Download or read book Bird Species written by Dieter Thomas Tietze and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-19 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The average person can name more bird species than they think, but do we really know what a bird “species” is? This open access book takes up several fascinating aspects of bird life to elucidate this basic concept in biology. From genetic and physiological basics to the phenomena of bird song and bird migration, it analyzes various interactions of birds – with their environment and other birds. Lastly, it shows imminent threats to birds in the Anthropocene, the era of global human impact. Although it seemed to be easy to define bird species, the advent of modern methods has challenged species definition and led to a multidisciplinary approach to classifying birds. One outstanding new toolbox comes with the more and more reasonably priced acquisition of whole-genome sequences that allow causative analyses of how bird species diversify. Speciation has reached a final stage when daughter species are reproductively isolated, but this stage is not easily detectable from the phenotype we observe. Culturally transmitted traits such as bird song seem to speed up speciation processes, while another behavioral trait, migration, helps birds to find food resources, and also coincides with higher chances of reaching new, inhabitable areas. In general, distribution is a major key to understanding speciation in birds. Examples of ecological speciation can be found in birds, and the constant interaction of birds with their biotic environment also contributes to evolutionary changes. In the Anthropocene, birds are confronted with rapid changes that are highly threatening for some species. Climate change forces birds to move their ranges, but may also disrupt well-established interactions between climate, vegetation, and food sources. This book brings together various disciplines involved in observing bird species come into existence, modify, and vanish. It is a rich resource for bird enthusiasts who want to understand various processes at the cutting edge of current research in more detail. At the same time it offers students the opportunity to see primarily unconnected, but booming big-data approaches such as genomics and biogeography meet in a topic of broad interest. Lastly, the book enables conservationists to better understand the uncertainties surrounding “species” as entities of protection.
Download or read book The Ocean Sunfishes written by Tierney M. Thys and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-12-10 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ocean Sunfishes: Evolution, Biology and Conservation is the first book to gather into one comprehensive volume our fundamental knowledge of the world-record holding, charismatic ocean behemoths in the family Molidae. From evolution and phylogeny to biotoxins, biomechanics, parasites, husbandry and popular culture, it outlines recent and future research from leading sunfish experts worldwide This synthesis includes diet, foraging behavior, migration and fisheries bycatch and overhauls long-standing and outdated perceptions. This book provides the essential go-to resource for both lay and academic audiences alike and anyone interested in exploring one of the ocean’s most elusive and captivating group of fishes.
Download or read book Habitat Suitability and Distribution Models written by Antoine Guisan and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-14 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces the key stages of niche-based habitat suitability model building, evaluation and prediction required for understanding and predicting future patterns of species and biodiversity. Beginning with the main theory behind ecological niches and species distributions, the book proceeds through all major steps of model building, from conceptualization and model training to model evaluation and spatio-temporal predictions. Extensive examples using R support graduate students and researchers in quantifying ecological niches and predicting species distributions with their own data, and help to address key environmental and conservation problems. Reflecting this highly active field of research, the book incorporates the latest developments from informatics and statistics, as well as using data from remote sources such as satellite imagery. A website at www.unil.ch/hsdm contains the codes and supporting material required to run the examples and teach courses.
Download or read book Research Techniques in Animal Ecology written by Luigi Boitani and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2000-06-01 with total page 668 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present biodiversity crisis is rife with opportunities to make important conservation decisions; however, the misuse or misapplication of the methods and techniques of animal ecology can have serious consequences for the survival of species. Still, there have been relatively few critical reviews of methodology in the field. This book provides an analysis of some of the most frequently used research techniques in animal ecology, identifying their limitations and misuses, as well as possible solutions to avoid such pitfalls. In the process, contributors to this volume present new perspectives on the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data. Research Techniques in Animal Ecology is an overarching account of central theoretical and methodological controversies in the field, rather than a handbook on the minutiae of techniques. The editors have forged comprehensive presentations of key topics in animal ecology, such as territory and home range estimates, habitation evaluation, population viability analysis, GIS mapping, and measuring the dynamics of societies. Striking a careful balance, each chapter begins by assessing the shortcomings and misapplications of the techniques in question, followed by a thorough review of the current literature, and concluding with possible solutions and suggested guidelines for more robust investigations.
Download or read book Naturalized Parrots of the World written by Stephen Pruett-Jones and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-10 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The first book to look at naturalized parrots with a global perspective, with a wide range of chapters by 36 leading researchers"--
Download or read book Camera Traps in Animal Ecology written by Allan F. O'Connell and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-10-05 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Remote photography and infrared sensors are widely used in the sampling of wildlife populations worldwide, especially for cryptic or elusive species. Guiding the practitioner through the entire process of using camera traps, this book is the first to compile state-of-the-art sampling techniques for the purpose of conducting high-quality science or effective management. Chapters on the evaluation of equipment, field sampling designs, and data analysis methods provide a coherent framework for making inferences about the abundance, species richness, and occupancy of sampled animals. The volume introduces new models that will revolutionize use of camera data to estimate population density, such as the newly developed spatial capture–recapture models. It also includes richly detailed case studies of camera trap work on some of the world’s most charismatic, elusive, and endangered wildlife species. Indispensible to wildlife conservationists, ecologists, biologists, and conservation agencies around the world, the text provides a thorough review of the subject as well as a forecast for the use of remote photography in natural resource conservation over the next few decades.
Download or read book The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-04-30 with total page 755 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Download or read book Spatial Analysis in Field Primatology written by Francine L. Dolins and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-02-18 with total page 461 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A primatologist's guide to using geographic information systems (GIS); from mapping and field accuracy, to tracking travel routes and the impact of logging.
Download or read book Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats written by Brenda McComb and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2010-03-11 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the face of so many unprecedented changes in our environment, the pressure is on scientists to lead the way toward a more sustainable future. Written by a team of ecologists, Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats: A Practitioner’s Guide provides a framework that natural resource managers and researchers can use to design monitoring programs that will benefit future generations by distilling the information needed to make informed decisions. In addition, this text is valuable for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses that are focused on monitoring animal populations. With the aid of more than 90 illustrations and a four-page color insert, this book offers practical guidance for the entire monitoring process, from incorporating stakeholder input and data collection, to data management, analysis, and reporting. It establishes the basis for why, what, how, where, and when monitoring should be conducted; describes how to analyze and interpret the data; explains how to budget for monitoring efforts; and discusses how to assemble reports of use in decision-making. The book takes a multi-scaled and multi-taxa approach, focusing on monitoring vertebrate populations and upland habitats, but the recommendations and suggestions presented are applicable to a variety of monitoring programs. Lastly, the book explores the future of monitoring techniques, enabling researchers to better plan for the future of wildlife populations and their habitats. Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats: A Practitioner’s Guide furthers the goal of achieving a world in which biodiversity is allowed to evolve and flourish in the face of such uncertainties as climate change, invasive species proliferation, land use expansion, and population growth.
Download or read book Citizen Science written by Janis L. Dickinson and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-07 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Citizen science enlists members of the public to make and record useful observations, such as counting birds in their backyards, watching for the first budding leaf in spring, or measuring local snowfall. The large numbers of volunteers who participate in projects such as Project FeederWatch or Project BudBurst collect valuable research data, which, when pooled together, create an enormous body of scientific data on a vast geographic scale. In return, such projects aim to increase participants' connections to science, place, and nature, while supporting science literacy and environmental stewardship. In Citizen Science, experts from a variety of disciplines—including scientists and education specialists working at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where many large citizen science programs use birds as proxies for biodiversity—share their experiences of creating and implementing successful citizen science projects, primarily those that use massive data sets gathered by citizen scientists to better understand the impact of environmental change. This first and foundational book for this developing field of inquiry addresses basic aspects of how to conduct citizen science projects, including goal-setting, program design, and evaluation, as well as the nuances of creating a robust digital infrastructure and recruiting a large participant base through communications and marketing. An overview of the types of research approaches and techniques demonstrates how to make use of large data sets arising from citizen science projects. A final section focuses on citizen science's impacts and its broad connections to understanding the human dimensions and educational aspects of participation. Citizen Science teaches teams of program developers and researchers how to cross the bridge from success at public engagement to using citizen science data to understand patterns and trends or to test hypotheses about how ecological processes respond to change at large geographic scales. Intended as a resource for a broad audience of experts and practitioners in natural sciences, information science, and social sciences, this book can be used to better understand how to improve existing programs, develop new ones, and make better use of the data resources that have accumulated from citizen science efforts. Its focus on harnessing the impact of "crowdsourcing" for scientific and educational endeavors is applicable to a wide range of fields, especially those that touch on the importance of massive collaboration aimed at understanding and conserving what we can of the natural world.
Download or read book Backpacker written by and published by . This book was released on 2007-09 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Backpacker brings the outdoors straight to the reader's doorstep, inspiring and enabling them to go more places and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's Editors' Choice Awards, an industry honor recognizing design, feature and product innovation, has become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are measured.
Download or read book Remote Sensing of Night time Light written by Christopher Elvidge and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-08-09 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Satellite images acquired at night provide a visually arresting perspective of the Earth and the human activities that light up the otherwise mostly dark Earth. These night-time light satellite images can be compiled into a geospatial time series that represent an invaluable source of information for both the natural and social sciences. Night-time light remote sensing has been shown to be particularly useful for a range of natural science and social science applications, including studies relating to urban development, demography, sociology, fishing activity, light pollution and the consequences of civil war. Key sensors for these time-series include the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership Satellite’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day/Night Band (Suomi NPP/VIIRS DNB). An increasing number of alternative sources are also available, including high spatial resolution and multispectral sensors. This book captures key methodological issues associated with pre-processing night-time light data, documents state of the art analysis methods, and explores a wide range of applications. Major sections focus on NPP/VIIRS DNB processing; inter-calibration between NPP/VIIRS and DMPS/OLS; applications associated with socio-economic activities, applications in monitoring urbanization; and fishing activity monitoring. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Remote Sensing.
Download or read book Bird Migration written by Peter Berthold and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten years have passed since the first edition of this book. During that time the field of bird migration has experienced many advances which are reflected in this second edition. No other book exists to bring together the vast amount of information currently available on the subject of bird migration. Includes discussion of evolution and history of bird migration, physiology, orientation mechanisms and threats to migrations and is accessible to experts as well as amateurs.
Download or read book Migration and Survival of the Birds of Asia written by Elliott McClure and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There were 82 families of birds represented in this study. The average number of birds ringed per family was 14,197 and per species was 954; however, 19 families accounted for 92.1% of the ringed birds. Among these there were 15 species which made up 59.6% of the total and of these the House Swallow Hirundo rustica made up 24.2%. Forty-four of the families had less than 1500 birds marked per family, totaling only one percent of the birds ringed. The remaining 38 families averaged 30,340 birds per family. The average among the 15 highest species was 46,000. Without the House Swallow the average per species was 29,000. The remaining 1201 species averaged only 389 birds marked per species. When the 19 high families are deducted from the total, the remaining 63 families averaged only 1458 birds per family. (Modified author abstract).
Download or read book Bird Migration written by Eberhard Gwinner and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: E. GWINNER! The phenomenon of bird migration with its large scale dimensions has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries. Worldwide billions of birds leave their breeding grounds every autumn to migrate to areas with seasonally more favor able conditions. Many of these migrants travel only over a few hundred kilo meters but others cover distances equivalent to the circumference of the earth. Among these long-distance migrants are several billion birds that invade Africa every autumn from their West and Central Palaearctic breeding areas. In the Americas and in Asia the scope of bird migration is of a similar magnitude. Just as impressive as the numbers of birds are their achievements. They have to cope with the enormous energetic costs of long-distance flying. particularly while crossing oceans and deserts that do not allow replenishment of depleted fat reserves. They have to appropriately time the onset and end of migrations. both on a daily and annual basis. And finally. they have to orient their migratory movements in space to reach their species- or population-specific wintering and breeding grounds, irrespective of the variable climatic conditions along their migratory routes.
Download or read book Aeroecology written by Phillip B. Chilson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-04-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book consists of a diverse collection of chapters that seeks to broaden our fundamental understanding of the ecological function and biological importance of the Earth’s lower atmosphere, which provides a huge living space for billions of animals moving within and across continents. Their migration, dispersal and foraging activities connect water and land habitats within and across continents. Drawing upon the wide-ranging experience of the authors, the book takes an inherently interdisciplinary approach that serves to introduce the reader to the topic of aeroecology, frame some of the basic biological questions that can be addressed within the context of aeroecology, and highlight several existing and emerging technologies that are being used to promote aeroecological studies. The book begins with several background chapters, that provide introduction into such topics as atmospheric science, the concept of the habitat, animal physiology, and methods of navigation. It then continues with a broad discussion of observational methods available to and used by aeroecologists. Finally, several targeted examples of aeroecological studies are presented. Following the development of the chapters, the reader is provided with a unifying framework for investigating how the dynamic properties of meteorological conditions at local, regional, and global scales affect the organisms that depend on the air for foraging and movement. Material presented in the book should be of interest to anyone wishing to gain a comprehensive understanding of the aerosphere itself and the myriad airborne organisms that inhabit and depend upon this environment for their existence. The material should be accessible to a diverse set of readers at all stages of training and across a range of research expertise.
Download or read book Habitats for Birds in Europe written by Graham M. Tucker and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The greatest threats to Europe's birds and biodiversity come from loss and degradation of habitat. This book brings together more than 190 bird and habitat conservation experts from all over Europe, to examine the threats to Europe's eight major habitat types, and propose policies and actions to protect and restore them. Although the emphasis is on birds, particularly the 40 percent of European species with an unfavourable conservation status, many recommendations would help conserve all elements of biodiversity in the wider European environment. "An important contribution to the conservation of biodiversity in Europe" - Peter L Nielsen, European Commission. "An extremely valuable reference for bird conservationists in any continent" - The Wilson Bulletin.
