This book should be of value to anyone interested in bird evolution and taxonomy, biogeography, distributional history, dispersal and migration patterns. It provides an up-to-date synthesis of current knowledge on species formation, and the factors influencing current distribution patterns. It draws heavily on new information on Earth history, including past glacial and other climatic changes, on new developments in molecular biology and palaeontology, and on recent studies of bird distribution and migration patterns, to produce a coherent account of the factors that have influenced bird species diversity and distribution patterns worldwide.
Received the Best Bird Book of the Year award for 2004 from British Birds magazine.
* Winner of the British Birds/British Trust for Ornithology, Bird Book of the Year 2004
* The first book to deal comprehensively with bird speciation and biogeography
* Up-to-date synthesis of new information
* Clearly written
* No previous book covers the same ground
* Many maps and diagrams
* Makes difficult and widely scattered information accessible and easily understood
* A sound base for future research
* Takes full account of recent developments in molecular biology

The need for ion and water homeostasis is common to all life. For fish, ion and water homeostasis is an especially important challenge because they live in direct contact with water and because of the large variation in the salt content of natural waters (varying by over 5 orders of magnitude). Most fish are stenohaline and are unable to move between freshwater and seawater. Remarkably, some fishes are capable of life in both freshwater and seawater. These euryhaline fishes constitute an estimated 3 to 5% of all fish species. Euryhaline fishes represent some of the most iconic and interesting of all fish species, from salmon and sturgeon that make epic migrations to intertidal mudskippers that contend with daily salinity changes. With the advent of global climate change and increasing sea levels, understanding the environmental physiology of euryhaline species is critical for environmental management and any mitigative measures. This volume will provide the first integrative review of euryhalinity in fish. There is no other book that focuses on fish that have the capacity to move between freshwater and seawater. The different challenges of salt and water balance in different habitats have led to different physiological controls and regulation, which heretofore has not been reviewed in a single volume.
Collects and synthesizes the literature covering the state of knowledge of the physiology of euryhaline fish

Provides the foundational information needed for researchers from a variety of fields, including fish physiology, conservation and evolutionary biology, genomics, ecology, ecotoxicology, and comparative physiologyAll authors are the leading researchers and emerging leaders in their fields

This edited volume in the Theoretical Ecology series addresses the historical development and evolution of theoretical ideas in the field of ecology. Not only does it recount the history of the discipline by practitioners of the science of ecology, it includes commentary on these historical reflections by philosophers of science. Even though the theories discussed are, in many cases, are at the forefront of research, the language and approach make this material accessible to non-theoreticians. The book is structured in 5 major sections including population ecology, epidemiology, community ecology, evolutionary biology and ecosystem ecology. In each section a chapter by an eminent, experienced ecologist is complemented by analysis from a newer, cutting-edge researcher.
* Reflection on the past and future of ecology
* A historical overview of major ideas in the field of ecology
* Pairing of historical views by ecologists along with a philosophical commentary directed at the practicing scientists views by a philosopher of science.
* Historical analysis by practicing ecologists including anectodal experiences that are rarely recorded.
* Based on a very popular symposium at the 2002 Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Tucson, AZ.

It is impossible to predict the exact behavior of all biological systems and how these same systems are exemplified by patterns of complexity and regularity. Decades of research in ecology have documented how these sorts of patterns are the consequences of deceptively simple rules that determine the nature of the patterns created. Chaos in Ecology will explain how simple beginnings result in complicated results.
Chaos in Ecology is the inaugural volume of Theoretical Ecology Series. The authors of this volume have employed data from a proven model system in population dynamics. As a result, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in the ecology of populations.
It is impossible to predict the exact behavior of almost all biological systems and yet these same systems are exemplified by patterns of complexity and regularity. Decades of research in ecology have documented that these sorts of patterns are the consequence of deceptively simple rules that determine the nature of the patterns created. In essence, simple beginnings result in complicated results.
This realization is captured in the mathematical notion of "chaos" and is rendered intuitive by the oft-repeated metaphor: "A butterfly beats its wings in China and causing a thunderstorm in the Midwest." Thus, seemingly trivial initial conditions (e.g. a butterfly in China) cascade through a series of intermediate events to create a significant large-scale event (e.g. a thunderstorm).
Chaos in Ecology is the inaugural volume of Theoretical Ecology Series. The authors of this volume have employed data from a proven model system in population dynamics. As a result, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in the ecology of populations.

First published in 1983, the second edition of this informative book remains the most comprehensive and current overview of the behavioral traits and adaptations of horses. The book integrates findings from hundreds of international researchers to provide the reader a factual synthesis of the behavior of domestic and feral horses. Building on the strengths of the first edition, the author has thoroughly updated coverage of horse ancestry, development, perception, learning, play, social behavior, behavioral manipulation, maintenance activities, and sexual behavior. In this second edition more emphasis has been given to animal husbandry and management. Additionally, the second edition includes an all-new section on ecological influences on activity patterns, habitat utilization, social behavior and reproduction. An expanded section on applied ethology provides behavioral considerations for management and insight regarding the behavioral indicators of horse health and well being. This is followed with an updated appendix listing behavioral symptoms and possible causes. The text contains numerous tables and nearly 100 illustrations and photos.

Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination differs from all other books on seed germination. It is an all-encompassing volume that provides a working hypothesis of the ecological and environmental conditions under which various kinds of seed dormancy have developed. It also presents information on the seed germination of more than 3500 species of trees, shrubs, vines and herbaceous species, making this a valuable reference for anyone studying germination.
This book delivers information on characteristics of each type of seed dormancy, how each type of dormancy is broken in nature, and what environmental conditions are required for germination after dormancy is broken. It explains how studies should be done to distinguish persistent from transient seed banks, and covers which species should be controlled, propagated, and conserved. Seeds gives the reader insight and guidelines for doing ecologically meaningful studies on the biogeography and evolution of seed dormancy and germination in order to better understand plant reproductive strategies, life history traits, adaptations to habitats, and physiological processes.
Key Features
* Evolutionary/phylogenetic origins and relationships of various kinds of seed dormancy
* A world biogeographical perspective on seed dormancy and germination
* Ecophysiology of seeds with each type of dormancy
* Critical evaluation of methodology used in soil seed bank studies
* Germination ecology of plants with specialized habitat and life cycle types
* Genetic and maternal preconditioning effects on seed dormancy and germination
* Guidelines for doing ecologically-meaningful germination studies

The book summarizes present scientific knowledge in plant physiology with regards to plant production. The authors, mainly professors of plant physiology at agricultural universities in Czechoslovakia, present the individual fields of plant physiology with regard to the demands of agricultural practice and education of students and doctorani at these universities.
The first chapters discuss metabolism ie. photosynthesis, respiration, mineral and heterotrophic nutrition, and water regime of plants. What follows is a discussion of the physiology of plant growth, development and movements, and finally resistance of plants against unfavourable abiotic and biotic effects.
The book shows how to increase the yield of crops by manipulating photosynthesis and also studies the possible flow of photosynthetic products to the commercially valuable parts of the biomass. Rational plant production, however, cannot do without knowledge of plant nutrition and water regime as a theoretical basis for fertilization and irrigation. The reader will find this knowledge detailed as well as information about the ecological and physiological principles of the resistance of plants against drought, frost, heat, diseases and other unfavourable effects.

With the substantial advances in the miniaturization of electronic components, wildlife biologists now routinely monitor the movements of free-ranging animals with radio-tracking devices. This book explicates the many analytical techniques and computer programs available to extract biological information from the radio tracking data.
Key Features:
* Presentation of software programs for solving specific problems
* Design of radio-tracking studies
* Mechanics of data collection
* Estimation of position by triangulation
* Graphic presentation of animal migration, dispersal, fidelity, and association
* Home range estimation, habitat utilization, and estimation of survival rates and population size

Rock iguanas of the West Indies are considered to be the most endangered group of lizards in the world. They are a flagship species in the Caribbean and on most islands are the largest native land animals. Unfortunately, human encroachment and introduced animals have brought this species to the brink of extinction. "Cyclura: Natural History, Husbandry, and Conservation of the West Indian Iguanas" is the first book to combine the natural history and captive husbandry of these remarkable reptiles, while at the same time outlining the problems researchers and conservationists are battling to save these beautiful, iconic animals of the Caribbean islands.

Authors Jeffrey Lemm and Allison Alberts have been studying West Indian iguanas for nearly 20 years in the wild and in captivity; their experiences with wild iguanas and their exquisite photos of these charismatic lizards in the wild make this book a must-have for reptile researchers, academics and enthusiasts, as well as anyone interested in nature and conservation.
Includes chapters with contributions by leading experts on rock iguana taxonomy, nutrition, and diseases Features color photos of all taxa, including habitat and captive shotsProvides easily understandable and usable information gleaned from experience and hands-on reptile research

This series of volumes represents a comprehensive and integrated treatment of reproduction in vertebrates from fishes of all sorts through mammals. It is designed to provide a readable, coordinated description of reproductive basics in each group of vertebrates as well as an introduction to the latest trends in reproductive research and our understanding of reproductive events. Whereas each chapter and each volume is intended to stand alone as a review of that topic or vertebrate group, respectively, the volumes are prepared so as to provide a thorough topical treatment across the vertebrates. Terminology has been standardized across the volumes to reduce confusion where multiple names exist in the literature, and a comprehensive glossary of these terms and their alternative names is provided.
*A complete, essential and up to date reference for research scientists working on vertebrate hormones and reproduction - and on animlals as models in human reproductive research.
*Covers the endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, physiology, behaviour and anatomy of vertebrate reproduction.
*Structured coverage of the major themes for all five vertebrate groups allows a consistent treatment for all.
*Special chapters elaborate on features specific to individual vertebrate groups and to comparative aspects, similarities and differences between them.

This series of volumes represents a comprehensive and integrated treatment of reproduction in vertebrates from fishes of all sorts through mammals. It is designed to provide a readable, coordinated description of reproductive basics in each group of vertebrates as well as an introduction to the latest trends in reproductive research and our understanding of reproductive events. Whereas each chapter and each volume is intended to stand alone as a review of that topic or vertebrate group, respectively, the volumes are prepared so as to provide a thorough topical treatment across the vertebrates. Terminology has been standardized across the volumes to reduce confusion where multiple names exist in the literature, and a comprehensive glossary of these terms and their alternative names is provided.
*A complete, essential and up to date reference for research scientists working on vertebrate hormones and reproduction - and on animlals as models in human reproductive research.
*Covers the endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, physiology, behaviour and anatomy of vertebrate reproduction.
*Structured coverage of the major themes for all five vertebrate groups allows a consistent treatment for all.
*Special chapters elaborate on features specific to individual vertebrate groups and to comparative aspects, similarities and differences between them.

Much has been written about dolphins and whales, and excellent books exist especially on the charismatic bottlenose dolphins; and killer, humpback, and sperm whales. But detailed studies have been carried out on a handful of other species, and this book summarizes our state of knowledge of a little dolphin the southern hemisphere dusky, and compares its behavioral strategies in different environs. The editors, Bernd and Mel Wursig, began studying duskies in Patagonia Argentina in 1972. Although they have been to many parts of the Earth since then -- including work on Amazon and Yangtze river dolphins, Hawai i for the delicate lovely spinner dolphin, the Arctic for bowhead and gray whale work, and bottlenose dolphins in several milieus -- they have always returned to their first love of unraveling the social patterns and life strategies of duskies that exist in small groups in semi-enclosed bays and as herds of well over one thousand in the open ocean. This book documents the latest research, from their feeding patterns to their acrobatic skills. It is full of scientific facts, with a sense of poetry and wonder of the unknown.
- Only book fully devoted to the southern hemisphere "dusky" dolphin
- Heavily illustrated with charts, figures, tables, and all color photos
- Written by a cadre of experts intimately familiar with dolphin field work
- Written in an accurate yet accessible style for the scientist and natural historian alike"

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For animal behavior, ethology, and behavioral ecology courses, this laboratory manual is the first of its kind in this subject area that guides students through the diverse and fascinating fields of behavioral and ethological studies, employing a wide array of organisms as model systems for the study of behavior. Students participate in the development of hypothesis and turn the recording, analysis, and interpretation of data into an active and engaging process.
A teacher-friendly companion website provides extensive teaching notes on the background to each lab project, tips and hints for successful project presentation, sources for studying organisms, ideas for variations in labs, and alternate study organisms. With fresh new ideas, Field and Laboratory Exercises in Animal Behavior brings this field to life for students!
* Provides fully developed and tested laboraty exercises
* Offers both field and lab experiences- adaptable for fall, spring, or summer courses
* Laboratories emphasize student thought and involvement in experimental design
* Includes an online supplement to the manual for teachers

In its third edition, this praised book demonstrates how the living systems modeling of aquatic ecosystems for ecological, biological and physiological research, and ecosystem restoration can produce answers to very complex ecological questions. This book further offers an understanding developed in 25 years of living ecosystem modeling and discusses how this knowledge has produced methods of efficiently solving many environmental problems. Public education through this methodology is the additional key to the broader ecosystem understanding necessary to allow human society to pass through the next evolutionary bottleneck of our species. Living systems modeling as a wide spectrum educational tool can provide a primary vehicle for that essential step.
This third editon covers the many technological and biological developments in the eight plus years since the second edition, providing updated technological advice and describing many new example aquarium environments.
* Includes 16 page color insert with 57 color plates and 25% new photographs
* Offers 300 figures and 75 tables
* New chapter on Biogeography
* Over 50% new research in various chapters
* Significant updates in chapters include:
"- The understanding of coral reef function especially the relationship between photosynthesis and calcification"
"- The use of living system models to solve problems of biogeography and the geographic dispersal and interaction of species populations"
"- The development of new techniques for global scale restoration of water and atmosphere"
"- The development of new techniques for closed system, sustainable aquaculture"

Recently, the 50th anniversary of the publication of Animal Behaviour has passed. To mark the occasion, a group of prominent behaviourists have written essays relevant to their fields. These essays provide a glimpse of the study of behaviour looking in all directions. History and future aside, it is imperative to broadcast this information from the perspective of the behaviourists who have helped shape both the past and the future. It is important for any field to be both retrospective and prospective: where have we been, where are we going, where are we now? These essays provide a unique personal reflection on the history of animal behaviour from John Alcock, Stuart and Jeanne Altmann, Steve Arnold, Geoff Parker, and Felicity Huntingford. Six topics are reflected on and include: The History of Animal Behavioural Research, Proximate Mechanisms, Development, Adaptation, and Animal Welfare.
* Broad range of essays on animal behaviour
* Written by leaders in the field
* Offers a history of the study of behaviour plus essays on the future of behavioural studies
* Contains over 30 full color illustrations
* Includes essays on development, mechanisms and adaptive significance of behaviour

Much effort has been devoted to developing theories to explain the wide variation we observe in reproductive allocation among environments. Reproductive Allocation in Plants describes why plants differ in the proportion of their resources that they allocate to reproduction and looks into the various theories. This book examines the ecological and evolutionary explanations for variation in plant reproductive allocation from the perspective of the underlying physiological mechanisms controlling reproduction and growth. An international team of leading experts have prepared chapters summarizing the current state of the field and offering their views on the factors determining reproductive allocation in plants. This will be a valuable resource for senior undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers in ecology, plant ecophysiology, and population biology.
* 8 outstanding chapters dedicated to the evolution and ecology of variation in plant reproductive allocation
* Written by an international team of leading experts in the field
* Provides enough background information to make it accessible to senior undergraduate students
* Includes over 60 figures and 29 tables

The voices of birds have always been a source of fascination. Nature's Music brings together some of the world's experts on birdsong, to review the advances that have taken place in our understanding of how and why birds sing, what their songs and calls mean, and how they have evolved. All contributors have strived to speak, not only to fellow experts, but also to the general reader. The result is a book of readable science, richly illustrated with recordings and pictures of the sounds of birds.
Bird song is much more than just one behaviour of a single, particular group of organisms. It is a model for the study of a wide variety of animal behaviour systems, ecological, evolutionary and neurobiological. Bird song sits at the intersection of breeding, social and cognitive behaviour and ecology. As such interest in this book will extend far beyond the purely ornithological - to behavioural ecologists psychologists and neurobiologists of all kinds.
* The scoop on local dialects in birdsong
* How birdsongs are used for fighting and flirting
* The writers are all international authorities on their subject

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

This book meets the demand for a comprehensive introduction to understanding the processes of population limitation. Recognized world-wide as a respected biologist and communicator, Dr. Ian Newton has now written a clear and detailed treatise on local scale population limiting factors in birds. It is based almost entirely on results from field studies, though it is set in a contemporary theoretical framework. The 16 chapters fall under three major section headings: Behavior and Density Regulation; Natural Limiting Factors; and Human Impacts. Population Limitation in Birds serves as a needed resource expanding on Dr. David Lacks research in this area of ornithology in the 1950s. It includes numerous line diagrams and beautiful illustrations by acclaimed wildlife artist Keith Brockie.
Key Features
* Provides a sorely needed introduction to a long-established core subject in ornithology
* Focuses on local scale factors
* Written by a well-known biologist and effective communicator
* Includes numerous line diagrams and beautiful illustrations by acclaimed wildlife artist Keith Brockie

Vertebrate evolution has led to the convergent appearance of many groups of originally terrestrial animals that now live in the sea. Among these groups are familiar mammals like whales, dolphins, and seals. There are also reptilian lineages (like plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, thalattosaurs, and others) that have become sea creatures. Most of these marine reptiles, often wrongly called "dinosaurs," are extinct. This edited book is devoted to these extinct groups of marine reptiles. These reptilian analogs represent useful models of the myriad adaptations that permit tetrapods to live in the ocean.
Key Features
* First book in more than 80 years devoted exclusively to fossil marine reptiles
* Documents the most current research on extinct marine reptiles
* Prepared by the world's most prominent experts in the field
* Well illustrated

This unique book synthesizes the ongoing long-term community ecology studies of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The studies have been conducted from deserts to rainforests as well as in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats and provide valuable insight that can be obtained only through persistent, diligent, and year-after-year investigation.
Long-Term Studies of Vertebrate Communities is ideal for faculty, researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates in vertebrate biology, ecology, and evolutionary biology, including ecology, natural history, and systematics.
Key Features
* Provides unique perspectives of community stability and variation
* Details the influence of natural and other perturbations on community structure
* Includes synopses by well-known authors
* Presents results from a broad range of vertebrate taxa
* Studies were conducted at different latitudes and in different habitats

Research of the past ten years has made it increasingly clear that domestic animals and wild animals differ in their nutritional requirements. Nutritional management, beneficial to domestic animals, may actually be life-threatening to wild ones. This new edition of Wildlife Feeding and Nutrition has been thoroughly updated to reflect recent insights, especially with regard to wildlife nutrition essential to successful management either in the wild or in captivity.
Zoological garden and laboratory personnel, wildlife biologists, ecologists, animal nutritionists, and veterinarians will benefit from this new edition.

This series of volumes represents a comprehensive and integrated treatment of reproduction in vertebrates from fishes of all sorts through mammals. It is designed to provide a readable, coordinated description of reproductive basics in each group of vertebrates as well as an introduction to the latest trends in reproductive research and our understanding of reproductive events. Whereas each chapter and each volume is intended to stand alone as a review of that topic or vertebrate group, respectively, the volumes are prepared so as to provide a thorough topical treatment across the vertebrates. Terminology has been standardized across the volumes to reduce confusion where multiple names exist in the literature, and a comprehensive glossary of these terms and their alternative names is provided.
About the Editors
Dr. David O. Norris is a Professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Dr. Richard E. Jones is Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado. The editors have collectively studied endocrinology and reproduction of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles for more then 70 years. They previously edited "Hormones and Reproduction in Fishes, Amphibians, and Reptiles" (1987). This series represents a revision of that offering and is expanded to include birds and mammals. Additionally, Dr. Norris is the author of the textbook "Vertebrate Endocrinology" (2007, 4th edition) and Dr. Jones is co-author of the textbook "Human Reproductive Biology" (2006, 3rd edition).
*A complete, essential and up to date reference for research scientists working on vertebrate hormones and reproduction - and on animlals as models in human reproductive research.
*Covers the endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, physiology, behaviour and anatomy of vertebrate reproduction.
*Structured coverage of the major themes for all five vertebrate groups allows a consistent treatment for all.
*Special chapters elaborate on features specific to individual vertebrate groups and to comparative aspects, similarities and differences between them.

This series of volumes represents a comprehensive and integrated treatment of reproduction in vertebrates from fishes of all sorts through mammals. It is designed to provide a readable, coordinated description of reproductive basics in each group of vertebrates as well as an introduction to the latest trends in reproductive research and our understanding of reproductive events. Whereas each chapter and each volume is intended to stand alone as a review of that topic or vertebrate group, respectively, the volumes are prepared so as to provide a thorough topical treatment across the vertebrates. Terminology has been standardized across the volumes to reduce confusion where multiple names exist in the literature, and a comprehensive glossary of these terms and their alternative names is provided.
*A complete, essential and up to date reference for research scientists working on vertebrate hormones and reproduction - and on animlals as models in human reproductive research.
*Covers the endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, physiology, behaviour and anatomy of vertebrate reproduction.
*Structured coverage of the major themes for all five vertebrate groups allows a consistent treatment for all.
*Special chapters elaborate on features specific to individual vertebrate groups and to comparative aspects, similarities and differences between them.

The great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, is a marquee predator made famous by movie and myth. This text brings together the real evidence of both ecology and behaviour of these animals. This international team of separates fact from fiction and establishes a baseline from which additional research of great white sharks and sharks in general might proceed. The chapters are divided into sections on the geographic distribution, evolutionary history, behaviour with particular emphasis on the predatory relationship to seals and sea lions, movements and abundance of the species, and its interactions with man. Many of the scientific contributions resulted from the 1993 symposium in Bodega Bay, California, that attracted more than 80 specialists from around the world.