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This book documents a major environmental crisis: rapidly declining amphibian populations and the developmental problems that are increasingly prevalent within many amphibian species. Horror stories on this topic have been featured in the scientific and popular press over the past fifteen years, invariably asking what amphibian declines are telling us about the state of the environment. Are declines harbingers of devastated ecosystems or simply weird reflections of a peculiar amphibian world? This compendium — presenting new data, reviews of current literature, and comprehensive species accounts — reinforces what scientists have begun to suspect: that amphibians are a lens through which the state of the environment can be viewed more clearly. And, that the view is alarming and presages serious concerns for all life, including that of our own species. The first part of this work consists of more than fifty essays covering topics from the causes of amphibian population declines to conservation, surveys and monitoring, and education. The second part consists of species accounts describing the life history and natural history of every known amphibian species in the United States.

The Baja California peninsula is home to many forms of life found nowhere else on earth. This, combined with the peninsula's rugged and inaccessible terrain, has made the area one of the last true biological frontiers of North America. This book is a guide to the amphibians and reptiles of a fascinating and remote region. The culmination of a quarter century of fieldwork on the Baja peninsula and an exploration of more than one hundred of its islands in the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortés, this book gives information on the identification, distribution, natural history, and taxonomy of each species of amphibian and reptile found there. Preliminary accounts of the life history of many of the salamanders, frogs, toads, turtles, lizards, and snakes are reported here for the first time, and several species that were almost unknown to science are illustrated. The book also contains new data on species distribution and on the effect of the isolated landscape of the peninsula and its islands on the evolutionary process.

Construction behaviour occurs across the entire spectrum of the animal kingdom and affects the survival of both builders and other organisms associated with them. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the biology of animal building. It recognizes three broad categories of built structure: homes, traps, and courtship displays. Even though some of these structures are complex and very large, the behaviour required to build them is generally simple and the anatomy for building unspecialized. Standardization of building materials helps to keep building repertoires simple, while self-organizing effects help create complexity. In a case-study approach to function, insects demonstrate how homes can remain operational while they grow, spiderwebs illustrate mechanical design, and the displays of bowerbirds raise the possibility of persuasion through design rather than just decoration. Studies of the costs to builders provide evidence of optimal designs and of trade-offs with other life history traits. As ecosystem engineers, the influence of builders is extensive and their effect is generally to enhance biodiversity through niche construction. Animal builders can therefore represent model species for the study of the emerging subject of environmental inheritance. Building, and in particular building with silk, has been demonstrated to have important evolutionary consequences.

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.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of evolution in the animal kingdom. It reviews the classical, morphological information from structure and embryology, as well as the new data gained from studies using immune stainings of nerves and muscles and blastomere markings, which makes it possible to follow the fate of single blastomeres all the way to early organogenesis. Until recently, the information from analyses of gene sequences has tended to produce myriads of quite diverging trees. However, the latest generation of molecular methods, using many genes, expressed sequence tags, and even whole genomes, has brought a new stability to the field. The book brings together the information from these varied fields, and demonstrates that it is indeed now possible to build a phylogenetic tree from a combination of both morphology and gene sequences. This thoroughly revised third edition brings the subject fully up to date, especially in light of the latest advances in molecular techniques. The book is illustrated throughout with finely detailed line drawings and clear diagrams, many of them new.

This book provides a comparative account of all the types of eye in the animal kingdom. It gives an outline of the structure and function of each kind of eye, with an emphasis on the nature of the optical systems and the physical principles involved in image formation. The book also covers the evolution and taxonomic distribution of each type of eye, and their roles in the behaviour and ecology of the animals that possess them. In comparing the capabilities of eyes, it considers the factors that lead to good resolution of detail, and to the ability to function under a wide range of light conditions. The book also deals with movements of the eyes: how they sample the world in time as well as space.

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.

This book takes a comparative, integrated view of migration, linking evolution with ecology and management, theory with empirical research, and embracing all the major migratory taxa (including humans). The scope extends beyond the target organism to consider the ecosystem-level dynamics of migration. Rather than simply reviewing the field of migration as it stands today, the book highlights the lacunae in our knowledge and understanding. The emphasis is on exciting new research avenues that are now opening up, whether because of advances in our understanding of migration as a biological phenomenon or through the availability of a range of new technologies. Broad themes that emerge include smoothly integrating migration into the broad spectrum of movement behaviour; the need for a comparative and cross-taxonomic approach that considers migration at a range of temporal and spatial scales; and examination of the key roles of resource uncertainty and spatial heterogeneity in driving migratory behaviour. The chapters identify the potential for new tools to revolutionise the study of migration, including satellite-tracking technology, genomics and modelling – all of which are linked to increasing computing power. There is a current dearth of hypothesis-driven studies that fully integrate theory and empirical analyses, and a taxonomic bias towards birds in much migration research; both of these issues need to be resolved if we are to progress. We are on the verge of a breakthrough in migration research, which is crucial given the multiple threats that face the conservation of migration as a phenomenon, including climate change.

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.

Water is fundamental to life and to the maintenance of an appropriate environment for physiological functions at the molecular, cellular, and organismal level. Water balance is also the principal mechanism of volume regulation in animals. The physical properties of water have profound effects on all biological structures and their function. Animal Osmoregulation has three main themes. The first deals with the physical properties of water, and its interactions with proteins, lipids, and biological membranes. Solutes affect the activity of water and thus the magnitude of the gradients driving water movement through osmosis. The distribution and transport of water in biological systems depends therefore on the properties of solutes, their distribution, and their transport. The second theme involves a detailed physical description of osmosis. This is followed by an explanation of the significance of osmotic regulation in animals inhabiting a wide variety of environments. Examples are explored for marine, freshwater, and terrestrial animals. A broad phylogenetic array of animals is discussed. Thirdly, the book deals with membranes as compartmental barriers. By definition, osmosis occurs through semi-permeable membranes. Membranes also, however, play a fundamental role in energy storage, energy transduction, solute transport, and sensory physiology. This volume approaches animal osmoregulation from the perspective of the physical laws that influence the structure of biological systems. It extends these concepts to explore the diversity of adaptations in the animal kingdom that deal with osmotic challenges in a variety of environments.

The scientific study of networks — computer, social, and biological — has received an enormous amount of interest in recent years. However, the network approach has been applied to the field of animal behaviour relatively late compared to many other biological disciplines. Understanding social network structure is of great importance for biologists since the structural characteristics of any network will affect its constituent members and influence a range of diverse behaviours. These include finding and choosing a sexual partner, developing and maintaining cooperative relationships, and engaging in foraging and anti-predator behavior. This book provides an overview of the insights that network analysis has provided into major biological processes, and how it has enhanced our understanding of the social organisation of several important taxonomic groups. It provides an overview of the power of the network approach which is useful for understanding patterns and process in animal populations. It also outlines how current methodological constraints and challenges can be overcome.

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.

Anthrozoology, the study of human–animal interactions (HAIs), has experienced substantial growth during the past twenty years and it is now timely to synthesise what we know from empirical evidence about our relationships with both domesticated and wild animals. Two principal points of focus have become apparent in much of this research. One is the realisation that the strength of these attachments not only has emotional benefits for people, but confers health benefits as well, such that a whole area has opened up of using companion animals for therapeutic purposes. The other is the recognition that the interactions we have with animals have consequences for their welfare too, and thus impact on their quality of life. Consequently, we now study HAIs in all scenarios in which animals come into contact with humans, whether as pets/companions, farm livestock, laboratory animals, animals in zoos or in the wild. This topical area of study is of growing importance for animals in animal management, animal handling, animal welfare and applied ethology courses, and also for people within psychology, anthropology and human geography at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. It will therefore be of interest to students, researchers and animal managers across the whole spectrum of human–animal contact.

Aquatic insects are the dominant invertebrate fauna in most freshwater ecosystems, and these insects figure prominently in the work of researchers, students, and managers, from diverse backgrounds. This broad-based reference text brings together a huge and scattered literature that presents recent advancements in the basic biology of aquatic insects from around the world — information that is not available in standard texts on entomology, freshwater ecology, or ecohydrology. Because aquatic insects have complex life cycles, they must master both terrestrial and aquatic environments, and also cross these ecosystem boundaries during different stages of development and reproduction. Consequently, this text presents the essential, relevant basics of entomology, but also topics unique to aquatic species. Life in and on top of the water surface are covered in unusual detail, including the biomechanics of life in water, locomotion on surface films and under water, gas exchange, physico-chemical stressors, feeding underwater, sensory perception and communication, reproduction, egg-laying and development, and the evolution of aquatic habits.

The book discusses the diversity of mechanisms by which prey can avoid or survive attacks by predators, both from ecological and evolutionary perspectives. There is a particular focus on sensory mechanisms by which prey can avoid being detected, avoid being identified, signal (perhaps sometimes dishonestly) to predators that they are defended or unpalatable. The book is divided into three sections. The first considers detection avoidance through, for example, background matching, disruptive patterning, countershading and counterillumination, or transparency and reflective silvering. The second section considers avoiding or surviving an attack if detection and identification by the predator has already taken place (i.e., secondary defences). The key mechanism of this section is aposematism: signals that warn the predator that a particular prey type is defended. One particularly interesting aspect of this is the sharing of the same signal by more than one defended species (the phenomenon of Mullerian mimicry). The final section considers deception of predators. This may involve an undefended prey mimicking a defended species (Batesian mimicry), or signals that deflect predator’s attention or signals that startle predators. The book provides the first comprehensive survey of adaptive coloration in a predator-prey context in thirty years.

Avoiding Attack discusses the diversity of mechanisms by which prey avoid predator attacks and explores how such defensive mechanisms have evolved through natural selection. It considers how potential prey avoid detection, how they make themselves unprofitable to attack, how they communicate this status, and how other species have exploited these signals. Using carefully selected examples of camouflage, mimicry, and warning signals drawn from a wide range of species and ecosystems, the authors summarize the latest research into these fascinating adaptations, developing mathematical models where appropriate and making recommendations for future study.This second edition has been extensively rewritten, particularly in the application of modern genetic research techniques which have transformed our recent understanding of adaptations in evolutionary genomics and phylogenetics. The book also employs a more integrated and systematic approach, ensuring that each chapter has a broader focus on the evolutionary and ecological consequences of anti-predator adaptation. The field has grown and developed considerably over the last decade with an explosion of new research literature, making this new edition timely.

Bats are highly charismatic and popular animals that are not only fascinating in their own right, but illustrate most of the topical and important concepts and issues in mammalian biology. This book covers the key aspects of bat biology, including evolution, flight, echolocation, hibernation, reproduction, feeding and roosting ecology, social behaviour, migration, population and community ecology, biogeography, and conservation. This new edition is fully updated and greatly expanded throughout, maintaining the depth and scientific rigour of the first edition. It is beautifully illustrated with drawings and colour photographs.

Bees play a vital role as pollinators for many agricultural crops. This book discusses the interplay between bees, agriculture, and the environment. Although honey bees are well recognized as pollinators, managed bumble bees and solitary bees are also critical for the successful pollination of certain crops, while wild bees provide a free service. As bees liberally pass pollen from one plant to the next, they also impact the broader ecosystem, and not always to the benefit of humankind. Bees can enhance the unintentional spread of genes from genetically engineered plants, and may increase the spread of invasive weeds. Conversely, genetically engineered plants can impact pollinators, and invasive weeds can supply new sources of food for these insects. Bees' flower-visiting activities also can be exploited to spread biological control agents that help to control crop pests. Bee pollination is important for production of native plants used for restoration of wild lands. Managing bees for pollination is complex and must consider bee natural history, physiology, pathology, and behavior. Furthermore, transporting bees from native ranges to new areas for pollination services can be controversial, and should be done only after assuring that a non-native bee introduction will not disrupt the ecosystem. Even though bees are small, unobtrusive creatures, they play large roles in the ecosystem. The connection between bees and humankind is symbolic of a broader interconnection between humans and the natural world.

Human-induced environmental change currently represents the single greatest threat to global biodiversity. Species are typically adapted to the local environmental conditions in which they have evolved. Changes in environmental conditions initially influence behaviour, which in turn affects species interactions, population dynamics, evolutionary processes and, ultimately, biodiversity. How animals respond to changed conditions, and how this influences population viability, is an area of growing research interest. Yet, despite the vital links between environmental change, behaviour, and population dynamics, surprisingly little has been done to bridge these areas of research. This is the first book of its kind devoted to understanding behavioural responses to environmental change. The volume is comprehensive in scope, discussing impacts on both the mechanisms underlying behavioural processes, as well as the longer-term ecological and evolutionary consequences. Drawing on international experts from across the globe, the book covers topics as diverse as endocrine disruption, learning, reproduction, migration, species interactions, and evolutionary rescue.

The editors of this book have used their combined 90 years of experience working on the behaviour and ecology of wild carnivores to draw together a unique network of the world’s experts on musteloid biology and conservation. The musteloids are the most speciose and diverse super-family among carnivores, ranging from little known, exotic, and highly-endangered species to the popular and familiar, and include a large number of introduced invasives. They feature terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal, and aquatic members, ranging from tenacious predators to frugivorous omnivores, span weights from a 100g weasel to 30kg giant otters, and express a range of social behaviours from the highly gregarious to the fiercely solitary. Their diversity and extensive biogeography inform a wide spectrum of ecological theory and conservation practice. Beginning with a brief account of 93 musteloid species, there follow eight comprehensive review chapters covering topics most relevant to musteloid biology and conservation: evolution, form and function, population dynamics, communication, social organisation, exploitation and conflict with people, study tools and techniques, and disease. Twenty detailed case studies then delve into the very best species investigations worldwide, written by leading figures in the field, and providing a range of geographic and taxonomic coverage. The final chapter synthesises what has been discussed in the book, and reflects on the different and diverse conservation needs of musteloids and the wealth of conservation lessons they offer.