Author: Steven W. Buskirk
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192677977
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 289
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Book Description
These charismatic mammals, which include dogs, cats, hyenas, weasels, mongooses, seals, sea lions and bears, have always held special importance to humans throughout history and continue to do so today. In recent decades, the emergence of new technologies has completely transformed our knowledge of how carnivorans interact with their environments and consequently reshaped our view of carnivoran ecology. This unique synthesis uses examples from a diverse and expanding carnivoran literature, drawing from all carnivoran families and spanning the world's oceans and continents, to produce a clearly written and richly illustrated book that reviews our current state of knowledge of carnivoran ecology. It addresses all levels of biological organization and function, from genes to enzymes, organisms, populations, and ecosystems. Special attention is given to how carnivoran species interact with their prey, each other, and humans. There is an emphasis on community interactions and their importance in carnivoran evolution, showing how evolutionary constraints (morphological, physiological, and behavioral) structure communities today. The book's approach is strongly comparative, contrasting herbivores with carnivores, predators with scavengers, and cats with dogs. Carnivorans play important roles in many high-profile conservation cases, either as species of concern or agents of endangerment, and their importance is demonstrated in both contexts. Carnivoran Ecology is an accessible advanced textbook aimed principally at senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in carnivore ecology, as well as a broad audience of professional academics (especially carnivore and mammalian biologists), researchers, and practitioners working in both governmental and non-governmental organizations. A significant secondary market will exist amongst the large amateur naturalist community including those wishing to explore the ecological and evolutionary links between domestic carnivorans (dogs, cats, ferrets etc.) and their wild counterparts.
Author: John L. Gittleman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1475747160
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 632
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Book Description
Carnivores have always fascinated us, even though they make up only 10% of all mammalian genera and only about 2% of all mammalian biomass. In Greek mythology most of the gods adorned their robes and helmets with depictions of carnivores, and the great hero Hercules' most famous feat was killing the "invulnerable" lion with his bare hands. Part· of our fascination with carnivores stems from fright and intrigue, and sometimes even hatred because of our direct competition with them. Cases of "man-eating" lions, bears, and wolves, as well as carnivores' reputation as killers of livestock and game, provoke communities and governrpents to adopt sweeping policies to exterminate them. Even President Theodore Roosevelt, proclaimer of a new wildlife protectionism, described the wolf as "the beast of waste and desolation. " The sheer presence and power of carnivores is daunt ing: they can move quickly yet silently through forests, attaining rapid bursts of speed when necessary; their massive muscles are aligned to deliver powerful attacks, their large canines and strong jaws rip open carcasses, and their scis sor-like carnassials slice meat. Partly because of our fear of these attributes, trophy hunting of carnivores has been, and to a certain extent still is, a sign of bravery and skill. Among some Alaskan Inuit, for example, a man is not eligible for marriage until he has killed a succession of animals of increasing size and dangerousness, culminating with the most menacing, the polar bear.
Author: Graham James Slater
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 140
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Book Description
Author: Tim Caro
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195355725
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 599
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Book Description
In just the last few years, behavioral ecologists have begun to address issues in conservation biology. This volume is the first attempt to link these disciplines formally. Here leading researchers explore current topics in conservation biology and discuss how behavioral ecology can contribute to a greater understanding of conservation problems and conservation intervention programs. In each chapter, the authors identify a conservation issue, review the ways it has been addressed, review behavioral ecological data related to it, including their own, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the behavioral ecological approach, and put forward specific conservation recommendations. The chapters juxtapose different studies on a wide variety of taxonomic groups. A number of common themes emerge, including the ways in which animal mating systems affect population persistence, the roles of dispersal and inbreeding avoidance for topics such as reserve design and effective population size, the key role of humans in conservation issues, and the importance of baseline data for conservation monitoring and modeling attempts. Each chapter sheds new light on conservation problems, generates innovative avenues of interdisciplinary research, and shows how conservation-minded behavioral ecologists can apply their expertise to some of the most important questions we face today.
Author: James Yeates
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118688791
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 517
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Book Description
Companion Animal Care and Welfare: The UFAW Companion Animal Handbook presents a comprehensive, accessible and practical reference for all parties seeking information about the proper care of companion animals. Identifies the needs of companion animals, explains how we know these needs, and gives scientifically-backed advice on how to meet these needs Promotes the most humane treatment and best possible care of our companion animals Addresses controversial issues such as selective breeding, companion animal showing, the keeping of exotic species, and the international pet trade Covers the husbandry and care of all major companion animal species, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians
Author: Herman A. Verhoef
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199228973
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266
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Book Description
Community ecology is the study of the interactions between populations of co-existing species. Co-edited by two prominent community ecologists and featuring contributions from top researchers in the field, this book provides a survey of the state-of-the-art in both the theory and applications of the discipline. It pays special attention to topology, dynamics, and the importance of spatial and temporal scale while also looking at applications to emerging problems in human-dominated ecosystems (including the restoration and reconstruction of viable communities). Community Ecology: Processes, Models, and Applications adopts a mainly theoretical approach and focuses on the use of network-based theory, which remains little explored in standard community ecology textbooks. The book includes discussion of the effects of biotic invasions on natural communities; the linking of ecological network structure to empirically measured community properties and dynamics; the effects of evolution on community patterns and processes; and the integration of fundamental interactions into ecological networks. A final chapter indicates future research directions for the discipline.
Author: John P. DeLong
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192895508
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177
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Book Description
Predator-prey interactions are ubiquitous, govern the flow of energy up trophic levels, and strongly influence the structure of ecological systems. They are typically quantified using the functional response - the relationship between a predator's foraging rate and the availability of food. As such, the functional response is central to how all ecological communities function - since all communities contain foragers - and a principal driver of the abundance, diversity, and dynamics of ecological communities. The functional response also reflects all the behaviors, traits, and strategies that predators use to hunt prey and that prey use to evade predation. It is thus both a clear reflection of past evolution, including predator-prey arms races, and a major force driving the future evolution of both predator and prey. Despite their importance, there have been remarkably few attempts to synthesize or even briefly review functional responses. This novel and accessible book fills this gap, clearly demonstrating their crucial role as the link between individuals, evolution, and community properties, representing a highly-integrated and measurable aspect of ecological function. It provides a clear entry point for students, a refresher for more advanced researchers, and a motivator for future research. Predator Ecology is an advanced textbook suitable for graduate students and researchers in ecology and evolutionary biology seeking a broad, up-to-date, and authoritative coverage of the field. It will also be of relevance and use to mathematical ecologists, wildlife biologists, and anyone interested in predator-prey interactions.
Author: Paul A. Keddy
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316512606
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 373
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Book Description
Offers a unifying framework for community ecology by addressing how communities are assembled from species pools.
Author: Ph. Stoutjesdijk
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004297804
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 237
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Book Description
In Microclimate, Vegetation & Fauna the ecologist meets the meteorologist: it is about the biological aspects of microclimate and its variation in horizontal and vertical directions. The great diversity found in the various habitats is stressed, also as far as the microclimate is concerned.The stronghold of this book on microclimatology or the ‘minor weather’ in the immediate surroundings of plants and animals is its capacity to unravel the causal relationships between climate, topography, soils, vegetation and fauna. The manifold interactions in between are explained in detail and it is concluded that the connections are so intimate that each species has its own microclimate. This book is unique and interesting for a wide audience. It specifically targets natural scientists and students in biology with an interest in climatology and climatologists with an interest in biology.
Author: Luke Hunter
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472982673
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
From the largest terrestrial carnivore, the Polar Bear, to the tiny Least Weasel that can squeeze through a wedding ring, the true carnivores include some of the world's most charismatic, admired, feared and spectacular creatures. This fully updated second edition of Luke Hunter's comprehensive guide profiles all of the world's terrestrial carnivore species. Thoroughly updated throughout and covering recently described species, a detailed account describes each species' key identification characteristics, distribution and habitat, behaviour, feeding ecology, social patterns, life history statistics, conservation and the latest on classification. This edition also includes accurate distribution maps for each species. Colour plates by top wildlife artist Priscilla Barrett depict each species, with subspecies, colour variations and behavioural vignettes for many. There are also detailed line drawings of more than 230 skulls and 110 footprints.
