Although the fundamental principles of vocal production are well-understood, and are being increasingly applied by specialists to specific animal taxa, they stem originally from engineering research on the human voice. These origins create a double barrier to entry for biologists interested in understanding acoustic communication in their study species. The proposed volume aims to fill this gap, providing easy-to-understand overviews of the various relevant theories and techniques, and showing how these principles can be implemented in the study of all main vertebrate groups. The volume will have eleven chapters assembled from the world's leading researchers, at a level intelligible to a wide audience of biologists with no background in engineering or human voice science. Some will cover sound production in a particular vertebrate group; others will address a particular issue, such as vocal learning, across vertebrate taxa. The book will highlight what is known and how to implement useful techniques and methodologies, but will also summarize current gaps in the knowledge. It will serve both as a tutorial introduction for newcomers and a springboard for further research for all scientists interested in understanding animal acoustic signals.

The order Rodentia is the most abundant and successful group of mammals, and it has been a focal point of attention for compar ative and evolutionary biologists for many years. In addition, rodents are the most commonly used experimental mammals for bio medical research, and they have played a central role in investi gations of the genetic and molecular mechanisms of speciation in mammals. During recent decades, a tremendous amount of new data from various aspects of the biology of living and fossil rodents has been accumulated by specialists from different disciplines, ranging from molecular biology to paleontology. Paradoxically, our understanding of the possible evolutionary relationships among different rodent families, as well as the possible affinities of rodents with other eutherian mammals, has not kept pace with this information "explosion. " This abundance of new biological data has not been incorporated into a broad synthesis of rodent phylo geny, in part because of the difficulty for any single student of rodent evolution to evaluate the phylogenetic significance of new findings from such diverse disciplines as paleontology, embryology, comparative anatomy, molecular biology, and cytogenetics. The origin and subsequent radiation of the order Rodentia were based primarily on the acquisition of a key character complex: specializations of the incisors, cheek teeth, and associated mus culoskeletal features of the jaws and skull for gnawing and chewing."

This book addresses the growing needs in deciphering the biological processes associated with fish reproduction, in view of the growth of aquaculture and the dwindling natural stocks of commercially important fish. It presents a comprehensive overview on egg production in fish, from the standpoint of the oocyte. With this view in mind, the book includes chapters on oocyte development (oogenesis), hormonal regulation and hormone receptors, formation of the egg envelopes, growth, accumulation of nutrients and maternal transcripts, maturation, hydration, ovulation and fertilization. A special emphasis is placed on using state-of-the-art tools including electron microscopy for discerning the ultra-structure of the follicle and genomic/ proteomic tools to fully understand biological basis of fish reproduction. Studies on promoting oocyte maturation, ovulation and spawning in farmed fish and preservation of fish oocytes at low temperatures are also included.

This edited series has three principal goals. The first is to provide information in a relatively concise way for researchers needing an over view of specific disciplines. The second is to provide an update on specific schools of thought, bringing together ideas from colleagues whose works often appear in a variety of journals. And the third is to stimulate and suggest directions for new research. Volume 6 continues the tradition established by the previous editor and editorial board in providing new information, updating our understanding of specific dis ciplines, and stimulating new research. In the first chapter, Randall Breitwisch examines mortality patterns and sex ratios in monogamous birds. He argues that there are many more components to measuring parental investment than are often re alized; our knowledge is weak in several areas. Understanding the evo lution of mating systems depends on better distinguishing the different intensities of natural selection that operate on males and females. Greg ory Butcher and Sievert Rohwer develop a framework for assessing the role of colorfulness in birds. They propose several hypotheses to test and advocate evaluating more than one hypothesis at a time. Future work on the evolution of distinctive coloration and of sexual and age dimorphism must take these ideas into account."

This is the first systematic owl checklist for over 50 years to include subspecies and synonyms. The book provides information on the type, locality, habitat and distribution of 220 owl species and 539 taxa, as well as the location of museum collections of skins and mounted specimens, and references to owl illustrations. In addition to scientific names, the common names of each species in English, German, French and Spanish are listed. The checklist is complemented by many beautiful owl drawings and by watercolours illustrating owl species that have been newly described or rediscovered within the last 20 years.

In very general terms, "scaling" can be defined as the structural and func tional consequences of differences in size (or scale) among organisms of more or less similar design. Interest in certain aspects of body size and scaling in primate biology (e. g., relative brain size) dates to the turn of the century, and scientific debate and dialogue on numerous aspects of this general subject have continued to be a primary concern of primatologists, physical an thropologists, and other vertebrate biologists up to the present. Indeed, the intensity and scope of such research on primates have grown enormously in the past decade or so. Information continues to accumulate rapidly from many different sources, and the task of synthesizing the available data and theories on any given topic is becoming increasingly formidable. In addition to the formal exchange of new ideas and information among scientific experts in specific areas of scaling research, two of the major goals of this volume are an assessment of our progress toward understanding various size-related phe nomena in primates and the identification of future prospects for continuing advances in this realm. Although the subject matter and specific details of the issues considered in the 20 chapters that follow are very diversified, all topics share the same fundamental and unifying biological theme: body size variation in primates and its implications for behavior and ecology, anatomy and physiology, and evolution."

This book is a collection of original research papers given at a symposium entitled "Sensory Systems and Behavior of Aquatic Mammals", hosted by the USSR Academy of Sciences. The meeting was held in Moscow from 16 to 25 October, 1991 and involved nearly 100 scientists from around the world. The major headings of the book correspond to the session topics at the symposium. This meeting was not the first dedicated to problems of sensory systems in aquatic mammals. Experts in this field met several times previously to discuss important problems of sensory functions in echolocating animals. symposia on biosonar systems were held in Frascati, Italy in 1966, then in Jersey, France in 1978, and in Helsingor, Denmark in 1986. Papers presented at these meetings were pUblished in books that advanced significantly the understanding of sensory systems (Busnel and Fish, 1980; Nachtigall and Moore, 1988). Initially, echolocating bats were the main subjects of consideration. However, studies on echolocating aquatic mammals, whales and dolphins, increased from one meeting to the next. Indeed, aquatic mammals are of exceptional interest for studying the adaptation of sensory functions for echolocation in specific aquatic environments. As a natural consequence of these developments, the 1989 symposium in Rome was devoted specifically to the sensory systems of cetaceans (Thomas and Kastelein, 1990). This symposium was held within the Fifth International Theriological Congress and was attended by many scientists.

This volume discusses recent advances in avian and reptilian biology that have caused this diverse field to re-emerge. The chapters in this book are divided into 4 parts: genomics and transcriptomics, genetic manipulation, stem cells, and new model systems. Part I details how to perform genomic and transcriptomic analyses in birds and reptiles; Part II highlights technological advancements in avian genetic manipulation; Part III focuses on methods to handle pluripotent cells; and part IV looks at the emerging models in avian and reptilian developmental biology. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and comprehensive, Avian and Reptilian Developmental Biology: Methods and Protocols explores a var iety of approaches and different sauropsid models that will help facilitate communication and collaboration among researchers, which in turn will progress this field forward.

Indigenous knowledge that embraces ornithology takes in whole social dimensions that are inter-linked with environmental ethos, conservation and management for sustainability. In contrast, western approaches have tended to reduce knowledge to elemental and material references. This book looks at the significance of indigenous knowledge of birds and their cultural significance, and how these can assist in framing research methods of western scientists working in related areas. As well as its knowledge base, this book provides practical advice for professionals in conservation and anthropology by demonstrating the relationship between mutual respect, local participation and the building of partnerships for the resolution of joint problems. It identifies techniques that can be transferred to different regions, environments and collections, as well as practices suitable for investigation, adaptation and improvement of knowledge exchange and collection in ornithology. The authors take anthropologists and biologists who have been trained in, and largely continue to practise from, a western reductionist approach, along another path - one that presents ornithological knowledge from alternative perspectives, which can enrich the more common approaches to ecological and other studies as well as plans of management for conservation.

This volume is an up-to-date treatise of chemosensory vertebrate research performed by over 200 scientists from 22 countries. Importantly, data from over 25 taxa of vertebrates are presented, including those from human beings. Unlike other volumes on this topic, a significant nurober of the contributions come from leading workers in the former Soviet Union and reflect studies within a wide variety of disciplines, including behavior, biochemistry, ecology, endocrinology, genetics, psychophysics, and morphol ogy. Most of the studies described in this volume were presented at the Chemical Signals in Vertbrates VI (CSV VI) symposium held at the University of Pennsylvania in the summer of 1991. This international symposium was the largest and the most recent of a series of six such symposia, the first of which was held in Saratoga Springe, New York (June 6-9, 1976) and the last in Oxford, England (August 8-10, 1988). Unlike the previous symposia, Chemical Signals in Vertabrates VI lasted a full week, reflecting the increased number of participants and the desire of many to present their research findings orally to the group as a whole."

Originally published in 2004, the Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals quickly became the field guide of choice to take on African safaris. Its compact format makes it ideal for use in the field, while its coverage is the most comprehensive currently possible in this format. Adapted from the Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals, the greatly condensed text focuses on essential information such as identification and distribution, while the author's superb illustrations have been rearranged into an easy-to-use plate format and placed opposite the text. Complex and more obscure groups like the bats and certain rodent families are summarised by genera. Over 500 maps plot the distribution of all larger species, and for smaller mammals the maps show distribution by genus. This is a completely revised second edition of this popular guide. The information and taxonomy have been updated to follow the newly published second edition of the Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (2015), and this new edition of the pocket guide contains several new species and illustrations. The maps have been completely replaced and there are now 200 more maps than in the original edition.

SASOL First Field Guide to Common Birds of Southern Africa provides fascinating insight into the birdlife of the region.

With the help of full-colour photo graphs and distribution maps, and easy-to-read text, the young adult and budding naturalist will be able to identify the more common bird species found in southern Africa, discover where they live, and learn about their unique feeding and nesting habits.

This book focuses on central themes related to the conservation of bats. It details their response to land-use change and management practices, intensified urbanization and roost disturbance and loss. Increasing interactions between humans and bats as a result of hunting, disease relationships, occupation of human dwellings, and conflict over fruit crops are explored in depth. Finally, contributors highlight the roles that taxonomy, conservation networks and conservation psychology have to play in conserving this imperilled but vital taxon. With over 1300 species, bats are the second largest order of mammals, yet as the Anthropocene dawns, bat populations around the world are in decline. Greater understanding of the anthropogenic drivers of this decline and exploration of possible mitigation measures are urgently needed if we are to retain global bat diversity in the coming decades. This book brings together teams of international experts to provide a global review of current understanding and recommend directions for future research and mitigation.

This book describes the major steps by which the mammalian ear transforms sound into nerve impulses. The author leads us along the pathway followed by an acoustic signal--collected by the outer ear, augmented by the middle ear, then delivered to the inner ear where the minuscule vibrations of the sound waves are transformed into nerve impulses. At each stage, the basic mechanisms are described qualitatively in terms of current theories and illustrated with experimental data. Where appropriate, related mechanisms in the ears of other vertebrates are considered. It is shown that the mammalian ear does an exquisite job of translating sound signals into a very robust nerve-pulse code. The book concludes with descriptions of some common ear impairments and a brief survey of the treatments available for them. The text is integrated with animations of mechanical and neural phenomena available through the Internet.

A comprehensive guide to the calls of the 44 species of bat currently known to occur in Europe. Following on from the popular British Bat Calls by Jon Russ, this new book draws on the expertise of more than forty specialist authors to substantially update all sections, further expanding the volume to include sound analysis and species identification of all European bats. Aimed at volunteers and professional alike, topics include the basics of sound, echolocation in bats, an introduction to acoustic communication, equipment used and call analysis. For each species, detailed information is given on distribution, emergence, flight and foraging behaviour, habitat, echolocation calls - including parameters of common measurements - and social calls. Calls are described for both heterodyne and time expansion/full spectrum systems. A simple but complete echolocation guide to all species is provided for beginners, allowing them to analyse call sequences and arrive at the most likely species or group. The book also includes access to a downloadable library of over 450 calls presented as sonograms in the species sections.

The Springer Handbook oj Auditory Research presents a series of com prehensive and synthetic reviews of the fundamental topics in modern auditory research. It is aimed at all individuals with interests in hearing research including advanced graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and clinical investigators. The volumes will introduce new investigators to important aspects of hearing science and will help established investigators to better understand the fundamental theories and data in fields of hearing that they may not normally follow closely. Each volume is intended to present a particular topic comprehensively, and each chapter will serve as a synthetic overview and guide to the literature. As such, the chapters present neither exhaustive data reviews nor original research that has not yet appeared in peer-reviewed journals. The series focuses on topics that have developed a solid data and conceptual foundation rather than on those for which a literature is only beginning to develop. New research areas will be covered on a timely basis in the series as they begin to mature. Each volume in the series consists of five to eight substantial chapters on a particular topic. In some cases, the topics will be ones of traditional interest for which there is a solid body of data and theory, such as auditory neuroanatomy (Vol. 1) and neurophysiology (Vol. 2). Other volumes in the series will deal with topics which have begun to mature more recently, such as development, plasticity, and computational models of neural processing."

Ecomorphology is the comparative study of the influence of morphology on ecological relationships and the evolutionary impact of ecological factors on morphology in different life intervals, populations, species, communities, and evolutionary lineages. The book reviews early attempts at qualitative descriptions of ecomorphological patterns in fishes, especially those of the Russian school. More recent, quantitative studies are emphasised, including multivariate approaches to ecomorphological analysis, the selection of functionally important ecological and morphological variables to analyze, an experimental approach using performance tests to examine specific hypotheses derived from functional morphology, and the evolutionary interpretations of ecomorphological patterns. Six major areas of fish biology are focused on: feeding, sensory systems, locomotion, respiration, reproduction, and phylogenetic relationships. The 18 papers in the volume document: (1) how the morphology of bony fishes constrains ecological patterns and the use of resources; (2) whether ecological constraints can narrow the niche beyond the limits imposed by morphology (fundamental vs. realized niche); (3) how communities of fishes are organized with respect to ecomorphological patterns; and (4) the degree to which evolutionary pressures have produced convergent or divergent morphologies in fishes. A concluding paper summarizes ecomorphological research in fishes and points out taxa that are underrepresented or are especially promising for future research.

This handbook is the first complete guide to the herpetofauna of northeast Africa, covering seven countries - Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. It contains keys, comprehensive descriptions, maps of all species and photographs of virtually all species known from the region, including 114 species of amphibians and more than 460 species of reptiles. It is an essential tool for herpetologists and conservationists involved with any aspect of the African herpetofauna, and for museums and specialist libraries. Comprehensive and written by the world's leading experts in the field, this is the first book ever written on these animals.

The cerebral neocortex, a structure unique to the mammalian brain and prerequisite for higher cognitive functions, has since decades attracted the curiosity of neurobiologists and developmental biologists alike. This volume gives a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of early cortical development. It provides concise information on the birth, specification, migration and terminal differentiation of neocortical cells. Both the cellular and molecular events leading to the establishment of a functional neocortex are presented in considerable detail, and possible implications for neurodegenerative diseases are discussed.

As scientific analysis of testable hypotheses has replaced the speculative approach to study of bone disease in recent and fossil amphibians and reptiles, the field has advanced from simply reporting observations to analyzing their implications. This process is predicated upon a reproducible data base which explains/diagnoses the nature of bony alterations and a secure review of the literature. Thereby hangs the rub. The herpetological literature are difficult to access (let alone read) and are scattered through many prominent and eclectic journals and in the lay literature. While older diagnoses often have not stood the test of time, the clarity of report descriptions usually allows confident identification of the underlying pathology.

This book addresses the fundamental issues of predator-prey interactions, with an emphasis on predation among arthropods, which have been better studied, and for which the database is more extensive than for the large and rare vertebrate predators. The book should appeal to ecologists interested in the broad issue of predation effects on communities.