John E. Hobbie and George W. Kling (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199860401
- eISBN:
- 9780190267889
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199860401.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This book synthesizes the findings from the NSF-funded Arctic LTER project based in Toolik Lake, Alaska, a site that has been active since the mid-1970s. The book presents research concerning the ...
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This book synthesizes the findings from the NSF-funded Arctic LTER project based in Toolik Lake, Alaska, a site that has been active since the mid-1970s. The book presents research concerning the core issues of climate-change science, and addresses the treeless regions of arctic Alaska, as well as the adjoining boreal forests. The book examines both terrestrial and freshwater-aquatic ecosystems, and their three typical habitats: tundra, streams and lakes. The book provides a history of the Toolik Lake LTER site, and discusses its present condition and future outlook. The chapters create a multidisciplinary survey of the Alaskan arctic ecosystem. Topics include glacial history, climatology, land-water interactions, mercury found in the Alaskan arctic, and the response of lakes to environmental change. The final chapter brings together these findings in order to make predictions regarding the consequences that arctic Alaska faces due to global warming and climate change, and discusses the future of the LTER site in the region.Less
This book synthesizes the findings from the NSF-funded Arctic LTER project based in Toolik Lake, Alaska, a site that has been active since the mid-1970s. The book presents research concerning the core issues of climate-change science, and addresses the treeless regions of arctic Alaska, as well as the adjoining boreal forests. The book examines both terrestrial and freshwater-aquatic ecosystems, and their three typical habitats: tundra, streams and lakes. The book provides a history of the Toolik Lake LTER site, and discusses its present condition and future outlook. The chapters create a multidisciplinary survey of the Alaskan arctic ecosystem. Topics include glacial history, climatology, land-water interactions, mercury found in the Alaskan arctic, and the response of lakes to environmental change. The final chapter brings together these findings in order to make predictions regarding the consequences that arctic Alaska faces due to global warming and climate change, and discusses the future of the LTER site in the region.
Jason Rosenhouse
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199744633
- eISBN:
- 9780190267827
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199744633.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Why do so many Americans reject the modern theory of evolution? Seeking answers, the author became a regular attendee at creationist conferences and other gatherings. After ten years of attending ...
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Why do so many Americans reject the modern theory of evolution? Seeking answers, the author became a regular attendee at creationist conferences and other gatherings. After ten years of attending events like the giant Creation Mega-Conference in Lynchburg, Virginia, and visiting sites like the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, and after hundreds of mostly friendly conversations with creationists of varying stripes, he has emerged with a story to tell, a story that goes well beyond the usual stereotypes of Bible-thumping fanatics railing against coldly rational scientists. Through anecdotes, personal reflections, and scientific and philosophical discussion, the author presents a more down-to-earth picture of modern creationism and the people who espouse it. He also tells the story of his own nonbeliever's attempt to understand a major aspect of American religion. Forced to wrestle with his views about religion and science, the author found himself drawn into a new world of ideas previously unknown to him, arriving at a sharper understanding of the reality of science versus religion disputes, and how these debates look to those beyond the ivory tower.Less
Why do so many Americans reject the modern theory of evolution? Seeking answers, the author became a regular attendee at creationist conferences and other gatherings. After ten years of attending events like the giant Creation Mega-Conference in Lynchburg, Virginia, and visiting sites like the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, and after hundreds of mostly friendly conversations with creationists of varying stripes, he has emerged with a story to tell, a story that goes well beyond the usual stereotypes of Bible-thumping fanatics railing against coldly rational scientists. Through anecdotes, personal reflections, and scientific and philosophical discussion, the author presents a more down-to-earth picture of modern creationism and the people who espouse it. He also tells the story of his own nonbeliever's attempt to understand a major aspect of American religion. Forced to wrestle with his views about religion and science, the author found himself drawn into a new world of ideas previously unknown to him, arriving at a sharper understanding of the reality of science versus religion disputes, and how these debates look to those beyond the ivory tower.
Duncan J. Irschick and Timothy E. Higham
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199296545
- eISBN:
- 9780191817489
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296545.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Ecology
This work examines the wonders of animal athletics, both from an ecological perspective and from an evolutionary perspective. Animals are remarkable for their amazing abilities to perform tasks such ...
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This work examines the wonders of animal athletics, both from an ecological perspective and from an evolutionary perspective. Animals are remarkable for their amazing abilities to perform tasks such as running, jumping, feeding, vocalization, and others. Many of these abilities far exceed what humans can accomplish, such as the ability of a rattlesnake to shake its tail at 90 Hz, or the ability of a mako shark to swim 50 km/h! These remarkable abilities have evolved to enable these animals to survive, often within very harsh conditions. This book examines how such abilities have evolved, how they are used in nature, and how they relate to many other features, such as sexual traits, reproduction, and the need to perform other tasks well. Further, this book examines how modern portable technology is enabling scientists to unlock many of the mysteries of how and why animals perform such tasks. By examining a wide range of animal species, including lizards, sharks, insects, spiders, mammals, and birds, among others, this book is a broad survey of the diversity of animal form and function.Less
This work examines the wonders of animal athletics, both from an ecological perspective and from an evolutionary perspective. Animals are remarkable for their amazing abilities to perform tasks such as running, jumping, feeding, vocalization, and others. Many of these abilities far exceed what humans can accomplish, such as the ability of a rattlesnake to shake its tail at 90 Hz, or the ability of a mako shark to swim 50 km/h! These remarkable abilities have evolved to enable these animals to survive, often within very harsh conditions. This book examines how such abilities have evolved, how they are used in nature, and how they relate to many other features, such as sexual traits, reproduction, and the need to perform other tasks well. Further, this book examines how modern portable technology is enabling scientists to unlock many of the mysteries of how and why animals perform such tasks. By examining a wide range of animal species, including lizards, sharks, insects, spiders, mammals, and birds, among others, this book is a broad survey of the diversity of animal form and function.
Andrew Biewener and Sheila Patek
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198743156
- eISBN:
- 9780191803031
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198743156.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Ecology
This book provides a synthesis of the physical, physiological, evolutionary, and biomechanical principles that underlie animal locomotion. An understanding and full appreciation of animal locomotion ...
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This book provides a synthesis of the physical, physiological, evolutionary, and biomechanical principles that underlie animal locomotion. An understanding and full appreciation of animal locomotion requires the integration of these principles. Toward this end, we provide the necessary introductory foundation that will allow a more in-depth understanding of the physical biology and physiology of animal movement. In so doing, we hope that this book will illuminate the fundamentals and breadth of these systems, while inspiring our readers to look more deeply into the scientific literature and investigate new features of animal movement. Several themes run through this book. The first is that by comparing the modes and mechanisms by which animals have evolved the capacity for movement, we can understand the common principles that underlie each mode of locomotion. A second is that size matters. One of the most amazing aspects of biology is the enormous spatial and temporal scale over which organisms and biological processes operate. Within each mode of locomotion, animals have evolved designs and mechanisms that effectively contend with the physical properties and forces imposed on them by their environment. Understanding the constraints of scale that underlie locomotor mechanisms is essential to appreciating how these mechanisms have evolved and how they operate. A third theme is the importance of taking an integrative and comparative evolutionary approach in the study of biology. Organisms share much in common. Much of their molecular and cellular machinery is the same. They also must navigate similar physical properties of their environment. Consequently, an integrative approach to organismal function that spans multiple levels of biological organization provides a strong understanding of animal locomotion. By comparing across species, common principles of design emerge. Such comparisons also highlight how certain organisms may differ and point to strategies that have evolved for movement in diverse environments. Finally, because convergence upon common designs and the generation of new designs result from historical processes governed by natural selection, it is also important that we ask how and why these systems have evolved.Less
This book provides a synthesis of the physical, physiological, evolutionary, and biomechanical principles that underlie animal locomotion. An understanding and full appreciation of animal locomotion requires the integration of these principles. Toward this end, we provide the necessary introductory foundation that will allow a more in-depth understanding of the physical biology and physiology of animal movement. In so doing, we hope that this book will illuminate the fundamentals and breadth of these systems, while inspiring our readers to look more deeply into the scientific literature and investigate new features of animal movement. Several themes run through this book. The first is that by comparing the modes and mechanisms by which animals have evolved the capacity for movement, we can understand the common principles that underlie each mode of locomotion. A second is that size matters. One of the most amazing aspects of biology is the enormous spatial and temporal scale over which organisms and biological processes operate. Within each mode of locomotion, animals have evolved designs and mechanisms that effectively contend with the physical properties and forces imposed on them by their environment. Understanding the constraints of scale that underlie locomotor mechanisms is essential to appreciating how these mechanisms have evolved and how they operate. A third theme is the importance of taking an integrative and comparative evolutionary approach in the study of biology. Organisms share much in common. Much of their molecular and cellular machinery is the same. They also must navigate similar physical properties of their environment. Consequently, an integrative approach to organismal function that spans multiple levels of biological organization provides a strong understanding of animal locomotion. By comparing across species, common principles of design emerge. Such comparisons also highlight how certain organisms may differ and point to strategies that have evolved for movement in diverse environments. Finally, because convergence upon common designs and the generation of new designs result from historical processes governed by natural selection, it is also important that we ask how and why these systems have evolved.
Lars-Anders Hansson and Susanne Åkesson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199677184
- eISBN:
- 9780191785696
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199677184.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Ecology
This book takes a broad approach to animal movement across both temporal and spatial scales. Movement and migration on land, in the air, and in water are pervading features of animal life—from the ...
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This book takes a broad approach to animal movement across both temporal and spatial scales. Movement and migration on land, in the air, and in water are pervading features of animal life—from the smallest protozoans to the largest whales—and can extend from millimetres to global scale. Research into animal movement ecology is now entering a new era with the development of novel molecular, electronic, and technical methods that make it possible to analyse the movements of individual animals under complex environmental conditions that determine the evolution of movement habits. This book addresses how and why animals move and in what ways they differ in their locomotion and navigation performance. The book also synthesizes current knowledge of the genetics of movement/migration, including gene flow and local adaptations. Based on long-term data sets, a future perspective on how patterns of animal migration may change over time together with the potential evolutionary consequences is provided. Throughout it is suggested that optimization is a useful approach for understanding the evolution of movement patterns among different animals as well as their travelling performance, movement strategies, and paths followed. Taking movement, dispersal, and migration into account is crucial for understanding the spatial scale of adaptation, and for analysing the consequences on population and community levels of landscape and climate change, as well as of invasive species.Less
This book takes a broad approach to animal movement across both temporal and spatial scales. Movement and migration on land, in the air, and in water are pervading features of animal life—from the smallest protozoans to the largest whales—and can extend from millimetres to global scale. Research into animal movement ecology is now entering a new era with the development of novel molecular, electronic, and technical methods that make it possible to analyse the movements of individual animals under complex environmental conditions that determine the evolution of movement habits. This book addresses how and why animals move and in what ways they differ in their locomotion and navigation performance. The book also synthesizes current knowledge of the genetics of movement/migration, including gene flow and local adaptations. Based on long-term data sets, a future perspective on how patterns of animal migration may change over time together with the potential evolutionary consequences is provided. Throughout it is suggested that optimization is a useful approach for understanding the evolution of movement patterns among different animals as well as their travelling performance, movement strategies, and paths followed. Taking movement, dispersal, and migration into account is crucial for understanding the spatial scale of adaptation, and for analysing the consequences on population and community levels of landscape and climate change, as well as of invasive species.
Lori Lach, Catherine Parr, and Kirsti Abbott (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199544639
- eISBN:
- 9780191720192
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544639.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Animal Biology
From scorching, barren deserts to humid tropical forests, from deep in the soil, to high in the tree canopies, ants are everywhere! Comprising a substantial part of living biomass on earth, ants are ...
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From scorching, barren deserts to humid tropical forests, from deep in the soil, to high in the tree canopies, ants are everywhere! Comprising a substantial part of living biomass on earth, ants are integral to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. More than 12,000 species have been described to date, and it is estimated that perhaps as many still await classification. Their social structure provides a rich ground for exploring how division of labour affects the acquisition of resources, foraging and defensive behaviours, and coevolution with the flora and fauna with which they interact. The study of ants has led to significant advances in our understanding of insect evolution, global diversity patterns, competitive interactions, mutualisms, ecosystem's responses to change, and biological invasions. Ant Ecology explores these and other key ecological issues and new developments in myrmecology across a range of scales. The book begins with a global perspective on species diversity in time and space and explores interactions at the community level before describing the population ecology of these social insects. The final section covers the recent ecological phenomenon of invasive ants: how they move across the globe, invade, affect ecosystems, and are managed by humans. Each chapter links ant ecology to broader ecological principles, provides a succinct summary, and discusses future research directions. The Synthesis and Perspectives highlights contributions of ant ecology to ecology more broadly, and outlines promising areas for future research.Less
From scorching, barren deserts to humid tropical forests, from deep in the soil, to high in the tree canopies, ants are everywhere! Comprising a substantial part of living biomass on earth, ants are integral to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. More than 12,000 species have been described to date, and it is estimated that perhaps as many still await classification. Their social structure provides a rich ground for exploring how division of labour affects the acquisition of resources, foraging and defensive behaviours, and coevolution with the flora and fauna with which they interact. The study of ants has led to significant advances in our understanding of insect evolution, global diversity patterns, competitive interactions, mutualisms, ecosystem's responses to change, and biological invasions. Ant Ecology explores these and other key ecological issues and new developments in myrmecology across a range of scales. The book begins with a global perspective on species diversity in time and space and explores interactions at the community level before describing the population ecology of these social insects. The final section covers the recent ecological phenomenon of invasive ants: how they move across the globe, invade, affect ecosystems, and are managed by humans. Each chapter links ant ecology to broader ecological principles, provides a succinct summary, and discusses future research directions. The Synthesis and Perspectives highlights contributions of ant ecology to ecology more broadly, and outlines promising areas for future research.
Johanna Laybourn-Parry and Jemma L. Wadham
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199670499
- eISBN:
- 9780191788536
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199670499.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Antarctica possesses a remarkably diverse range of lakes, including freshwater and saline lakes (some as salty as the Dead Sea), tidal freshwater lakes (epishelf lakes), lakes on ice shelves and ...
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Antarctica possesses a remarkably diverse range of lakes, including freshwater and saline lakes (some as salty as the Dead Sea), tidal freshwater lakes (epishelf lakes), lakes on ice shelves and glacier surfaces, and an extraordinary network of lakes beneath the polar ice sheet, the so-called subglacial lakes. Unlike lakes at lower latitudes which in some cases have been subject to more than a century of study, Antarctic limnology is a recent discipline. It was not until the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958) that investigations on Antarctic lakes began to take off. This book is the first to draw together current knowledge on the geomorphology, morphometry, chemistry, community structure, and functioning of these delicate unproductive ecosystems. The communities of Antarctic lakes are truncated and dominated by microorganisms, reflecting the extreme nature of these ecosystems. They lack fish and have a limited metazoan component. The first chapter provides an introduction to Antarctic limnology and a basis for understanding subsequent chapters which detail each lake type. The polar regions are experiencing greater warming than lower latitudes, and Antarctic lakes are widely regarded as sentinels of local and global climate change. This important aspect is embedded throughout the book. The last chapter considers the application of new technologies to polar limnology, identifying areas for future research directions.Less
Antarctica possesses a remarkably diverse range of lakes, including freshwater and saline lakes (some as salty as the Dead Sea), tidal freshwater lakes (epishelf lakes), lakes on ice shelves and glacier surfaces, and an extraordinary network of lakes beneath the polar ice sheet, the so-called subglacial lakes. Unlike lakes at lower latitudes which in some cases have been subject to more than a century of study, Antarctic limnology is a recent discipline. It was not until the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958) that investigations on Antarctic lakes began to take off. This book is the first to draw together current knowledge on the geomorphology, morphometry, chemistry, community structure, and functioning of these delicate unproductive ecosystems. The communities of Antarctic lakes are truncated and dominated by microorganisms, reflecting the extreme nature of these ecosystems. They lack fish and have a limited metazoan component. The first chapter provides an introduction to Antarctic limnology and a basis for understanding subsequent chapters which detail each lake type. The polar regions are experiencing greater warming than lower latitudes, and Antarctic lakes are widely regarded as sentinels of local and global climate change. This important aspect is embedded throughout the book. The last chapter considers the application of new technologies to polar limnology, identifying areas for future research directions.
Diego Gil and Henrik Brumm (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199661572
- eISBN:
- 9780191810176
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199661572.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
As natural habitat continues to be lost and the world steadily becomes more urbanized, biologists are increasingly studying the effect this has on wildlife. Birds are particularly good model systems ...
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As natural habitat continues to be lost and the world steadily becomes more urbanized, biologists are increasingly studying the effect this has on wildlife. Birds are particularly good model systems since their life history, behaviour, and physiology are especially influenced by directly measurable environmental factors such as light and sound pollution. It is therefore relatively easy to compare urban individuals and populations with their rural counterparts. This text focuses on the behavioural and physiological mechanisms which facilitate adaptation and on the evolutionary process that ensues. It discusses topics such as acoustics, reproductive cues, disease, and artificial feeding, and includes a series of case studies illustrating cutting-edge research on these areas.Less
As natural habitat continues to be lost and the world steadily becomes more urbanized, biologists are increasingly studying the effect this has on wildlife. Birds are particularly good model systems since their life history, behaviour, and physiology are especially influenced by directly measurable environmental factors such as light and sound pollution. It is therefore relatively easy to compare urban individuals and populations with their rural counterparts. This text focuses on the behavioural and physiological mechanisms which facilitate adaptation and on the evolutionary process that ensues. It discusses topics such as acoustics, reproductive cues, disease, and artificial feeding, and includes a series of case studies illustrating cutting-edge research on these areas.
N. Thompson Hobbs and Mevin B. Hooten
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691159287
- eISBN:
- 9781400866557
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691159287.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Bayesian modeling has become an indispensable tool for ecological research because it is uniquely suited to deal with complexity in a statistically coherent way. This book provides a comprehensive ...
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Bayesian modeling has become an indispensable tool for ecological research because it is uniquely suited to deal with complexity in a statistically coherent way. This book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the latest Bayesian methods. It emphasizes the principles behind the computations, giving ecologists a big-picture understanding of how to implement this powerful statistical approach, and is an essential primer for non-statisticians. It begins with a definition of probability and develops a step-by-step sequence of connected ideas, including basic distribution theory, network diagrams, hierarchical models, Markov chain Monte Carlo, and inference from single and multiple models. The book places less emphasis on computer coding, favoring instead a concise presentation of the mathematical statistics needed to understand how and why Bayesian analysis works. It also explains how to write out properly formulated hierarchical Bayesian models and use them in computing, research papers, and proposals. This book enables ecologists to understand the statistical principles behind Bayesian modeling and apply them to research, teaching, policy, and management.Less
Bayesian modeling has become an indispensable tool for ecological research because it is uniquely suited to deal with complexity in a statistically coherent way. This book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the latest Bayesian methods. It emphasizes the principles behind the computations, giving ecologists a big-picture understanding of how to implement this powerful statistical approach, and is an essential primer for non-statisticians. It begins with a definition of probability and develops a step-by-step sequence of connected ideas, including basic distribution theory, network diagrams, hierarchical models, Markov chain Monte Carlo, and inference from single and multiple models. The book places less emphasis on computer coding, favoring instead a concise presentation of the mathematical statistics needed to understand how and why Bayesian analysis works. It also explains how to write out properly formulated hierarchical Bayesian models and use them in computing, research papers, and proposals. This book enables ecologists to understand the statistical principles behind Bayesian modeling and apply them to research, teaching, policy, and management.
David Coleman
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520264755
- eISBN:
- 9780520945739
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520264755.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This book documents historically fruitful ecological collaborations in the early years of studying large ecosystems in the United States. As the book explains, the concept of the ecosystem—a local ...
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This book documents historically fruitful ecological collaborations in the early years of studying large ecosystems in the United States. As the book explains, the concept of the ecosystem—a local biological community and its interactions with its environment—has given rise to many institutions and research programs, like the National Science Foundation's program for Long Term Ecological Research. This book's insider account of this important and fascinating trend toward big science takes us from the paradigm of collaborative interdisciplinary research, starting with the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957, through the International Biological Program (IBP) of the late 1960s and early 1970s, to the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) programs of the 1980s.Less
This book documents historically fruitful ecological collaborations in the early years of studying large ecosystems in the United States. As the book explains, the concept of the ecosystem—a local biological community and its interactions with its environment—has given rise to many institutions and research programs, like the National Science Foundation's program for Long Term Ecological Research. This book's insider account of this important and fascinating trend toward big science takes us from the paradigm of collaborative interdisciplinary research, starting with the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957, through the International Biological Program (IBP) of the late 1960s and early 1970s, to the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) programs of the 1980s.
1895
A.S. Byatt
Abandoned in the Heartland
Abandoned to Ourselves
Abandoning Historical Conflict?
The Abbe Gregoire and the French Revolution
Abigail and John Adams
Abominable Science!
Aboriginal Slavery on the Northwest Coast of North America
