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The Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Third Edition covers the
ecology, behavior, conservation, evolution, form and function of
whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, manatees, dugongs, otters and
polar bears. This edition provides new content on anthropogenic
concerns, latest information on emerging threats such as ocean
noise, and impacts of climate change. With authors and editors who
are world experts, this new edition is a critical resource for all
who are interested in marine mammals, especially upper level
undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and managers, and
is a top reference for those in related fields, from oceanographers
to environmental scientists.
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"
The seventh volume in the series "Ethology and Behavioral Ecology
of Marine Mammals" describes aspects of the often-complex
relationship between humans and marine mammals. From a primeval
condition of occasional predators, during the last century humans
have become a major factor negatively affecting the status of most
marine mammals through over-hunting, habitat encroachment and
environmental degradation. This has led to the extirpation of many
marine mammal populations and even to the extinction of species.
However, in parallel to this destructive drive, since antiquity
humanity has been influenced by a strong fascination for marine
mammals, which contributes today to an increased human appreciation
of the natural world admixed with widespread concern for its
degrading condition. The special status occupied by marine mammals
in human imagination and affection stands in stark contrast with
the current predicament of many populations still threatened by the
doings of Homo sapiens: a condition emblematic of the relationship
of humanity with nature, and key to understanding where humanity is
heading.
This book concentrates on the marine mammalian group of
Odontocetes, the toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises. In 23
chapters, a total of 40 authors describe general patterns of
ethological concepts of odontocetes in their natural environments,
with a strong bent towards behavioral ecology. Examples are given
of particularly well-studied species and species groups for which
enough data exist, especially from the past 15 years. The aim is to
give a modern flavor of present knowledge of ethology and behavior
of generally large-brained behaviorally flexible mammals that have
evolved quite separately from social mammals on land. As well, the
plight of populations and species due to humans is described in
multiple chapters, with the goal that an understanding of behavior
can help to solve or alleviate at least some human-made problems.
This absorbing book is the first comprehensive scientific natural
history of a dolphin species ever written. From their research camp
at Kealake'akua Bay in Hawaii, the authors followed a population of
wild spinner dolphins for more than twenty years. They observed
marked animals by ship, by air, from a cliffside observation post,
by radiotracking their movements, and by studying the details of
their underwater social life with the use of a windowed underwater
vessel. Beginning with a description of the spinner dolphin
species, including its morphology and systematics, the book
examines the ocean environment and organization of dolphin
populations and the way this school-based society of mammals uses
shorelines for rest and instruction of the young. An analysis of
the dolphins' reproductive patterns, which resemble those of other
group-dwelling mammals such as certain primates, suggests a
fission-fusion society. Vision, vocalization, hearing, breathing,
feeding, predation, integration of the school, and school movement
are all examined to give the fullest picture yet published of
dolphin biological life. One of the most striking features of the
species is the length of the period of juvenility and instruction
of the young. The authors argue that dolphins may legitimately be
called "cultural", and they turn in their conclusion to a
comprehensive evolutionary analysis of this marine cultural system
with its behavioral flexibility and high levels of cooperation. In
a challenging new interpretation of how cultural organisms may
evolve, they propose that spinner dolphin society be viewed as a
set of nested levels of organization that influence one another by
selectional biases. The resultingcooperative patterns support both
the sociology and the cultural levels of organization, without
being overridden by the supposed imperative of kin selection.
Twenty years in the making by a renowned scientist and his
associates, this absorbing book is the richest source available of
new scientific insights about the lives of wild dolphins and how
their societies evolved at sea.
Many marine mammals communicate by emitting sounds that pass
through water. Such sounds can be received across great distances
and can influence the behavior of these undersea creatures. In the
past few decades, the oceans have become increasingly noisy, as
underwater sounds from propellers, sonars, and other human
activities make it difficult for marine mammals to communicate.
This book discusses, among many other topics, just how well marine
mammals hear, how noisy the oceans have become, and what effects
these new sounds have on marine mammals. The baseline of ambient
noise, the sounds produced by machines and mammals, the sensitivity
of marine mammal hearing, and the reactions of marine mammals are
also examined.
An essential addition to any marine biologist's library, Marine
Mammals and Noise will be especially appealing to marine
mammalogists, researchers, policy makers and regulators, and marine
biologists and oceanographers using sound in their research.
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