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Seeing in depth in different species

Ian P. Howard and Brian J. Rogers

in Seeing in Depth: Volume 1: Basic Mechanics/ Volume 2: Depth Perception 2-Volume Set

This chapter discusses depth vision in animals other than cats and primates. These include invertebrates, fish, amphibian, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

The biota

D. Dudley Williams

in The Biology of Temporary Waters

This chapter presents summaries of each taxonomic group inhabiting temporary waters, providing examples of habitat-specific requirements and adaptations throughout. Insects and crustaceans are the ... More

This chapter presents summaries of each taxonomic group inhabiting temporary waters, providing examples of habitat-specific requirements and adaptations throughout. Insects and crustaceans are the dominant community members and, consequently, the best studied groups. However, information is also provided on lesser known groups, such as the prokaryotes, fungi, nematodes, tardigrades, and rotifers. Higher plants, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are discussed. Detailed case histories are given of the biotas from common habitat types. Global and regional comparisons of temporary water communities are made and commonality is demonstrated.Less

Photoperiodism in Amphibians and Reptiles

Zachary M. Weil and David Crews

in Photoperiodism: The Biological Calendar

This chapter provides a broad overview of photoperiodic regulation of reproductive and nonreproductive responses in amphibians and reptiles. It focuses mostly on laboratory investigations of ... More

This chapter provides a broad overview of photoperiodic regulation of reproductive and nonreproductive responses in amphibians and reptiles. It focuses mostly on laboratory investigations of photoperiodic and seasonal phenomena where environmental factors can be precisely controlled, and the respective contributions of day length and environmental temperature elucidated.Less

Introduction

Richard P. Hilton

in Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Reptiles of California

This book explores the Mesozoic reptile fossil discoveries made in California. It describes the fossils and what they tell about the animals that they were a part of, and it chronicles the efforts of ... More

This book explores the Mesozoic reptile fossil discoveries made in California. It describes the fossils and what they tell about the animals that they were a part of, and it chronicles the efforts of those who made the discoveries. It first describes every Mesozoic reptile that has been found and identified in California and then explores the history of their discovery. It concludes with astonishing discoveries made in southern California and Baja California.Less

Embracing Human Diversity in Conservation

Whit Gibbons

in Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species

Disease, pollution, invasive species, overcollecting, global changes, and other causes have been documented or proposed to be responsible for particular or widespread amphibian population declines. ... More

Disease, pollution, invasive species, overcollecting, global changes, and other causes have been documented or proposed to be responsible for particular or widespread amphibian population declines. Yet, finding solutions for any of these causes will not matter for most species in the long term if the basic components of their natural habitats are degraded or eliminated by human use of natural resources. Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) is an initiative designed to find solutions to the loss of habitat and other problems faced by herpetofauna. Groups or individuals with an agenda involving beleaguered amphibians (frogs, salamanders, and caecilians) are encouraged to become involved with PARC. PARC differs from many other conservation groups. PARC recognizes that reptiles are more globally threatened than are amphibians, and, hence, these two major classes of vertebrates are coupled in conservation efforts. PARC has been organized to involve not only the person or group with a concern for amphibians and their habitats, but also any person or group whose actions and attitudes are perceived by some as detrimental to the well-being of amphibians.Less

The Reign of the Reptiles

Frank H. T. Rhodes

in Origins: The Search for Our Prehistoric Past

This chapter examines reptiles and the rise and fall of their early dominion over the planet through the land, sky, and sea. The secret of the reptiles' success has been the development of the ... More

This chapter examines reptiles and the rise and fall of their early dominion over the planet through the land, sky, and sea. The secret of the reptiles' success has been the development of the amniotic egg, and from here the chapter traces the origins of the early reptiles and their proliferation throughout the ages, culminating in the Mesozoic Era—the great era of “Middle Life”—which was above all else the Age of the Dinosaurs: the “kings” of the Ruling Reptiles. Dinosaurs appeared, as did the mammals, in Triassic times, about 230 million years ago, and for some 140 million years they dominated life on the land.Less

Hyporegulators Hyporegulators

Timothy J. Bradley

in Animal Osmoregulation

Many organisms living in the oceans or in salt lakes are hyporegulators, meaning that they maintain their body fluids hypo-osmotically to the external medium. Marine fish hyporegulate by drinking the ... More

Many organisms living in the oceans or in salt lakes are hyporegulators, meaning that they maintain their body fluids hypo-osmotically to the external medium. Marine fish hyporegulate by drinking the external medium and transporting sodium and chloride ions outward across the gills. Marine reptiles and birds use salt glands in the head to transport hyperosmotic fluids outward. Marine mammals are able to produce hyperosmotic urine in the kidneys. Insects use portions of the hindgut to actively transport ions out of their hemolymph. Brine shrimp are the champion hyporegulators of the animal kingdom. They use salt glands to rid their bodies of the salts accumulated in waters many times more concentrated than the oceans.Less

Type Specimens of Recent Amphibians and Nonavian Reptiles in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

Javier A. Rodríguez-Robles, David A. Good, and David B. Wake

in Brief History of Herpetology in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, with a List of Type Specimens of Recent Amphibians and Reptiles

The herpetological gathering of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology was begun on March 13, 1909, with a collection of approximately 430 specimens from southern California and contained 232,254 specimens ... More

The herpetological gathering of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology was begun on March 13, 1909, with a collection of approximately 430 specimens from southern California and contained 232,254 specimens as of December 31, 2001. The collection is strongest in salamanders, accounting for 99,176 specimens, followed by “lizards” (squamate reptiles other than snakes and amphisbaenians, 63,439), frogs (40,563), snakes (27,937), turtles (2,643), caecilians (979), amphisbaenians (451), crocodilians (63), and tuataras (63). Every institution in which name-bearing specimens are deposited should publish a catalog of the type specimens in its care (Recommendation 72F.4, International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, 1999). Accounts are arranged alphabetically in the list of species by clade (Anura, Caudata, Gymnophia, Squamata, Serpentes, Testudines), family, and species in that order. All types of localities, the geographic place of capture of holotypes, neotypes, syntypes, and paratopotypes, are given in quotation marks as they appear in the original description.Less

Sobek, Lord of the Land of the Lake

Edda Bresciani

in Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt

The primeval power of Sobek is already acknowledged in a hymn from the Pyramid Texts (PT 317), where the dead pharaoh identifies himself with the god, who here appears as son of the Great ... More

The primeval power of Sobek is already acknowledged in a hymn from the Pyramid Texts (PT 317), where the dead pharaoh identifies himself with the god, who here appears as son of the Great Neith-Meher-Weret, the celestial cow of the inundation: “Sobek, green of feathers, alert-looking, broad-chested, sparkling, coming out from the legs and the tail of the Great One, who is in splendour.” This very ancient description of the divine reptile, who in the same “Pyramid Texts” bears also the epithet of Shedite (“that of Shedet,” the capital town of the swampy region of the Fayum lake), incorporates his basic characteristics. The deification and the cult of the crocodile belong to the religious phenomenon of the ancient Egyptian animal cult. The animal specimen which embodied the god was always unique, as a new one took the place of the dead one, who was mummified and buried with solemn rituals.Less

Biodiversity and Conservation of Mesoamerican Dry-Forest Herpetofauna

Mahmood Sasa and Federico Bolaños

in Biodiversity Conservation in Costa Rica: Learning the Lessons in a Seasonal Dry Forest

The herpetofauna of Mesoamerica is one of the richest and complex vertebrate faunas, involving more than 210 genera, comprising approximately 693 species of reptiles and 598 species of amphibians. ... More

The herpetofauna of Mesoamerica is one of the richest and complex vertebrate faunas, involving more than 210 genera, comprising approximately 693 species of reptiles and 598 species of amphibians. This chapter examines the biodiversity and biogeographical aspects of reptiles and amphibians in the dry-forest environments of Mesoamerica. It discusses their resource and microhabitat use, feeding ecology, reproduction, and adaptations to the changing seasonal climate. Finally, it discusses some of the recommendations for the conservation of herpetofauna of Mesoamerican dry forests.Less

Rogues, reptiles and repentant sinners

Brian Mcnair

in Journalists in Film: Heroes and Villains

This chapter describes the representation of journalists in cinema as best, lovable rogues and as worst, loathsome reptiles. Runaway Bride stars Richard Gere in the lovable rogue role, opposite Julia ... More

This chapter describes the representation of journalists in cinema as best, lovable rogues and as worst, loathsome reptiles. Runaway Bride stars Richard Gere in the lovable rogue role, opposite Julia Roberts as a woman, Maggie Carpenter, who repeated leaves her fiancés at the altar. The representation of the journalist-as-reptile may be viewed both as a warning to the public in a democracy that their media are at worst akin to predators running wild, and that they bear some responsibility for putting them back in their cage. The Ace in the Hole, Mad City, To Die For and Natural Born Killers are four films which illustrate the journalist-as-reptile sub-type. The bad girl trio depicted in Rag Tale were as bad as it got in that decade and in the film these women were only doing what they had to do to get by in a working environment of brutish male hacks.Less

Lessons from Europe

K. Henle

in Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species

Amphibians and reptiles are coming to be regarded in Europe as indicator groups for a general decline in species diversity. The decline of these groups has been well documented in Europe and on other ... More

Amphibians and reptiles are coming to be regarded in Europe as indicator groups for a general decline in species diversity. The decline of these groups has been well documented in Europe and on other continents as a result of numerous population surveys. A scientifically based analysis of causal relations is essential to effective conservation efforts since it leads to the prediction of appropriate countermeasures. The most important type of database for the documentation of the declines of amphibians and reptiles and their potential causes results from regular surveys of a specific geographic area. This chapter describes the available methods of causal analysis, as well as their limitations, by applying the methods in the analysis of a long-term surveying project for amphibian population declines. It also presents remarks on the optimization of surveying projects that will facilitate subsequent causal analyses. In addition, it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of three experimental approaches for evaluating causal relations in ecology: laboratory experiments, field experiments, and unplanned or natural experiments.Less

Commercial Trade

Anthony B. Wilson

in Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species

The international and interstate trade in amphibians is enormous and legally complex. The U.S. Federal Animal Welfare Act of 1966 regulates the use of animals for research and exhibition, as well as ... More

The international and interstate trade in amphibians is enormous and legally complex. The U.S. Federal Animal Welfare Act of 1966 regulates the use of animals for research and exhibition, as well as for the pet trade. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora, which became law in 1973, prohibits the importing, exporting, or reexporting of wildlife or plants (or their parts or derivatives of certain species) unless permitted to do so by both the importing and exporting country. The CITES treaty, signed by 145 member nations, is a step in the right direction, but it has not stopped the smuggling and illegal trade in amphibians and reptiles. The commercial interest in amphibians and reptiles has grown rapidly, driven in part by the general interest in amphibian population declines and the popularity of amphibians and reptiles in the entertainment and advertisement industries. The solution to the problem of commercial exploitation of amphibians and reptiles in general, and amphibians in particular, lies in communication, education, legislation, and enforcement.Less

Reflections Upon Amphibian Conservation

Thomas K. Pauley

in Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species

The author began his fieldwork with amphibians in West Virginia in 1963 at the age of twenty-three, and he has spent most of his time (when not teaching) walking the mountains of West Virginia ... More

The author began his fieldwork with amphibians in West Virginia in 1963 at the age of twenty-three, and he has spent most of his time (when not teaching) walking the mountains of West Virginia searching for amphibians and reptiles. His major study sites include the New River Gorge National River, the Bluestone National Scenic River, the Gauley River National Recreational Area, and the high Alleghenies. Animals of particular interest include Cheat Mountain salamanders (Plethodon nettingi) and Cow Knob salamanders (P. punctatus). In this chapter, he draws from these years of experience to reflect on amphibian conservation. In particular, he discusses how habitat disturbances can create amphibian habitats, focusing on West Virginia coal mines and logging roads. He also comments on habitat restoration, the role of subtle forest fragmentation in amphibian population declines, and the possible synergistic effects of multiple sublethal stressors.Less