This is the first book to cover all aspects of Lagomorph biology. Lagomorphs are a mammalian order which includes rabbits, hares and pikas. They are distributed throughout the world and are of both scientific and public interest as they are classified between endangered and pest species. In addition, some have a high economic value as important game species. In the last few decades, a huge amount of information has been made available to the scientific community that has resulted in remarkable advances on all aspects of Lagomorph biology.

This volume presents the proceedings of Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11, hosted by the University of Liverpool and held July 25 - 28, 2006 at the University of Chester in the United Kingdom. Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 11 contains the latest research on chemical communication relevant to vertebrates, particularly focusing on new research since the last meeting in 2003. Topics covered include chemical ecology, biochemistry, behavior and neurobiology of both the main olfactory and vomeronasal systems of vertebrates, from amphibia to mammals including humans. A broad range of taxonomic groups and topics are discussed, including sections on new directions in semiochemistry, olfactory response and function, recognition within species, sexual communication, maternal-offspring communication, communication between species, and applications for zoo animal enrichment and pest control. The volume is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Bets Rasmussen and includes a special tribute chapter on her ground-breaking research on elephant communication. About the Editors: Dr. Jane L. Hurst is a Professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, where she heads the Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Research Group. Dr. Rob Beynon is also a Professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK where he heads the Proteomics and Functional Genomics Research Group. Dr. S. Craig Roberts is a Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK where he is a member of the Evolutionary Psychology Research Group. Dr. Tristram Wyatt is the Director of Distance and OnlineLearning at the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK and also a research associate at the Department of Zoology.

More than 25 years ago, the first major review of primate communication appeared (Altmann, 1967). Since then, information on the communicative abilities of primates increased rapidly, resulting, 15 years later, in the appearance of the first volume in which signaling systems were analyzed in a broader variety of primate groups within an evolutionary perspective (Snowdon, Brown and Petersen, 1982). Seven years later, the first volume dedicated solely to primate vocal communication appeared (Todt, Goedeking and Symmes, 1988) and another four years later a volume followed in which nonverbal vocal communication in non-human primates and human infants was compared (Papousek, Jurgens and Papousek, 1992). None of these volumes, however, provided information about current technical advances in the field of bioacoustics, especially in digital sound analyzing systems, which offer primatologists, anthropologists and linguists nowadays a variety of rapid methods for analyzing human speech and non-human primate vocalizations in a quantitative and comparative way. Choosing the right method is difficult if a synopsis of these tools is lacking. Furthermore, information was particularly lacking on the natural signaling systems of two important primate groups, the prosimians and the apes. Likewise, new and unexpected insights into the ontogeny and evolution of vocal communication were gained during the past few years by the use of highly sophisticated sound analysis and statistical techniques.

'Brilliant, eye-opening, and absolutely inspiring - and a riveting read.' Cass Sunstein, author of How Change Happens and co-author of Nudge What is the secret to humanity's evolutionary success? Could it be our strength, our intellect... or something much nicer? From the authors of New York Times bestseller The Genius of Dogs comes a powerful new idea about how 'friendliness' is the key factor in the flourishing of our species. Hare and Woods present an elegant new theory called self-domestication, looking at examples of co-operation and empathy and what this can tell us about the evolutionary success of Homo sapiens...

The endothelial cells of the cerebral vasculature constitute, together with perivascular elements (astrocytes, pcricytes, basement membrane), the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which strictly limits and specifically controls the exchanges between the blood and the cerebral extracellular spacc.The existence of such a physical, enzymatic, and active barrier isolating the central nervous system has broad physiological, biological, pharmacological, and patho logical consequences, most of which are not yet fully elucidated. The Cerebral Vascular Biology conference (CVB '95) was organized and held at the "Carre des Sciences" in Paris on July I 0-12, 1995. Like the CVB '92 conference held in Duluth, Minnesota, three years ago, the objectives were to provide a forum for presentation of the most recent progresses and to stimulate discussions in the ticld of the biology, physiology. and pathology of the blood-brain barrier. The Paris conference gathered more than 50 participants. including investigators in basic neuroscience, physicians. and stu dents, who actively contributed to the scientific program by their oral or poster presentations. This volume contains a collection of short articles that summarize most of the new data that were presented at the conference. Six thematic parts focus on physiological transports. drug delivery, multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein, signal transduction at the BBB. interactions between the immune system and the cerebral endothelial cells, and the blood-brain barrier-related pathologies in the central nervous system. In addition, two introductory articles present new insights in the rapidly evolving topics of cerebral angiogenesis and gene transfer to the brain."

The ovary is a suitable organ for studying the processes of cell death. Cell death was first described in the rabbit ovary (Graaffian follicles), the phenomenon being called 'chromatolysis'. To date, it is recognized that various forms of cell death (programmed cell death, apoptosis and autophagy) are essential components of ovarian development and function. Programmed cell death is responsable for the ovarian endowment of primordial follicles around birth; in the prepuberal and adult period, apoptosis is a basic mechanism by which oocytes are eliminated by cancer therapies and environmental toxicants; in the ovarian cycle, follicular atresia and luteal regression involve follicular cell apoptosis. Finally, abnormalities in cell death processes may lead to ovarian disease such as cancer and chemoresistance. In this book, after an introductory description of various forms of cell death and of the ovary development and function in mammals, the processes of cell death in ovarian somatic cells and oocytes are described at cytological, physiological and molecular levels and analyzed in the embryonic, prepuberal and adult ovary. A complex array of molecular pathways triggered by extrinsic and intrinsic signals able tor induce or suppress cell death in the same cell, according to cell type and ovary developmental stage, emerges. Physiological interactions with the axis hypothalamus-hypophysis as well as ovarian internal functional signal are also critically reviewed to explain the abortive development of follicles before the beginning of the ovarian cycle. The book conveys information useful to the updating of biologists and physicians who are interested to the ovary biology and functions. Hopefully it should provide also clues for stimulating novel experiments in the study of cell death in the mammalian ovary still at an early stage.

Borkovec and Masler's timely new volume-Insect Neurochemistry and Neurophysiology a [ 1989-provides a wide-ranging survey of forefront research in every key area of insect neuroscience by contributors who are internationally renowned authorities in their fields.
Divided into three main sections- Neuroanatomy, Neurochemistry, and Neurophysiology, this vanguard collection of original research papers and reviews presented here cover a broad spectrum of topics, including: a [ neuropeptides a [ neurodevelopment a [ neuroendocrinology a [ blood-brain barrier a [ eclosion hormone gene a [ neuroparsins a [ hypertrehalosemic hormone a [ oostatic hormone a [ sex pheromone biosynthesis a [ corpora allata activity a [ ecdysiotropins a [ protein kinase C a [ ecdysteroid production a [ precocene II a [ hypolipemic hormone a [ neuroanatomy a [ serotonergic modulation a [ neurosecretory cells a [ octopaminergic modulationa [ tyramine-b-hydroxylase a [ metabolism of inositol phosphates a [ genetically engineered baculovirus pesticides a [ juvenile hormone production a [ endocrinology of embyrogenesis a [ molt inhibition by azadirachtin a [ prothoracicotropic hormone a [ metabolic changes in nerve tissue a [ regulation of vitellogenesis a [ uptake and binding of ponasterone A a [ gene expression during pupal-adult neurogenesis a [ chemical regulators of female reproductive muscle function a [ proctolin and female reproductive tissue immunochemistry.
Insect Neurochemistry and Neurophysiology a [ 1989 is an indispensable resource and reference for all workers in the neurosciences, entomology, pesticide research, and related areas.

In the 1960s, it was believed that no more than about 4,000 orang-utans remained in the wild. Consequently, IUCN - The World Conservation Union - declared the ape an endangered species, demanding its world-wide protection. Nevertheless, the orang-utan today faces extinction because it is dependent on a rain-forest habitat that is rapidly being demolished due to human greed, and a growing human population. Rijksen was among the first to make a detailed study of the ape in the wild, emerging as an authority on orang-utan conservation. In the late 1980s he became so alarmed by local rumours of the rapid decline of wild orang-utans that he initiated the study leading to this book. Meijaard conducted the ambitious, island-spanning surveys in Borneo and Sumatra to reveal the ape's whereabouts. This is the story of their findings. It is the first comprehensive study of the ape's distribution and status based on a wealth of first-hand field data, and a frank, disturbing account of a mixture of good intentions, ignorance and greed, spelling doom for our Asian relative. Nevertheless, the authors emphasise that the orang-utan can survive. A realistic plan to save the ape, and with it thousands of unique wild animals and plants, does exist. It is the authors' hope that Our Vanishing Relative, so urgent and eloquent in its description of the deadly net of problems descending over our helpless relative, will awaken attention and empathy in order to safeguard the future of the orang-utan.

The Chilton Conference on Inositol and Phosphoinositides, held on January 9-11, 1984 at Southwestern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Dallas, Texas, was the third in a series of conferences on cyclitols and phosphoinositides. The first took place in 1968 in New York [Ann. New York Acad. Sci. (1969), 765,508-819] and the second was held in 1977 in East Lansing, Michigan [eyclitols and Phosphoinositides, Wells, W. W. and Eisenberg, F. , eds. , (1978) Academic press, New York, pp. 1-607. ] In the interim since the previous conference, not only has the pace of research in the field accelerated markedly, but the physiological importance of phosphoinositide metabolism has become apparent to an increasing number of investigators from diverse fields in the life sciences. Thus it seemed to us timely for both recent and established workers in this area, as well as others whose interests impinged on it, to meet in order to disseminate new information, to review, and perhaps arrive at, a consensus of our current understanding of the role of inositol and phosphoinositides, and to establish new directions for research for the next few years. The expansion of the field since the last meeting made it mandatory to restrict the scope of the topics covered at the conference, primarily to aspects dealing with mammalian systems. We sincerely regretted the exclusion of recent research on cyclitols and phosphoinositides in microbes and plants and hope that these areas will be included in future conferences.

First published in 1981, Dynamics of Large Mammal Populations was written by experts from four continents and six countries. It is a collection of papers on the population dynamics of large mammals and was the first synthesis of work in the field. The book helped provide identity and coherence to an emerging field. It has become a much-sought-after book. The theoretical and empirical studies presented demonstrate the ways in which numbers of animals in large mammal populations change over time in response to a variety of factors. The studies cover a wide variety of species - including both terrestrial and marine mammals - and compare the population dynamics of various groups such as herbivores, carnivores, ungulates, cetaceans and pinnipeds. Included are species involved in controversial population management problems. Also covered are advances in managing the populations of large mammals, and advances in the theoretical basis of large mammal population dynamics. Numerous examples detail the interaction of mammals with their ecosystems. Population biologists, wildlife biologists and managers, government researchers, environmentalists and marine mammal scientists can use the information made available here as a basis for comparative research and practical applications. "The book contains an excellent mix of theoretical chapters, general overviews, and studies of specific animal speces, ranging from seals and whales to lions and elephants, taking deer, wolves, and grizzly bears along the way... But to the specialist it will be indispensable, forming as it does the only authoritative volume that deals with the population dynamics of this important group of animals." ORYX Fauna & Flora Preservation Society, July, 1983. "One immediately realizes, by skimming the citations of the different chapters, that the researchers, working on such animals as whales, bears, seals, lions, and elephants had not been talking to one another, and that this book represents something of a first in this regard." Mathematical Biosciences, 1983. "The book will be of particular interest and value to wildlife biologists faced with problems of managing wildlife resources and to people who use the resources." The Quarterly Review of Biology, 1982. "This is an excellent book. One doesn't have to be a population biologist to understand the material. Best of all, the authors are refreshingly frank about areas of ignorance in population biology and the failure of even the best simulaion models to fit the real world... To sum up, there is food for thought in this volume for every zoologist with an interest in population biology and especially for those who study large mammals." BioScience 1982. "In bringing a wealth of research effort to a wider readership, this book cannot fail to stimulate" Biometrics, 1982.

The need to better understand the molecular, b- chemical, and cellular processes by which a developing neuronal system unfolds has led to the development of a unique set of experimental tools and organisms. Special emphasis was devoted to allowing us access, at the ear- est stages, to the genomic basis underlying the system's ultimate complexity, as exhibited once its structures are fully formed. Yet, nerve cells are anatomically, physiolo- cally, and biochemically diverse. The multitude of d- tinctly different routes for their development thus makes the developing nervous system especially intriguing for molecular neurobiologists. In particular, the demands of modern molecular neuroscience call for the establishment of efficient yet versatile systems for studying these c- plex processes. Transgenic embryos of the frog Xenopus laevis offer an excellent system for approaching neuroscientific issues. Insertion of foreign genes is performed simply, by mic- injection under binocular observation; hundreds of in vitro-fertilized embryos can be microinjected in one experiment. Embryos develop in tap water, at room t- perature, and within a few days become independent swimming tadpoles with fully functioning neuromus- lar systems. Being relatively small, these organisms are amenable to detailed analyses at the levels of mRNA, protein, and cell. Their rapid development permits the study of morphogenetic processes involved in early development, such as myogenesis and neural induction, as well as those involved in organogenesis and formation of the brain, the musculature, and the interconnections between them. Foreign DNA remains predominantly extrachromosomal.

This book fills the gap in the available literature on modelling farm animal systems. This monograph has a broad and comprehensive coverage of ruminant systems and features the application of models in animal biology. It will be of great value to animal scientists, agricultural scientists, modellers and animal physiologists.

This third volume in the series covers such topics as anaesthetics, cannulation and injection techniques, and surgery. The book will be invaluable to fisheries scientists, aquaculturists, and animal biochemists, physiologists and endocrinologists; it will provide researchers and students with a pertinent information source from theoretical and experimental angles.

A cosy and delightful book - a real joy to behold.' Daily Mail 'A gorgeous book to be treasured' BBC Countryfile A beautifully illustrated guide to nature through the seasons by much-loved printmaker Angela Harding. The cover of this stunning book has an exclusive triptych printed on the reverse - a perfect collector's item This stunning work, the first book that is solely dedicated to Angela's art, is a celebration of her beautiful prints, and a glimpse into her detailed and meticulous process. A Year Unfolding is a journey through Angela's year in nature watching the seasons unfold in front of her from her studio in Rutland, and giving the reader detail into how nature transforms and evolves over the course of the year. A Year Unfolding also tells the stories behind some of Angela's most popular images, giving context to Angela's celebrated work, as well as new art created specifically for the book. The beautiful illustrations and evocative imagery of the prose make this the perfect book for Angela's fans and readers and art lovers everywhere. Angela has created the covers for many bestselling books, including The Salt Path and The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn, October, October by Katya Balen, English Pastoral by James Rebanks, Christmas is Murder by Val McDermid and RSPB Birds among many others.

Research in whale origins is now in an explosive phase, with a cascade of discoveries adding to our understanding of the evolutionary pattern and a suite of new techniques being applied to address new questions. The objective of this volume is to provide a snapshot of this explosion. The volume paints the scene with a broad brush. Taken together the chapters clearly indicate that cetacean origins is a field that is dynamic, multidisciplinary, and that the end of the explosive phase is not in sight.

Among the fishes, a remarkably wide range of biological adaptations to diverse habitats has evolved. As well as living in the conventional habitats of lakes, ponds, rivers, rock pools and the open sea, fish have solved the problems of life in deserts, in the deep sea, in the cold antarctic, and in warm waters of high alkalinity or of low oxygen. Along with these adaptations, we find the most impressive specializations of morphology, physiology and behaviour. For example we can marvel at the high-speed swimming of the marlins, sailfish and warm-blooded tunas, air-breathing in catfish and lung fish, parental care in the mouth-brooding cichlids and viviparity in many sharks and toothcarps. Moreover, fish are of considerable importance to the survival of the human species in the form of nutritious, delicious and diverse food. Rational exploitation and management of our global stocks of fishes must rely upon a detailed and precise insight of their biology. The Chapman & Hall Fish and Fisheries Series aims to present timely volumes reviewing important aspects of fish biology. Most volumes will be of interest to research workers in biology, zoology, ecology and physiology but an additional aim is for the books to be accessible to a wide spectrum of non-specialist readers ranging from undergraduates and postgraduates to those with an intrerest in industrial and commercial aspects of fish and fisheries."