In just one concise and lucidly written volume a multitude of topics is covered introducing the results of extensive research on the processing of environmental information in vertebrates. Practical examples are provided to illustrate points made in the text. Many factors, both from the external environment and from within the animals own cells or tissue makeup can directly serve as a pressure to elicit physiological and/or behavioral responses in the organisms studied. Light intensity, photoperiod, circadian rhythms, seasonal variation and daylenght, just to name a few, are among the environmental factors that are correlated in these studies to behavioral or hormonal changes, organ function, and reproduction. This work will serve as a guidebook and easy reference source for students and research professionals in physiology, endocrinology, comparative zoology, and veterinary science.

Trees have the distinction of being the largest and oldest living organisms on earth. Although the herbaceous habit has made unprecedented evolutionary gains since the middle and late Cenozoic, trees still are the most conspicuous plants covering the habitable land surface of the earth. Man has long sought their shelter and protection, utilized their food and fiber, and often exploited them to his own detriment. Trees have always been of much interest to botanists, and many of the early investigations concerning the structure and function of plants were conducted with trees. At the beginning of the present century the use of trees for basic investigations began to decline. The reasons for this are obvious. Investigations of structure and function began to shift from whole organisms to tissues, then to individual cells, and finally to cellular organelles and subcellular particles. Physiological research became increasingly more detailed and complex, requiring more and more precisely controlled laboratory conditions. Hence, a relatively small number of herbaceous plants, various unicellular algae, fungi, and bacteria have become standard research material in most laboratories.

In 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini's indirect approach ignited existing socio-economic conditions during the Iranian Revolution to topple the Shah. A similar indirect approach using psychological operations to target audiences through key vulnerabilities and networks may have applicability for strategies today. Joint Pub 5-0 defines the indirect approach as the employment of attacks on an adversary's derived vulnerabilities when conditions do not permit direct attacks against a defined center of gravity (COG). "A COG can be viewed as the set of characteristics, capabilities, and sources of power from which a system derives its moral or physical strength, freedom of action, and will to act." Using a combination of operations, an indirect approach targets the COG by attacking key adversary weaknesses or requirements. When performed successfully, an indirect approach can isolate, sever, defeat, or degrade adversary capabilities to ultimately prevent their use. In the Shah's case, Khomeini focused on Iranian public opinion to degrade the monarch's legitimacy, and also military morale and unity to effectively neutralize the Iranian armed forces. Ayatollah Khomeini effectively unified various Iranian opposition groups through a common hatred and desire to overthrow the Shah. Most significant, the Ayatollah accomplished this while residing entirely outside Iran's borders using psychological operations as the primary arm of his approach. Joint doctrine defines psychological operations as, "planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence the emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals." Often misunderstood, psychological operations require sufficient time in order to work but given appropriate time the effects can often be dramatic. Khomeini's synchronization of psychological operations with coordinated internal political violence successfully de