Download or read book Magnificent Mihirungs written by Peter F. Murray and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2004-03-04 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over millions of years, Australia's unique biodiversity has produced a large cabinet of curiosities. Among the weirder members of this group were the Mihirungs, members of the now extinct family Dromornithidae. Made up of several genera of flightless birds—among them one of the very largest birds that ever lived—the dromornithids ranged from 60-kilogram beasts, 1.5 meters tall, to giants twice that size, weighing nearly half a metric ton. They were, by orders of magnitude, the largest "geese" that ever lived. One species was comparable in size to the Ele-phantbird of Madagascar and the Giant Moa of New Zealand. This book is the first major study of this unique and highly diverse group. It aims to present as complete a synthesis as possible of current information about this fascinating family of birds.
Download or read book Corridors to Extinction and the Australian Megafauna written by Steve Webb and published by Newnes. This book was released on 2013-02-27 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extinctions have always occurred and always will, so what is so surprising about the megafauna extinctions? They were caused by humans and were the first of many extinctions that eventually led to the extinction of the Moa, Steller's Sea Cow, the Dodo, Great Auk and countless other species great and small, all attributed to human agency. Therefore, the megafauna were humans’ first great impact on the planet. There is now an increasing realization that the 'blitzkrieg' view of these extinctions may have been wrong. A growing body of evidence and long-term field work is beginning to show that at least Australia's megafauna did not succumb to human agency, not because humans probably did not hunt the odd animal but because the an infinitely more logical reason lies in the climatic conditions of the Quaternary Ice Ages and the affect they had on continental geography, environment, climate and, most importantly, the biogeography of the megafauna. This book presents the evidence of this theory, demonstrating the biogeographic approach to Australia’s megafauna extinction. Written clearly to benefit a diverse level of readers, from those with a passing interest to professionals in the field. Examines future climate change and its effects on the planet by looking at examples buried in the past Presents new evidence from extensive field research
Download or read book Where Song Began written by Tim Low and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2016-09-27 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An authoritative and entertaining exploration of Australia’s distinctive birds and their unheralded role in global evolution Renowned for its gallery of unusual mammals, Australia is also a land of extraordinary birds. But unlike the mammals, the birds of Australia flew beyond the continent’s boundaries and around the globe many millions of years ago. This eye-opening book tells the dynamic but little-known story of how Australia provided the world with songbirds and parrots, among other bird groups, why Australian birds wield surprising ecological power, how Australia became a major evolutionary center, and why scientific biases have hindered recognition of these discoveries. From violent, swooping magpies to tool-making cockatoos, Australia’s birds are strikingly different from birds of other lands—often more intelligent and aggressive, often larger and longer-lived. Tim Low, a renowned biologist with a rare storytelling gift, here presents the amazing evolutionary history of Australia’s birds. The story of the birds, it turns out, is inseparable from the story of the continent itself and also the people who inhabit it.
Download or read book A Sea without Fish written by David L. Meyer and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-04 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “superbly written, richly illustrated” guide to the animals who lived 450 million years ago—in the fossil-rich area where Cincinnati, Ohio now stands (Rocks & Minerals). The region around Cincinnati, Ohio, is known throughout the world for the abundant and beautiful fossils found in limestones and shales that were deposited as sediments on the sea floor during the Ordovician Period, about 450 million years ago—some 250 million years before the dinosaurs lived. In Ordovician time, the shallow sea that covered much of what is now the North American continent teemed with marine life. The Cincinnati area has yielded some of the world’s most abundant and best-preserved fossils of invertebrate animals such as trilobites, bryozoans, brachiopods, molluscs, echinoderms, and graptolites. So famous are the Ordovician fossils and rocks of the Cincinnati region that geologists use the term “Cincinnatian” for strata of the same age all over North America. This book synthesizes more than 150 years of research on this fossil treasure-trove, describing and illustrating the fossils, the life habits of the animals represented, their communities, and living relatives, as well as the nature of the rock strata in which they are found and the environmental conditions of the ancient sea. “A fascinating glimpse of a long-extinct ecosystem.” —Choice
Download or read book Turtles as Hopeful Monsters written by Olivier Rieppel and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-13 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Where do turtles hail from? Why and how did they acquire shells? These questions have spurred heated debate and intense research for more than two hundred years. Brilliantly weaving evidence from the latest paleontological discoveries with an accessible, incisive look at different theories of biological evolution and their proponents, Turtles as Hopeful Monsters tells the fascinating evolutionary story of the shelled reptiles. Paleontologist Olivier Rieppel traces the evolution of turtles from over 220 million years ago, examining closely the relationship of turtles to other reptiles and charting the development of the shell. Turtle issues fuel a debate between proponents of gradual evolutionary change and authors favoring change through bursts and leaps of macromutation. The first book-length popular history of its type, this indispensable resource is an engaging read for all those fascinated by this ubiquitous and uniquely shaped reptile.
Download or read book Rebels Scholars Explorers written by Annalisa Berta and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unearthing the amazing hidden stories of women who changed paleontology forever. For centuries, women have played key roles in defining and developing the field of vertebrate paleontology. Yet very little is known about these important paleontologists, and the true impacts of their contributions have remained obscure. In Rebels, Scholars, Explorers, Annalisa Berta and Susan Turner celebrate the history of women "bone hunters," delving into their fascinating lives and work. At the same time, they explore how the discipline has shaped our understanding of the history of life on Earth. Berta and Turner begin by presenting readers with a review of the emergence of vertebrate paleontology as a science, emphasizing the contributions of women to research topics and employment. This is followed by brief biographical sketches and explanations of early discoveries by women around the world over the past 200 years, including those who who held roles as researchers, educators, curators, artists, and preparators. Forging new territory, Berta and Turner highlight the barriers and challenges faced by women paleontologists, describing how some managed to overcome those obstacles in order to build careers in the field. Finally, drawing on interviews with a diverse group of contemporary paleontologists, who share their experiences and offer recommendations to aspiring fossil hunters, they provide perspectives on what work still needs to be done in order to ensure that women's contributions to the field are encouraged and celebrated. Uncovering and relating lost stories about the pivotal contributions of women in vertebrate paleontology doesn't just make for enthralling storytelling, but also helps ensure a richer and more diverse future for this vibrant field. Illuminating the discoveries, collections, and studies of fossil vertebrates conducted by women in vertebrate paleontology, Rebels, Scholars, Explorers will be on every paleontologist's most-wanted list and should find a broader audience in the burgeoning sector of readers from all backgrounds eager to learn about women in the sciences.
Download or read book Environments of Empire written by Ulrike Kirchberger and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2020-02-14 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The age of European high imperialism was characterized by the movement of plants and animals on a historically unprecedented scale. The human migrants who colonized territories around the world brought a variety of other species with them, from the crops and livestock they hoped to propagate, to the parasites, invasive plants, and pests they carried unawares, producing a host of unintended consequences that reshaped landscapes around the world. While the majority of histories about the dynamics of these transfers have concentrated on the British Empire, these nine case studies--focused on the Ottoman, French, Dutch, German, and British empires--seek to advance a historical analysis that is comparative, transnational, and interdisciplinary to understand the causes, consequences, and networks of biological exchange and ecological change resulting from imperialism. Contributors: Brett M. Bennett, Semih Celik, Nicole Chalmer, Jodi Frawley, Ulrike Kirchberger, Carey McCormack, Idir Ouahes, Florian Wagner, Samuel Eleazar Wendt, Alexander van Wickeren, Stephanie Zehnle
Download or read book The Argonautika written by Apollonios Rhodios and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-12-05 with total page 792 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Green turns his formidable classical learning and his finely nuanced sense of English verse to bear on the challenge of restoring Apollonios to his true place—on a par with the best modern poetic versions of Homer and Virgil."—Robert Fagles
Download or read book Paleogene Fossil Birds written by Gerald Mayr and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-04-21 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the present book the Paleogene fossil record of birds is detailed for the first time on a worldwide scale. I have developed the idea for such a project for several years, and think that it is an appropriate moment to present a summary of our c- rent knowledge of the early evolution of modern birds. Meanwhile not only is there a confusing diversity of fossil taxa, but also significant progress has been made concerning an understanding of the higher-level phylogeny of extant birds. Hypotheses which were not considered even a decade ago are now well supported by independent analyses of different data. In several cases these group together morphologically very different avian groups and allow a better understanding of the mosaic character distribution found in Paleogene fossil birds. The book aims at bringing some of this information together, and many of the following data are based on first-hand examination of fossil specimens.
Download or read book Avian Evolution written by Gerald Mayr and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-10-31 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Knowledge of the evolutionary history of birds has much improved in recent decades. Fossils from critical time periods are being described at unprecedented rates and modern phylogenetic analyses have provided a framework for the interrelationships of the extant groups. This book gives an overview of the avian fossil record and its paleobiological significance, and it is the only up-to-date textbook that covers both Mesozoic and more modern-type Cenozoic birds in some detail. The reader is introduced to key features of basal avians and the morphological transformations that have occurred in the evolution towards modern birds. An account of the Cenozoic fossil record sheds light on the biogeographic history of the extant avian groups and discusses fossils in the context of current phylogenetic hypotheses. This review of the evolutionary history of birds not only addresses students and established researchers, but it may also be a useful source of information for anyone else with an interest in the evolution of birds and a moderate background in biology and geology.
Download or read book Aboriginal Peoples and Birds in Australia written by Philip A. Clarke and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2023-04-03 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Australia is home to many distinctive species of birds, and Aboriginal peoples have developed close alliances with them over the millennia of their custodianship of this country. Aboriginal Peoples and Birds in Australia: Historical and Cultural Relationships provides a review of the broad physical, historical and cultural relationships that Aboriginal people have had with the Australian avifauna. This book aims to raise awareness of the alternative bodies of ornithological knowledge that reside outside of Western science. It describes the role of birds as totemic ancestors and spirit beings, and explores Aboriginal bird nomenclature, foraging techniques and the use of avian materials to make food, medicine and artefacts. Through a historical perspective, this book examines the gaps between knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples and Western science, to encourage greater collaboration and acknowledgment in the future. Cultural sensitivity Readers are warned that there may be words, descriptions and terms used in this book that are culturally sensitive, and which might not normally be used in certain public or community contexts. While this information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided by the author in a historical context. This publication may also contain quotations, terms and annotations that reflect the historical attitude of the original author or that of the period in which the item was written, and may be considered inappropriate today. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this publication may contain the names and images of people who have passed away.
Download or read book The Bone Readers written by Claudio Tuniz and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-06-16 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bone Readers are a dedicated group of scholars who study the earliest human remains, their chemistry and DNA, their extinct floral and faunal contemporaries, and the geologic layers in which they were found. Their research leads them to theories about modern human origins that continually challenge conventional wisdom and cherished beliefs— about “Eve ,” Neanderthals, “hobbits,” and the Bering Straits, among others. Two leading Bone Readers and a science writer have penned a literate, authoritative summary of the current questions and the minefield of academic politics that surround it. Ideal for students in human origins or biological anthropology courses, and a delightful read.
Download or read book Forensics Fossils and Fruitbats written by Stephen Luntz and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2011 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forensics, Fossils and Fruitbatsis a fascinating collection of more than 70 profiles of Australian scientists from 15 fields of physical, biological and medical science. These scientists have been selected because their research is inspiring, intriguing or simply quirky, or because they have taken an unusual or interesting path to the work they do. Profiles include: * A forensic archaeologist whose work has taken her from Antarctica to Pompeii * A palaeontologist who revolutionized understanding of Australia's dinosaurs * A computer scientist teaching computers to understand jokes * The engineer behind technologies that could bring clear sight to a billion people and clean energy to billions more. For anyone considering a career in science, Forensics, Fossils and Fruitbatsprovides insight into the challenges and triumphs of being a scientist. For everyone else, it is a rare peek into the reality of how science is done.
Download or read book Ecoagriculture for a Sustainable Food Future written by Nicole Y. Chalmer and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2021-05-03 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global food security is dependent on ecologically viable production systems, but current agricultural practices are often at odds with environmental sustainability. Resolving this disparity is a huge task, but there is much that can be learned from traditional food production systems that persisted for thousands of years. Ecoagriculture for a Sustainable Food Future describes the ecological history of food production systems in Australia, showing how Aboriginal food systems collapsed when European farming methods were imposed on bushlands. The industrialised agricultural systems that are now prevalent across the world require constant input of finite resources, and continue to cause destructive environmental change. This book explores the damage that has arisen from farming systems unsuited to their environment, and presents compelling evidence that producing food is an ecological process that needs to be rethought in order to ensure resilient food production into the future. Cultural sensitivity Readers are warned that there may be words, descriptions and terms used in this book that are culturally sensitive, and which might not normally be used in certain public or community contexts. While this information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided by the author in a historical context.
Download or read book Extraterrestrials in the Catholic Imagination written by Jennifer Rosato and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2021-02-10 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do scientists know about the possibility of life outside our solar system? How does Catholic science fiction imagine such worlds? What are the implications for Catholic thought? This collection brings together leading scientists, philosophers, theologians, and science fiction authors in the Catholic tradition to examine these issues. In the first section, Christian scientists detail the latest scientific findings regarding the possibility of life on exoplanets. The second part brings together leading Catholic science fiction authors who describe how “alien” life forms have been prevalent in the Catholic imagination from the Middle Ages right up to the present day. In the final section, Catholic philosophers and theologians examine the implications of discovering intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Rather than worrying that the discovery of intelligent extraterrestrials might threaten the dignity of humans or their existence, the contributors here maintain that such creatures should be welcomed as fellow creatures of God and potential subjects of divine salvation.
Download or read book Dinosaurs Without Bones written by Anthony J. Martin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 683 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Bubbles over with the joy of scientific discovery as he shares his natural enthusiasm for the blend of sleuthing and imagination."—Publishers Weekly, starred review What if we woke up one morning all of the dinosaur bones in the world were gone? How would we know these iconic animals had a165-million year history on earth, and had adapted to all land-based environments from pole to pole? What clues would be left to discern not only their presence, but also to learn about their sex lives, raising of young, social lives, combat, and who ate who? What would it take for us to know how fast dinosaurs moved, whether they lived underground, climbed trees, or went for a swim?Welcome to the world of ichnology, the study of traces and trace fossils – such as tracks, trails, burrows, nests, toothmarks, and other vestiges of behavior – and how through these remarkable clues, we can explore and intuit the rich and complicated lives of dinosaurs. With a unique, detective-like approach, interpreting the forensic clues of these long-extinct animals that leave a much richer legacy than bones, Martin brings the wild world of the Mesozoic to life for the 21st century reader.
Download or read book Cowen s History of Life written by Michael J. Benton and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-08-07 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A newly revised and fully updated edition of the market-leading introduction to paleontology Designed for students and anyone else with an interest in the history of life on our planet, the new edition of this classic text describes the biological evolution of Earth’s organisms, and reconstructs their adaptations and the ecology and environments in which they functioned. Cowen's History of Life, 6th Edition includes major updates, including substantial rewrites to chapters on the origins of eukaryotes, the Cambrian explosion, the terrestrialization of plants and animals, the Triassic recovery of life, the origin of birds, the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, and human evolution. It also features new chapters on plants, soils and transformation of the land; the Mesozoic marine revolution; and the evolution of oceans and climates. Beginning with the origin of the Earth and the earliest life on earth, the book goes on to offer insightful contributions covering: the evolution of Metazoans; the early vertebrates; life of vertebrates on land; and early amniotes and thermoregulation. The book also looks at: dinosaur diversity, as well as their demise; early mammals; the rise of modern mammals; the Neogene Savannas; primates; life in the ice ages; and more. Covers the breadth of the subject in a concise yet specific way for undergrads with no academic background in the topic Reorganizes all chapters to reflect the geological series of events, enabling a new focus on big events Updated with three brand new chapters and numerous revised ones Put together by a new editorial team internationally recognized as the global leaders in paleontology Filled with illustrations and photographs throughout Includes diagrams to show internal structures of organisms, cladograms, time scales and events, and paleogeographic maps Supplemented with a dedicated website that explores additional enriching information and discussion, and which features images for use in visual presentations Cowen's History of Life, 6th Edition is an ideal book for undergraduate students taking courses in introductory paleontology, as well those on global change and earth systems.
