My interest in the behaviour and movements of birds of arid and semi-arid ecosystems began when my wife, Sue Milton, and I were Roy Siegfried, Director, at that time, of the Percy approached by Prof. FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, to set up a project to investigate granivory in the South African Karoo. Sue and I spent some time finding a suitable study site, setting up accommodations and an automatic weather station at Tierberg, in the southern Karoo near the village of Prince Albert, and planning projects. Among our first projects was a transect where we noted plant phe nology, measured seed densities on the soil surface, counted birds, observed ant activity, measured soil surface temperatures and col lected whatever climate data we could at 40 sites along a 200-km oval route. Along the way, we became interested in the marked presence and absence of birds at certain sites - abundant birds one day, and very few birds at the same site a month later. Subsequent counts along fixed transects through shrublands confirmed that a number of bird species were highly nomadic over short and long distances, locally and regionally, leading to speculation on how widespread these movements were in the arid ecosystems of the world."

The book will cover the entire range of the Painted Stork--beyond its stronghold in India and Sri Lanka to other countries--E Asia as well. For the sake of comparison, relevant information will be included about the other species of storks--both solitary as well as colonial, of Asia, as well as those in other parts of the world. Certainly plenty of references will be made about the work done on the American Wood Stork.

Studies are underway in order to better understand the role of the monsoon rains on the nesting pattern of Painted Stork, besides attempting a review of the global status of the species. The former is likely to be of interest in augmenting our understanding about how global climate change is going to affect birds across India and the second is likely to raise interesting points about the distribution of species and their ranges. Both these studies will be carried through 2009 and should hopefully be included in the proposed book.

Naturally, the focused interest in field research on the Painted Stork has resulted in accumulation of considerable information on this particular species, which is beyond the information contained on some standard Indian and international works and ornithological texts.

The author hopes to include the entire spread of information of this species--from its systematics, evolution, distribution, ecology to its role in human culture as well as its association with mythologies. In other words, topics have not been restricted to the areas of the author s research but have spilled over into areas of anthropology, ecology, conservation, etc. "

Things have changed. In 1969 when the Convention for the Conservation of the Vicuna was drafted, in an attempt to save the vicuna from its tumbling decline towards extinction, both the science and the philosophy of wildlife conservation were radically different. It is thus a tribute to the prescience of those involved at the time that the rescue plan had, even through the harsh lens of hindsight, a d- tinctly Twenty First Century flavour. After all, it was predicated on the expectation that if vicuna could be saved, they would one day become a valued asset, generating revenue for the human communities that fostered their survival. Embodied in this aspiration are the main structures of modern biodiversity conservation - not only is it to be underpinned by science, but that science should be of both the natural and the social genres, woven into inter-disciplinarity, and thereby taking heed of e- nomics, governance, ownership and the like, alongside biology. In addition, it should include, as a major strut, the human dimension, taking account of the affected constituencies with their varied stakes in alternative outcomes. This c- temporary framework for thinking about biodiversity conservation is inseparable from such wider, and inherently political, notions as community-based conser- tion and ultimately sustainable use.

The function of vertebrate hearing is served by a surprising variety of sensory structures in the different groups of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. This book discusses the origin, specialization, and functional properties of sensory hair cells, beginning with environmental constraints on acoustic systems and addressing in detail the evolutionary history behind modern structure and function in the vertebrate ear. Taking a comparative approach, chapters are devoted to each of the vertebrate groups, outlining the transition to land existence and the further parallel and independent adaptations of amniotic groups living in air. The volume explores in depth the specific properties of hair cells that allowed them to become sensitive to sound and capable of analyzing sounds into their respective frequency components. Evolution of the Vertebrate Auditory System is directed to a broad audience of biologists and clinicians, from the level of advanced undergraduate students to professionals interested in learning more about the evolution, structure, and function of the ear.

How migratory birds can navigate home from their wintering grounds to their breeding sites over hundreds and thousands of kilometres has been an admired mystery over more than a century. Profound advances towards a solution of this problem have been achieved with a model bird, the homing pigeon. This monograph summarizes our current knowledge about pigeon homing, about the birds' application of a sun compass and a magnetic compass, of a visual topographical map within a familiar area and -- most surprisingly -- of an olfactory map using atmospheric chemosignals as indicators of position in distant unfamiliar areas.

Ascidians are the invertebrate group that gave rise to vertebrates, thus the biology of ascidians provides an essential key to understanding both invertebrates and vertebrates. This book is the first to cover all areas of ascidian biology, including development, evolution, biologically active substances, heavy metal accumulation, asexual reproduction, self-defense mechanisms, neuroscience, allorecognition mechanisms, comparative immunology, taxonomy, ecology, genome science, and food science. The more than 65 articles that make up the collection were contributed by leading ascidiologists from Europe, North America, and Asia who participated in the First International Symposium on the Biology of Ascidians, held in June 2000 in Sapporo, Japan. For scientists and students alike, the book is an invaluable source of information from the latest, most comprehensive studies of ascidian biology.

Coral Reef Fishes is the successor of "The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs." This new edition includes provocative reviews covering the major areas of reef fish ecology. Concerns about the future health of coral reefs, and recognition that reefs and their fishes are economically important components of the coastal oceans of many tropical nations, have led to enormous growth in research directed at reef fishes. Coral Reef Fishes is much more than a simple revision of the earlier volume; it is a companion that supports and extends the earlier work. The included syntheses provide readers with the current highlights in this exciting science.
Key Features
* An up-to-date review of key research areas in reef fish ecology, with a bibliography including hundreds of citations, most from the last decade
* Authoritative, up-to-date, provocative chapters written to suggest future research priorities
* An important companion and successor to "The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs"
* Includes discussions of regulation of fish populations, dispersal or site fidelity of larval reef fishes, sensory and motor capabilities of reef fish larvae, and complexities of management of reef species and communities

A summary of much of the experimental work on the spatial ecology of small mammals. This field has entered an exciting stage with such new techniques as GIS and systems modeling becoming available. Leading contributors describe and analyze the most well-known case studies and provide new insights into how landscape patterns and processes have had an impact on small mammals and how small mammals have, in turn, affected landscape structure and composition.

Across the globe, about 250 species of rodents spend most of their lives in safe and stable, but dark, oxygen-poor and carbon dioxide-rich burrows, deprived of most of the sensory cues available aboveground. They have become fully specialized for a unique way of life in which foraging and breeding take place underground. The systematic research into adaptations of subterranean dwellers is only about two decades old, but it has rapidly intensified within the last few years, bringing insight into many aspects of the biology and evolution at different organization levels.

Subterranean Rodents presents achievements from the last years of research on these rodents, divided into five sections: ecophysiology; sensory ecology; life histories, behavioural ecology and demography; environmental and economical impact; molecular ecology and evolution. It is a must for all researchers working in this field and will be of interest to zoologists, physiologists, morphologists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists.

In this book there are entire chapters devoted to the most widely used bird counting techniques, and attempts to amalgamate other counting methodologies into major groups were made. Examples of the use of methods are provided wherever possible and the relative value of various approaches for answering specific questions is also addressed.
Key Features
* A newly revised edition of the immensely successful Bird Census Techniques
* An entirely new chapter covering the census methods recommended for tropical habitats
* Provides a concise guide to various census techniques and their opportunities and pitfalls

Biologists and anthropologists in Japan have played a crucial role in the development of primatology as a scientific discipline. Publication of Primate Origins of Human Cognition and Behavior under the editorship of Tetsuro Matsuzawa reaffirms the pervasive and creative role played by the intellectual descendants of Kinji Imanishi and Junichiro Itani in the fields of behavioral ecology, psychology, and cognitive science. Matsuzawa and his colleagues-humans and other primate partners- explore a broad range of issues including the phylogeny of perception and cognition; the origin of human speech; learning and memory; recognition of self, others, and species; society and social interaction; and culture. With data from field and laboratory studies of more than 90 primate species and of more than 50 years of long-term research, the intellectual breadth represented in this volume makes it a major contribution to comparative cognitive science and to current views on the origin of the mind and behavior of humans.

Martens and Fishers (Martes) in Human-Altered Environments: An International Perspective examines the conditions where humans and martens are compatible and incompatible, and promotes land use practices that allow Martes to be representatively distributed and viable.

All Martes have been documented to use forested habitats and 6 species (excluding the stone marten) are generally considered to require complex mid- to late-successional forests throughout much of their geographic ranges. All species in the genus require complex horizontal and vertical structure to provide escape cover protection from predators, habitat for their prey, access to food resources, and protection from the elements. Martens and the fisher have high metabolic rates, have large spatial requirements, have high surface area to volume ratios for animals that often inhabit high latitudes, and often require among the largest home range areas per unit body weight of any group of mammals. Resulting from these unique life history characteristics, this genus is particularly sensitive to human influences on their habitats, including habitat loss, stand-scale simplification of forest structure via some forms of logging, and landscape-scale effects of habitat fragmentation. Given their strong associations with structural complexity in forests, martens and the fisher are often considered as useful barometers of forest health and have been used as ecological indicators, flagship, and umbrella species in different parts of the world. Thus, efforts to successfully conserve and manage martens and fishers are associated with the ecological fates of other forest dependent species and can greatly influence ecosystem integrity within forests that are increasingly shared among wildlife and humans.

We have made great strides in our fundamental understanding of how animals with these unique life history traits perceive and utilize habitats, respond to habitat change, and how their populations function and perform under different forms of human management and mismanagement. This knowledge enhances our basic understanding of all species of Martes and will help us to achieve the goal of conserving viable populations and representative distributions of the world's Martes, their habitats, and associated ecological communities in our new millennium.

At the beginning of the 20th century, scientists and laymen alike appear to have been peculiarly confident that the world had been thoroughly explored and most of its creatures named and documented. Few, if any, large animals still awaited discovery. The scientific unveiling of the giraffe-like okapi in 1901 was one of the earliest of this century's discoveries to shake this belief. But many consider it to be the last great find, and view the rediscovery of extinct animals to be as likely as the alchemic conversion of iron into gold. Since 1901, however, a whole host of new and rediscovered creatures has turned up to contradict these views-including a giant 7-ft-long forest hog from Africa, a colossal Indonesian monitor lizard called the Komodo dragon, the lobe-finned coelacanth fish resurrected from 64 million years of supposed extinction, the incredible megamouth shark, deep-sea tube-dwelling worms over 8 ft tall with huge red tentacles resembling strange alien flowers, plus the extraordinary Vu Quang ox and giant barking deer both discovered in Vietnam during the 1990s. And discoveries continue to be made today, in the 21st century-ranging diversely and dramatically from giant peccaries and zombie worms to an entire new suborder of insects known as the gladiators, a veritable jungle of new monkeys, and an extraordinary chameleonesque snake. And nor can we possibly forget the sensational rediscovery in North America of the near-legendary, supposedly long-extinct ivory-billed woodpecker. The Encyclopaedia of New and Rediscovered Animals is the third, wholly-updated edition of the very first-and still the definitive-book to be devoted to the spectacular zoological discoveries and equally amazing rediscoveries of the 20th century, which attracted international acclaim and exemplary reviews following its original publication in 1993 (when it was entitled The Lost Ark), and its subsequent republication in 2002 as an updated, greatly-expanded second edition (entitled The New Zoo). This latest edition also contains an in-depth survey of the 21st century's most celebrated discoveries and rediscoveries made during its first decade, plus an exhaustive, significantly-increased bibliography, as well as the only comprehensive collection of colour and b/w illustrations of these spectacular animal species ever published (including new, previously-unpublished photographs, and several exclusive, specially-commissioned full-colour paintings). Unquestionably, The Encyclopaedia of New and Rediscovered Animals provides good reason indeed for believing that our world continues to holds many more animal surprises in store for future revelation.

"Evidence bases for conservation are becoming increasingly important to convince landowners and politicians of the need to take action in defence of species and habitats all around the world. A valuable feature of this book is its emphasis on collecting and analysing such essential information." Trevor Beebee, Phyllomedusa Amphibians are among the most globally endangered groups of vertebrates with more than one-third of species being assessed as declining or threatened. Often, amphibian declines can be attributed to a suite of interacting factors, many of which are human in origin, but further information is needed to elaborate the key causes and to discover ways of reversing declines. Robust surveys provide vital ecological and biological data on amphibian populations, and underpin the decisions made to protect species and reverse their declines. Ongoing monitoring informs land managers and decision makers about whether they are taking the right action. This book is designed to help you carry out amphibian surveying and monitoring so that the results of your surveys can be used effectively. Part 1 introduces amphibians: order Anura (frogs and toads); Caudata (newts and salamanders); and order Gymnophonia (caecilians). Part 2 is essential reading before you start surveying. It introduces the different types of survey and monitoring programmes and discusses survey aims and resources. It contains chapters on collecting and handling survey data; survey permissions and licencing; health and safety, and biosecurity; and handling amphibians. Part 3 discusses everything you need to know during your survey, and provides a detailed look at amphibian survey methods. Part 4 covers presenting and using your survey's data to best effect. A useful resources section is also provided, with example survey forms and details of additional information resources that will optimize the impacts of your surveys. Key amphibian survey techniques are discussed with reference to published examples of successful surveys - so you'll be able to choose what's right for your situation. Tips on optimizing your survey effort and handling amphibians in the field are also included. Whether carrying out a student expedition project or seeking information to support the management of a protected area, this book contains essential advice from an amphibian ecologist who has encountered the same sorts of decisions you'll face when planning your surveys.

"Evidence bases for conservation are becoming increasingly important to convince landowners and politicians of the need to take action in defence of species and habitats all around the world. A valuable feature of this book is its emphasis on collecting and analysing such essential information." Trevor Beebee, Phyllomedusa Amphibians are among the most globally endangered groups of vertebrates with more than one-third of species being assessed as declining or threatened. Often, amphibian declines can be attributed to a suite of interacting factors, many of which are human in origin, but further information is needed to elaborate the key causes and to discover ways of reversing declines. Robust surveys provide vital ecological and biological data on amphibian populations, and underpin the decisions made to protect species and reverse their declines. Ongoing monitoring informs land managers and decision makers about whether they are taking the right action. This book is designed to help you carry out amphibian surveying and monitoring so that the results of your surveys can be used effectively. Part 1 introduces amphibians: order Anura (frogs and toads); Caudata (newts and salamanders); and order Gymnophonia (caecilians). Part 2 is essential reading before you start surveying. It introduces the different types of survey and monitoring programmes and discusses survey aims and resources. It contains chapters on collecting and handling survey data; survey permissions and licencing; health and safety, and biosecurity; and handling amphibians. Part 3 discusses everything you need to know during your survey, and provides a detailed look at amphibian survey methods. Part 4 covers presenting and using your survey's data to best effect. A useful resources section is also provided, with example survey forms and details of additional information resources that will optimize the impacts of your surveys. Key amphibian survey techniques are discussed with reference to published examples of successful surveys - so you'll be able to choose what's right for your situation. Tips on optimizing your survey effort and handling amphibians in the field are also included. Whether carrying out a student expedition project or seeking information to support the management of a protected area, this book contains essential advice from an amphibian ecologist who has encountered the same sorts of decisions you'll face when planning your surveys.

Salvelinus species are one of the most thoroughly studied groups of fishes. Many reasons explain this intense interest in charr biology. Charrs have a Holarctic distribution encompassing many Asian, North American, and European countries and occupy diverse marine and freshwater environments. Furthermore, the current distribution of charr includes areas that were directly influenced by climate and topographic change associated with the many Pleistocene glaciations. Undoubtedly, these conditions have promoted much of the tremendous morphological, ecological, and genetic variability and plasticity within Salvelinus species and they make charr very good models to study evolutionary processes 'in action'. Many charr species also exhibit demographic characteristics such as slow growth, late maturity, and life in extreme environments, that may increase their susceptibility to extinction from habitat changes and overexploitation, especially in depauperate aquatic habitats. This vulnerability makes understanding their biology of great relevance to biodiversity and conservation. Finally, charr are of great cultural, commercial, and recreational significance to many communities, and their intimate linkage with human societies has stimulated much interest in this enigmatic genus. This volume comprises a selection of papers presented at the fourth International Charr Symposium held in Trois-RiviA]res (QuA(c)bec, Canada), from 26 June to 1 July 2000. It includes 31 papers on ecological interactions and behaviour, trophic polymorphism, movement and migration, ecophysiology and evolutionary genetics, ecological parasitology, environmental stress and conservation. These studies cannot cover all recentdevelopments in the ecology, behaviour and conservation of Salvelinus species, but collecting them into a special volume should bring attention to current research on this important genus and stimulate further work on Salvelinus species.

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.

The process whereby a single cell, the fertilized egg, develops into an adult has fascinated for centuries. Great progress in understanding that process, h- ever, has been made in the last two decades, when the techniques of molecular biology have become available to developmental biologists. By applying these techniques, the exact nature of many of the interactions responsible for forming the body pattern are now being revealed in detail. Such studies are a large, and it seems ever-expanding, part of most life-science groups. It is at newcomers to this field that this book is primarily aimed. A number of different plants and animals serve as common model org- isms for developmental studies. In Molecular Methods in Developmental Bi- ogy: Xenopus and Zebrafish, a range of the molecular methods applicable to two of these organisms are described, these are the South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, and the zebrafish, Brachydanio rerio. The embryos of both of these species develop rapidly and externally, making them particularly suited to investigations of early vertebrate development. However, both Xenopus and zebrafish have their own advantages and disadvantages. Xenopus have large, robust embryos that can be manipulated surgically with ease, but their pseudotetraploidy and long generation time make them unsuitable candidates for genetics. This disadvantage may soon be overcome by using the diploid Xenopus tropicalis, and early experiments are already underway. The transp- ent embryos of zebrafish render them well-suited for in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, and good for observing mutations in genetic screens.

This volume is the second in the planned coverage of the neurochemical circuitry of the primate central nervous system. While this volume contains only two chapters, their topics and the extraordinarily comprehensive coverage with which the authors have dealt with their topics, will nevertheless contribute equal amounts of knowledge, wisdom, and opportunities for future research extensions as have every volume in this unique series. As such, these chapters extend the goals of this primate series to develop a broad coverage of human and non-human primate chemical neuroanatomic details in a volume which makes clear the known and desirable appreciation for differences between and among subsets of primate brains.
The first chapter covers the primate thalamus with equal emphases on new world, old world, pro-simian and human anatomic details and their differences. The second undertakes a comparably comprehensive examination of one of the most intensively studied regions of the primate brain, namely the primate visual cortex. While much has been studied, both chapters also reveal how much remains for future efforts in these enormously important regions which are the archetypes of primate sub-cortical and cortical function.

This completey revised and updated edition of Bacterial Fish Pathogens is a comprehensive discussion of the biological aspects of the bacterial taxa which cause disease in fish. Since the 3rd edition was published in 1999, much has changed in the control of disease of farmes and wild fish. New pathogens such as Pasteurella skyensis have been described, and antimicrobial compounds for the control of disease have been replaced by alternative methods, such as probiotics. Consideration is given to all the bacterial taxa which have at some time been reported as fish pathogens, whether they are secondary invaders of already damaged tissues or serious, primary pathogens.

Shark conservation and management is often hindered by a lack of basic biological information for most species. An understanding of the age structure and growth dynamics of a population is important for effective conservation and management because this information is often utilized for determination of natural mortality and longevity. Ultimately age and growth information is used for calculation of vital rates in population models. Over the last few years there have been advances in the quantitative study of age and growth of chondrichthyan fishes. Novel approaches to ageing of various chondrichthyan fishes continue to arise. This volume is a collection of papers on several of these topics that include new hard parts (e.g. caudal thorns) for assessments of age, new techniques for validation (e.g. bomb radiocarbon) and reexaminations of previous age and growth models.