of outcomes ranging from the results of experiments to health to enrichment programs. Unfortunately, while there is a burgeoning interest in the subject matter, findings have been reported in a diverse number of journals and most of the methodological and statistical approaches were developed in research on human personality. The proposed volume seeks to gather submissions from a variety of specialists in research on individual differences in primate temperament, personality, or behavioral syndromes. We anticipate that chapters will cover several areas. The first part of this edited volume will focus on methodological considerations including the advantages and disadvantages of different means of assessing these constructs in primates and introduce some statistical approaches that have typically been the domain of human personality research. Another part of this edited volume will focus on present findings including the physiological and genetic bases of personality dimensions in primates; the relationship between personality and age; how personality may moderate or impact various outcomes including behavior, health, and well-being in captive and non-captive environments. For the third part of the volume we hope to obtain summaries of the existing work of the authors on the evolutionary important of personality dimensions and guideposts for future directions in this new and exciting area of research."
This book provides new insights into the social behavior of bats - one of the most fascinating topics currently being pursued by researchers. After an introduction reviewing the history of research in bat behavioral ecology, it covers three major themes: bat sociality per se (Part I), bat communication (Part II), and ecological aspects (Part III). Part I offers a concise overview of the social organization and systems of bats, introducing readers to the complexity and dynamics of group structures. Part II is devoted to the innovative field of social communication, focusing on bat songs, dialects and calls. Part III discusses the influence of the environment on bat behavior, particularly with regard to roosting and foraging. This book addresses the needs of researchers working in behavioral sciences, evolution and ecology.
Techniques and theory for processing otoliths from tropical marine fish have developed only recently due to an historic misconception that these organisms could not be aged. Otoliths are the most commonly used structures from which daily, seasonal or annual records of a fish's environmental history are inferred, and are also used as indicators of migration patterns, home range, spatial distribution, stock structure and life history events. A large proportion of projects undertaken on tropical marine organisms involve removal and processing of calcified structures such as otoliths, statoliths or vertebrae to retrieve biological, biochemical or genetic information. Current techniques and principles have evolved rapidly and are under constant modification and these differ among laboratories, and more particularly among species and within life history stages. Tropical fish otoliths: Information for assessment, management and ecology is a comprehensive description of the current status of knowledge about otoliths in the tropics. This book has contributions from leading experts in the field, encompassing a tropical perspective on daily and annual ageing in fish and invertebrates, microchemistry, interpreting otolith microstructure and using it to back-calculate life history events, and includes a treatise on the significance of validating periodicity in otoliths.
The Special Birds of Angola is the first field guide dedicated to Angolan birds. It presents general information and photographs of more than 70 of Angola's most special birds, including all endemics and near-endemics. Distinct subspecies that may deserve specific status are also dealt with. English and Portuguese text are placed in adjacent columns, to serve both Angolan and international birdwatchers, students of ornithology and ornithologists. Besides the species accounts, other sections include general information on Angolan geography, climate, habitats, conservation issues and ornithological history, a section on top birding sites, and a complete annotated list of all endemic and near-endemic birds.
Normative Biology, Husbandry, and Models, the third volume in the four volume set, The Mouse in Biomedical Research, encompasses 23 chapters whose contents provide a broad overview on the laboratory mouse's normative biology, husbandry, and its use as a model in biomedical research. This consists of chapters on behavior, physiology, reproductive physiology, anatomy, endocrinology, hematology, and clinical chemistry. Other chapters cover management, as well as nutrition, gnotobiotics and disease surveillance. There are also individual chapters describing the mouse as a model for the study of aging, eye research, neurodegenerative diseases, convulsive disorders, diabetes, and cardiovascular and skin diseases. Chapters on imaging techniques and the use of the mouse in assays of biological products are also included.
This comprehensive introductory text integrates evolutionary, ecological, and demographic perspectives with new results from field studies and contemporary noninvasive molecular and hormonal techniques to understand how different primates behave and the significance of these insights for primate conservation. Each chapter is organized around the major research themes in the field, with Strier emphasizing the interplay between theory, observations, and conservation issues. Examples are drawn from the "classic" primate field studies as well as more recent studies, including many previously neglected species, to illustrate the vast behavioral variation that exists across the primate order. Primate Behavioral Ecology 6th Edition integrates the impacts of anthropogenic activities on primate populations, including zoonotic disease and climate change, and considers the importance of behavioral flexibility for primate conservation. This fully updated new edition brings exciting new methods, theoretical perspectives, and discoveries together to provide an incomparable overview of the field of primate behavioral ecology and its applications to primate conservation. It is considered to be a "must read" for all students interested in primates.
Primate Craniofacial Function and Biology is an integrative volume with broad coverage of current research on primate craniofacial biology and function. Topic headings include: the mammalian perspective on primate craniofacial form and function, allometric and comparative morphological studies of primate heads, in vivo research on primate mastication, modeling of the primate masticatory apparatus, primate dental form and function, and palaeoanthropologic studies of primate skulls. Additionally, the volume includes introductory chapters discussing how primatologists study adaptations in primates and a discussion of in vivo approaches for studying primate performance. At present, there are no texts with a similar focus on primate craniofacial biology and no sources that approach this topic from such a wide range of research perspectives. This breadth of research covered by leaders in their respective fields make this volume a unique and innovative contribution to biological anthropology.
This book offers a new explanation for the development of flight in mammals and offers detailed morphological descriptions of mammals with flapping flight. The skeletomuscular apparatus of the shoulder girdle and forelimbs of tree shrews, flying lemurs and bats is described in detail. Special attention is paid to the recognition of peculiar features of the skeleton and joints. For the basic locomotor patterns of flying lemurs and bats, the kinematic models of the shoulder girdle elements are developed. The most important locomotor postures of these animals are analyzed by means of statics. The key structural characters of the shoulder girdle and forelimbs of flying lemurs and bats, the formation of which provided transition of mammals from terrestrial locomotion to gliding and then, to flapping flight, are recognized. The concept is proposed that preadaptations preceding the acquisition of flapping flight could have come from widely sprawled forelimb posture while gliding from tree to tree and running up the thick trunks. It is shown that flying lemur is an adequate morphofunctional model for an ancestral stage of bats. The evolutionary ecomorphological scenario describing probable transformational stages of typical parasagittal limbs of chiropteran ancestors into wings is developed.
The concept of this book arises from a symposium entitled "Human-Macaque Interactions: Traditional and Modern Perspectives on Cooperation and Conflict " organized at the 23rd Congress of the International Primatological Society, that was held in Kyoto in September 2010. The symposium highlighted the many aspects of human-macaque relations and some of the participants were invited to contribute to this volume. The volume will include about 11 chapters by a variety of international authors and some excerpts from published literature that illustrate cultural notions of macaques. Contributions from invited authors will engage with four main perspectives - traditional views of macaques, cooperative relationships between humans and macaques, current scenarios of human-macaque conflict, and how living with and beside humans has affected macaques. Authors will address these concerns through their research findings and reviews of their work on the Asian, and the lone African, macaques.
The first in two decades to exclusively integrate physiological and
biomechanical studies of fish locomotion, feeding and breathing,
making this book both comprehensive and unique. This book reviews
and integrates recent developments in research on fish
biomechanics, with particular emphasis on experimental results
derived from the application of innovative new technologies to this
area of research, such as high-speed video, sonomicrometry and
digital imaging of flow fields. The collective chapters, written by
leaders in the field, provide a multidisciplinary view and
synthesis of the latest information on feeding mechanics, breathing
mechanics, sensory systems, stability and maueverability, skeletal
systems, muscle structure and performance, and hydrodynamics of
steady and burst swimming, including riverine passage of migratory
species.
Return to the River will describe a new ecosystem-based approach to
the restoration of salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia
River, once one of the most productive river basins for anadromous
salmonids on the west coast of North America. The approach of this
work has broad applicability to all recovery efforts throughout the
northern hemisphere and general applicability to fisheries and
aquatic restoration efforts throughout the world.
Reconstructing the paleobiology of fossil non-human primates, this book is intended as an exposition of non-human primate evolution that includes information about evolutionary theory and processes, paleobiology, paleoenvironment, how fossils are formed, how fossils illustrate evolutionary processes, the reconstruction of life from fossils, the formation of the primate fossil record, functional anatomy, and the genetic bases of anatomy. Throughout, the emphasis of the book is on the biology of fossil primates, not their taxonomic classification or systematics, or formal species descriptions. The author draws detailed pictures of the paleoenvironment of fossil primates, including contemporary animals and plants, and ancient primate communities, emphasizing our ability to reconstruct lifeways from fragmentary bones and teeth, using functional anatomy, stable isotopes from enamel and collagen, and high resolution CT-scans of the cranium. Fossil Primates will be essential reading for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in evolutionary anthropology, primatology and vertebrate paleobiology. |
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