In Quest of Bowerbirds

In Quest of Bowerbirds PDF Author: Norman Chaffer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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In Quest of Bowerbirds

In Quest of Bowerbirds PDF Author: Norman Chaffer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description


In Quest of the Sacred Baboon

In Quest of the Sacred Baboon PDF Author: Hans Kummer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400887410
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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In a tale that begins at a zoo in Zurich and takes us across the deserts of Ethiopia to the Asir Mountains in Saudi Arabia, Hans Kummer recreates the adventure and intellectual thrill of the early days of field research on primates. Just as Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey introduced readers to the fascinating lives of chimpanzees and gorillas, Kummer brings us face to face with the Hamadryas baboon. With their furry white mantles and gleaming red hindquarters, the Hamadryas appear frequently in the art of the ancient Egyptians--who may have interpreted the baboons' early morning grooming rituals as sun-worshiping rites. Back then, Hamadryas were thought to be incarnates of Thoth, the god of wisdom; today they are considered to have one of the most highly structured social systems among primates, very close, in some respects, to that of humans. In the 1960s, Kummer, after conflicts with nomadic warriors, managed to track down these elusive baboons near the Danakil Desert, and then followed them from dawn to dusk on their treks from one feeding place to another. His scientific account of this period reads like a travel memoir as he describes his encounters with the Hamadryas and the people with whom they share the desert. Winding his way through cliffs and stubble, Kummer records the baboons' social life, from the development of pair relationships to the way an entire group decides where to march each day. Much like the human nomads who cope with the harsh demands of the desert environment, the Hamadryas maintain a society that is strict and patriarchal in its details but multilayered and flexible in its largest units. We learn, for example, of the Hamadryas' respect for possession that protects family structure and of the cohesion among family leaders that lessens the threat of battle. At the same time, clear-cut personalities emerge from Kummer's account, drawing us into the life stories and power struggles of individual baboons. Whereas this rich detail holds many implications for natural scientists, the colorful way it comes to life makes for a compelling book bound to entertain and educate all readers. Originally published in 1995. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Animal Signaling and Function

Animal Signaling and Function PDF Author: Duncan J. Irschick
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118966619
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
The diversity of animal signals has been widely documented, and the generality of animal signals also tantalizingly suggests that there are common mechanisms that have selected for their origin. However, while much progress has been made on some fronts, we still lack a general theory about why the diversity of signaling structures exist. Our compilation will directly address this gap by focusing on an exciting new arena of sexual selection, namely using functional approaches to understand signaling. This approach is rooted in the idea that many signals are designed to transmit important functional imformation that is both important for issues of male quality (and hence male competition), and female choice. The increasing use of technology in sexual selection studies has enabled researchers to test whether signaling is either constrained by, or accurately transmits information about functional capacities. Further, in animals that fight vigorously, functional capacities such as endurance or strength may make the difference between winning and losing. This volume brings together a diverse collection of researchers who are actively investigating how function and signaling are related. These researchers use both a variety of methods and taxa to study animal signaling, and we believe that this integrative view is important to open up fresh vistas for why animal signals have evolved.

The Emu

The Emu PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 664

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The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human

The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human PDF Author: V. S. Ramachandran
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393340627
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Drawing on strange and thought-provoking case studies, an eminent neurologist offers unprecedented insight into the evolution of the uniquely human brain.

The Limits of Settlement Growth

The Limits of Settlement Growth PDF Author: Roland Fletcher
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521430852
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
In this study Roland Fletcher argues that the built environment becomes a constraint on the long-term development of a settlement. It is costly to move settlements, or to demolish and rebuild from scratch, so the initial layout and buildings, and the forms of communication that result, may come to shackle further development and also to place constraints on social and political change. Using this theoretical framework, Dr Fletcher reviews worldwide settlement growth over the past 15,000 years, and concludes with a major discussion of the great transformations of human settlements - from mobile to sedentary, sedentary to urban, and urban to industrial. This book is an ambitious contribution to archaeological theory, and the questions it raises also have implications for the future of urban settlement.

The Kingdom of Rarities

The Kingdom of Rarities PDF Author: Eric Dinerstein
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1610911962
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
This book explores that idea, building a narrative around the concept of rarity and its implications both for our understanding of how the natural world works, and for what it can teach us about protecting biodiversity during a time of large-scale environmental change.

Proceedings

Proceedings PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biology
Languages : en
Pages : 474

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Memoirs of the Queensland Museum

Memoirs of the Queensland Museum PDF Author: Queensland Museum
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ethnology
Languages : en
Pages : 680

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The Victorian Naturalist

The Victorian Naturalist PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic journals
Languages : en
Pages : 584

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