Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy

Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy PDF Author: Jürgen Haffer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9783540717782
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
This book is the first detailed biography of Ernst Mayr. He was an ‘architect’ of the Synthetic Theory of Evolution, and the greatest evolutionary biologist since Charles Darwin. He is one of the most widely known biologists of the 20th century.

Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy

Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy PDF Author: Jürgen Haffer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9783540717782
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
This book is the first detailed biography of Ernst Mayr. He was an ‘architect’ of the Synthetic Theory of Evolution, and the greatest evolutionary biologist since Charles Darwin. He is one of the most widely known biologists of the 20th century.

Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy

Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy PDF Author: Jürgen Haffer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 354071779X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 469

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Book Description
This book is the first detailed biography of Ernst Mayr. He was an ‘architect’ of the Synthetic Theory of Evolution, and the greatest evolutionary biologist since Charles Darwin, influential historian and philosopher of biology, outstanding taxonomist and ornithologist, and naturalist. He is one of the most widely known biologists of the 20th century. Mayr used the theories of natural selection and population thinking as theoretical models within the framework of historical biological studies. He was the first to emphasize the role of biopopulations, thereby pointing out the basic difference between ’population thinking’ and typological essentialism.

Charles Darwin's Life with Birds

Charles Darwin's Life with Birds PDF Author: Clifford B. Frith
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190240237
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 521

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Book Description
Focuses exclusively on Darwin the ornithologist, not on biographical aspects of Darwin's life

Book of Birds

Book of Birds PDF Author: John Faaborg
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623497779
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 807

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Book Description
In Book of Birds: Introduction to Ornithology, John Faaborg, renowned expert on avian ecology and conservation, brings a fresh and accessible sensibility to the study of ornithology. In this beautifully illustrated volume, Faaborg’s approachable writing style will engage students and birders alike while introducing them to the study of the evolution, taxonomy, anatomy, physiology, diversity, and behavior of birds. With its unique focus on ecology, the text emphasizes birds’ relationships with the environment and other species while showing the amazing diversity of avian life. Faaborg pays special attention to the roles that competition, community structure, and reproductive behavior play in the astonishingly varied and interesting lives of birds seen around the world. He discusses variations in anatomy, morphology, and behavior; explains why such vast diversity exists; and explores the ways in which different birds can share the same spaces. Artist Claire Faaborg brings the science behind this diversity to life through her unique, hand-drawn artwork throughout the book. Combining vibrant visuals and knowledgeable insights, Book of Birds offers readers a firm foundation in the field of ornithology and an invaluable resource for understanding birds from an ecological and evolutionary perspective.

Ten Thousand Birds

Ten Thousand Birds PDF Author: Tim Birkhead
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400848830
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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Book Description
Ten Thousand Birds provides a thoroughly engaging and authoritative history of modern ornithology, tracing how the study of birds has been shaped by a succession of visionary and often-controversial personalities, and by the unique social and scientific contexts in which these extraordinary individuals worked. This beautifully illustrated book opens in the middle of the nineteenth century when ornithology was a museum-based discipline focused almost exclusively on the anatomy, taxonomy, and classification of dead birds. It describes how in the early 1900s pioneering individuals such as Erwin Stresemann, Ernst Mayr, and Julian Huxley recognized the importance of studying live birds in the field, and how this shift thrust ornithology into the mainstream of the biological sciences. The book tells the stories of eccentrics like Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, a pathological liar who stole specimens from museums and quite likely murdered his wife, and describes the breathtaking insights and discoveries of ambitious and influential figures such as David Lack, Niko Tinbergen, Robert MacArthur, and others who through their studies of birds transformed entire fields of biology. Ten Thousand Birds brings this history vividly to life through the work and achievements of those who advanced the field. Drawing on a wealth of archival material and in-depth interviews, this fascinating book reveals how research on birds has contributed more to our understanding of animal biology than the study of just about any other group of organisms.

Ornithology

Ornithology PDF Author: Frank B. Gill
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780716724155
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 802

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Book Description
Approaches the subject from a biological and evolutionary perspective rather than just identification.

Essential Ornithology

Essential Ornithology PDF Author: Graham Scott
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198804741
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
Essential Ornithology provides the reader with a concise but comprehensive introduction to the biology of birds, one of the most widely studied taxonomic groups. The book begins by considering the dinosaur origins of birds and their subsequent evolution. Development, anatomy, and physiology are then discussed followed by chapters devoted to avian reproduction, migration, ecology, and conservation. Sections dealing with aspects of bird/human relationships and bird conservation give the book an applied context. This new edition has been thoroughly updated, providing new information from rapidly-developing fields including the avian fossil record, urban and agricultural ecology, responses to climate change, invasive species biology, technologies to track movement, avian disease, and the role of citizen scientists. There is also a greater focus on North American ornithology. Drawing extensively upon the wider scientific literature, this engaging text places the results of classical studies of avian biology alongside the most recent scientific breakthroughs. Useful case studies are presented in a concise and engaging style with the student reader foremost in mind. Key points are highlighted and suggestions for guided reading and key references are included throughout. Essential Ornithology is a companion textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in avian science, as well as a useful reference for professional researchers and consultants. Amateur ornithologists will also find this book offers a scientifically rigorous and accessible overview for a more general readership.

The Evolution of Beauty

The Evolution of Beauty PDF Author: Richard O. Prum
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385537220
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
A FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, SMITHSONIAN, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences—what Darwin termed "the taste for the beautiful"—create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world. In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin's theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, and what features each evolves. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature? Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum—reviving Darwin's own views—thinks not. Deep in tropical jungles around the world are birds with a dizzying array of appearances and mating displays: Club-winged Manakins who sing with their wings, Great Argus Pheasants who dazzle prospective mates with a four-foot-wide cone of feathers covered in golden 3D spheres, Red-capped Manakins who moonwalk. In thirty years of fieldwork, Prum has seen numerous display traits that seem disconnected from, if not outright contrary to, selection for individual survival. To explain this, he dusts off Darwin's long-neglected theory of sexual selection in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons—for the mere pleasure of it—is an independent engine of evolutionary change. Mate choice can drive ornamental traits from the constraints of adaptive evolution, allowing them to grow ever more elaborate. It also sets the stakes for sexual conflict, in which the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. Most crucially, this framework provides important insights into the evolution of human sexuality, particularly the ways in which female preferences have changed male bodies, and even maleness itself, through evolutionary time. The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature's splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.

Avian Evolution

Avian Evolution PDF Author: Gerald Mayr
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119020735
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Knowledge of the evolutionary history of birds has much improved in recent decades. Fossils from critical time periods are being described at unprecedented rates and modern phylogenetic analyses have provided a framework for the interrelationships of the extant groups. This book gives an overview of the avian fossil record and its paleobiological significance, and it is the only up-to-date textbook that covers both Mesozoic and more modern-type Cenozoic birds in some detail. The reader is introduced to key features of basal avians and the morphological transformations that have occurred in the evolution towards modern birds. An account of the Cenozoic fossil record sheds light on the biogeographic history of the extant avian groups and discusses fossils in the context of current phylogenetic hypotheses. This review of the evolutionary history of birds not only addresses students and established researchers, but it may also be a useful source of information for anyone else with an interest in the evolution of birds and a moderate background in biology and geology.

Handbook of Bird Biology

Handbook of Bird Biology PDF Author: Irby J. Lovette
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118291042
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 733

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Book Description
Selected by Forbes.com as one of the 12 best books about birds and birding in 2016 This much-anticipated third edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology is an essential and comprehensive resource for everyone interested in learning more about birds, from casual bird watchers to formal students of ornithology. Wherever you study birds your enjoyment will be enhanced by a better understanding of the incredible diversity of avian lifestyles. Arising from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology and authored by a team of experts from around the world, the Handbook covers all aspects of avian diversity, behaviour, ecology, evolution, physiology, and conservation. Using examples drawn from birds found in every corner of the globe, it explores and distills the many scientific discoveries that have made birds one of our best known - and best loved - parts of the natural world. This edition has been completely revised and is presented with more than 800 full color images. It provides readers with a tool for life-long learning about birds and is suitable for bird watchers and ornithology students, as well as for ecologists, conservationists, and resource managers who work with birds. The Handbook of Bird Biology is the companion volume to the Cornell Lab's renowned distance learning course, www.birds.cornell.edu/courses/home/homestudy/.