Download or read book Evolution of Island Mammals written by Alexandra van der Geer and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-02-14 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolution on islands differs in a number of important ways from evolution on mainland areas. Over millions of years of isolation, exceptional and sometimes bizarre mammals evolved on islands, such as pig-sized elephants and hippos, giant rats and gorilla-sized lemurs that would have been formidable to their mainland ancestors. This timely and innovative book is the first to offer a much-needed synthesis of recent advances in the exciting field of the evolution and extinction of fossil insular placental mammals. It provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on fossil island mammals worldwide, ranging from the Oligocene to the onset of the Holocene. The book addresses evolutionary processes and key aspects of insular mammal biology, exemplified by a variety of fossil species. The authors discuss the human factor in past extinction events and loss of insular biodiversity. This accessible and richly illustrated textbook is written for graduate level students and professional researchers in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, biogeography, zoology, and ecology.
Download or read book Evolution of Island Mammals written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Evolution on islands differs in a number of important ways from evolution on mainland areas. Over millions of years of isolation, exceptional and sometimes bizarre mammals evolved on islands, such as pig-sized elephants and hippos, giant rats and gorilla-sized lemurs that would have been formidable to their mainland ancestors. This timely and innovative book is the first to offer a much-needed synthesis of recent advances in the exciting field of the evolution and extinction of fossil insular placental mammals. It provides a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on fossil island mammals worldwide, ranging from the Oligocene to the onset of the Holocene. The book addresses evolutionary processes and key aspects of insular mammal biology, exemplified by a variety of fossil species. The authors discuss the human factor in past extinction events and loss of insular biodiversity. This accessible and richly illustrated textbook is written for graduate level students and professional researchers in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, biogeography, zoology, and ecology"--
Download or read book Evolution of Island Mammals written by Alexandra van der Geer and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: EVOLUTION OF ISLAND MAMMALS Evolution on islands differs in a number of important ways from evolution on mainland areas. Over millions of years of isolation, exceptional and sometimes bizarre mammals evolved on islands, such as pig-sized elephants and hippos, giant rats and gorilla-sized lemurs that would have been formidable to their mainland ancestors. Evolution of Island Mammals, Second Edition, provides an updated and expanded overview of the current knowledge on fossil island mammals worldwide, ranging from the Oligocene to the onset of the Holocene. The book addresses evolutionary processes and key aspects of insular mammal biology, exemplified by a variety of fossil species. Readers familiar with the first edition will find here a host of updated and enhanced material, including: An entirely new chapter on the island rule Updated and expanded theoretical chapters Updated and improved taxonomic information Extensive coverage of new discoveries Body masses or body size indices for most extinct island mammals New figures visualizing the richness of the fossil record This accessible and richly illustrated textbook is written for graduate level students and professional researchers in evolutionary biology, palaeontology, biogeography, zoology, and ecology.
Download or read book The Mammals of Luzon Island written by Lawrence R. Heaney and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2016-04 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A beautifully illustrated guide to the complete mammalian biodiversity of the Philippines’ largest island. Revealing the astounding mammalian diversity found on the largest Philippine island, The Mammals of Luzon Island is a unique book that functions both as a field guide and study of tropical fauna. The book features 120 fully illustrated species profiles and shows how the mammals fit into larger questions related to evolution, ecology, and biogeography. Luzon’s stunning variety of mammals includes giant fruit-eating bats; other bats so small that they can roost inside bamboo stems; giant plant-eating rodents that look like, but are not, squirrels; shrews that weigh less than half an ounce; the rapidly disappearing Philippine warty pig; and the long-tailed macaque, Luzon’s only nonhuman primate. While celebrating Luzon’s remarkably rich mammal fauna, the authors also suggest conservation strategies for the many species that are under threat from a variety of pressures. Based on a century of accumulated data and fifteen years of intensive study, The Mammals of Luzon Island delivers a message that will appeal equally to scientists, conservationists, and ecologically minded travelers.
Download or read book Island Africa written by Jonathan Kingdon and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 1990 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Om Afrikas planter og dyr med vægt på det udviklingshistoriske aspekt
Download or read book The Origin and Evolution of Mammals written by T. S. Kemp and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2005 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mammals are the dominant large animals of today, occurring in virtually every environment. This book is an account of the remarkable 320 million year long fossil record that documents their origin, their long spell as no more than small, nocturnal creatures, and their explosive radiation since the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Tom Kemp also unveils the exciting molecular evidence, which, coupled with important new fossils, is presently challenging current thinking on the interrelationships and historical biogeography of mammals. The Origin and Evolution of Mammals will be of interest to advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in vertebrate palaeontology, biogeography, mammalian systematics and molecular taxonomy. It will also be welcomed by vertebrate fossil enthusiasts and evolutionary biologists of all levels with an interest in macroevolutionary problems.
Download or read book The Evolution of the Mammals of the Queen Charlotte Islands British Columbia written by J. Bristol Foster and published by Department of Recreation and Conservation. This book was released on 1965 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Islands, with their simplified ecosystems and isolation from other populations in both space & time, provide natural settings for the study of numerous disciplines in relation to evolution. The Queen Charlotte Islands are some of the more isolated islands on the north-west coast of North America and are therefore of special interest in the study of the biotic evolution of this region. The purpose of this paper is to report on an analysis of the evolution of the native land mammals of these islands. An important aspect is to determine how much of the endemism present on the islands is accounted for by reason of its being a relict population or how much is a contribution of the insularity of the environment. The paper begins with a review of the Islands' setting and an assessment of the possibility of glacial refugia being present on the island. The Islands' physiography, vegetation, endemic species, the impoverished nature of the fauna encountered, and the probability of species survival in a refugium during the last glaciation are reviewed. The second section examines eight species of native mammals in an attempt to reconstruct their past history in a Queen Charlotte setting. The research is based on field studies conducted in 1960 & 1961 and examination of specimens collected & specimens in museums. Sources of variation, rates of evolution, and factors responsible for species appearance or disappearance are discussed. The final chapter reviews the evolution of mammals on other islands to show any trends which may be present in insular mammals.
Download or read book Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea written by John A. Long and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diagrams showing skeletal features and tooth structure and a glossary of technical terms are included.
Download or read book Evolution in Isolation written by Kevin C. Burns and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tests for repeated patterns in evolution of island plants, which together comprise an 'island syndrome' analogous to animals.
Download or read book Evolution in Hawaii written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2004-02-10 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As both individuals and societies, we are making decisions today that will have profound consequences for future generations. From preserving Earth's plants and animals to altering our use of fossil fuels, none of these decisions can be made wisely without a thorough understanding of life's history on our planet through biological evolution. Companion to the best selling title Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science, Evolution in Hawaii examines evolution and the nature of science by looking at a specific part of the world. Tracing the evolutionary pathways in Hawaii, we are able to draw powerful conclusions about evolution's occurrence, mechanisms, and courses. This practical book has been specifically designed to give teachers and their students an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of evolution using exercises with real genetic data to explore and investigate speciation and the probable order in which speciation occurred based on the ages of the Hawaiian Islands. By focusing on one set of islands, this book illuminates the general principles of evolutionary biology and demonstrate how ongoing research will continue to expand our knowledge of the natural world.
Download or read book Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America Volume 1 Terrestrial Carnivores Ungulates and Ungulate Like Mammals written by Christine M. Janis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-05-28 with total page 712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is designed as a source and reference for people interested in the history and fossil record of North American tertiary mammals. Each chapter covers a different family or order, and includes information on anatomical features, systematics, the distribution of the genera and species at different fossil localities, and a discussion of their paleobiology. Many of these groups have never been covered in this fashion before.
Download or read book Island Biogeography written by Robert J. Whittaker and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Isolation, extinction, conservation, biodiversity, hotspots.
Download or read book Ecology and Evolution written by Richard Benz and published by NSTA Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Many of the ideas in this volume appeared in an earlier version in The Galâapagos: JASON Curriculum, 1991 by the National Science Teachers Association."
Download or read book Island Biogeography written by Robert J. Whittaker and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2006-11-30 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Island biogeography is the study of the distribution and dynamics of species in island environments. Due to their isolation from more widespread continental species, islands are ideal places for unique species to evolve, but they are also places of concentrated extinction. Not surprisingly, they are widely studied by ecologists, conservationists and evolutionary biologists alike. There is no other recent textbook devoted solely to island biogeography, and a synthesis of the many recent advances is now overdue. This second edition builds on the success and reputation of the first, documenting the recent advances in this exciting field and explaining how islands have been used as natural laboratories in developing and testing ecological and evolutionary theories. In addition, the book describes the main processes of island formation, development and eventual demise, and explains the relevance of island environmental history to island biogeography. The authors demonstrate the huge significance of islands as hotspots of biodiversity, and as places from which disproportionate numbers of species have been extinguished by human action in historical time. Many island species are today threatened with extinction, and this work examines both the chief threats to their persistence and some of the mitigation measures that can be put in play with conservation strategies tailored to islands.
Download or read book Mammals written by Thomas Stainforth Kemp and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relative newcomers within the story of evolution, mammals are hugely successful and have colonized land, water, and air. Tom Kemp discusses the great diversity of mammalian species, and looks at how their very disparate characteristics, physiologies, and behaviours are all largely driven by one uniting factor: endothermy, or warm-bloodedness.
Download or read book Island Populations written by Mark Herbert Williamson and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1981 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ecological and evolutionary aspects of island populations are both treated at length in this book, which combines natural history, biogeography, and a critical examination of theoretical concepts in ecology and evolution by the study of real examples.
Download or read book Darwin Comes to Town written by Menno Schilthuizen and published by Picador. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Carrion crows in the Japanese city of Sendai have learned to use passing traffic to crack nuts. *Lizards in Puerto Rico are evolving feet that better grip surfaces like concrete. *Europe’s urban blackbirds sing at a higher pitch than their rural cousins, to be heardover the din of traffic. How is this happening? Menno Schilthuizen is one of a growing number of “urban ecologists” studying how our manmade environments are accelerating and changing the evolution of the animals and plants around us. In Darwin Comes to Town, he takes us around the world for an up-close look at just how stunningly flexible and swift-moving natural selection can be. With human populations growing, we’re having an increasing impact on global ecosystems, and nowhere do these impacts overlap as much as they do in cities. The urban environment is about as extreme as it gets, and the wild animals and plants that live side-by-side with us need to adapt to a whole suite of challenging conditions: they must manage in the city’s hotter climate (the “urban heat island”); they need to be able to live either in the semidesert of the tall, rocky, and cavernous structures we call buildings or in the pocket-like oases of city parks (which pose their own dangers, including smog and free-rangingdogs and cats); traffic causes continuous noise, a mist of fine dust particles, and barriers to movement for any animal that cannot fly or burrow; food sources are mainly human-derived. And yet, as Schilthuizen shows, the wildlife sharing these spaces with us is not just surviving, but evolving ways of thriving. Darwin Comes toTown draws on eye-popping examples of adaptation to share a stunning vision of urban evolution in which humans and wildlife co-exist in a unique harmony. It reveals that evolution can happen far more rapidly than Darwin dreamed, while providing a glimmer of hope that our race toward over population might not take the rest of nature down with us.
