Download or read book Avian Brood Parasitism written by Manuel Soler and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-02 with total page 566 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brood parasitism has become one of the most flourishing areas of research in evolutionary ecology and one of the best model systems for investigating coevolution. This subject has undergone remarkable advances during the last two decades, but has not been covered by any book in the 21st century. This book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the fascinating field of avian brood parasitism. The topics covered include conspecific brood parasitism; evolution and phylogenetic history of avian brood parasites; parasitic behaviour used by brood parasites; adaptations and counter-adaptations of brood parasites and their hosts at every stage of the breeding cycle (before laying, egg, chick and fledgling stages); factors affecting the evolution of host defences and parasitic attacks; the role of phenotypic plasticity in host defences; mechanisms driving egg recognition and rejection; evolution of nest sharing or nest killing by brood parasite chicks; begging behaviour in parasitized nests and food delivery by host adults; and recognition of conspecifics by juvenile brood parasites. This volume provides a comprehensive reference resource for readers and researchers with an interest in birds, behaviour and evolution, as well as a source of hypotheses and predictions for future investigations into this dynamic subject.
Download or read book Parasitic Birds and Their Hosts written by Stephen I. Rothstein and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 1998 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first to present a comprehensive overview of parasitic birds and their hosts. Although the phenomenon has attracted the interest of naturalists and evolutionists since Darwin, only recently have researchers applied modern evolutionary theory and experimental methods to study the various adaptations related to brood parasitism. The work in this field is accelerating rapidly, and this volume collects work from the individuals and research groups around the world who have been responsible for nearly every major study in the last ten years. The papers present valuable summaries along with substantial new research, and the volume concludes with a review of important unsolved questions. The book is an invaluable resource on this fascinating topic, covering the remarkable sequences of adaptations and counter-adaptations, along with the perhaps even more remarkable cases where adaptations seem to be lacking.
Download or read book Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds written by Carter T. Atkinson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-03-20 with total page 609 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds provides thorough coverage of major parasite groups affecting wild bird species. Broken into four sections covering protozoa, helminths, leeches, and arthropod parasites, this volume provides reviews of the history, disease, epizootiology, pathology, and population impacts caused by parasitic disease. Taking a unique approach that focuses on the effects of the parasites on the host, Parasitic Diseases of Wild Birds fills a unique niche in animal health literature.
Download or read book Cuckoos Cowbirds and Other Cheats written by Nick Davies and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating study describes the natural histories of these brood parasites and examines many of the exciting questions they raise about the evolution of cheating and the arms race between parasites and their prey. Brood parasites fill their armoury with adaptations including exquisite egg mimicry, rapid laying, ejection of host eggs, murder of host young, chick mimicry and manipulative begging behaviour: ploys shown by recent research to have evolved in response to host defence behaviour or through competition among the parasites themselves. While many host species appear defenceless, accepting parasite eggs quite unlike their own, many are more discriminating against odd-looking eggs and some have evolved the ability to discriminate against odd-looking chicks as well. How is this arms race conducted? Will defenceless hosts develop defences in time, or are there constraints which limit the evolution and perfection of host defences? And why are so few species obliged only to lay eggs in host nests? Have host defences limited the success of brood parasitism, or is it in fact much more common than we suspect, but occurring mainly when birds parasitize the nest of their own kind? All of these puzzles are examined in descriptions of the natural history of each of the groups of parasites in turn. Here is a book with wide appeal, both to amateur naturalists fascinated by this most singular and macabre of behaviours and by ornithologists and ecologists interested in the evolution of ecology and behaviour. The story takes us from the classic field work by pioneer ornithologists such as Edgar Chance, Stuart Baker, Herbert Friedmann and others, through to the experimental field work and molecular techniques of today's leading scientists. We visit brood parasites in Europe, Asia, Japan, Africa, Australasia, and North and South America, to look at some of the world's most interesting birds and some of biology's most interesting questions, many of which still beg answers from ornithologists in the future. Brilliant illustrations by David Quinn illuminate the species discussed, showing many behaviours never before illustrated and conveying the thrill of watching these astonishing birds in the wild.
Download or read book Host Manipulation by Parasites written by David P. Hughes and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-06-07 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parasites that manipulate the behaviour of their hosts represent striking examples of adaptation by natural selection. This text provides an authoritative review of host manipulation by parasites that assesses developments in the field and lays out a framework for future research.
Download or read book Behavioural Responses to a Changing World written by Ulrika Candolin and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2012-06-14 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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. Behavioural Responses to a Changing World 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.
Download or read book Mixed Species Groups of Animals written by Eben Goodale and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-04-26 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mixed-Species Groups of Animals: Behavior, Community Structure, and Conservation presents a comprehensive discussion on the mixed-species groups of animals, a spectacular and accessible example of the complexity of species interactions. They are found in a wide range of animals, including invertebrates, fish, mammals and birds, and in different habitats, both terrestrial and aquatic, throughout the world. While there are more than 500 articles on this subject scattered in separate categories of journals, there has yet to be a general, cross-taxa book-length introduction to this subject that summarizes the behavior and community structure of these groups. The authors first survey the diversity of spatial associations among animals and then concentrate on moving groups. They review the major classes of theories that have been developed to explain their presence, particularly in how groups increase foraging efficiency and decrease predation. Finally, they explore the intricacies of species interactions, such as communication, that explain species roles in groups and discuss what implications these social systems have for conservation. - Functions as a single resource for readers inside and outside of academia on mixed-species groups, serving as a foundation for future research in this field - Begins with an empirical summary of mixed-species distribution and reviews how the theories explaining their adaptive benefits are supported by the evidence - Includes many aspects of mixed-group behavior (e.g. foraging, communication, collective decision-making, dominance, social roles of species and leadership, relationship to conservation) that were not previously or easily accessible
Download or read book Parasite Rex written by Carl Zimmer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2001-11-09 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites control the minds of their hosts, sending them to their destruction. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites are masters of chemical warfare and camouflage, able to cloak themselves with their hosts' own molecules. IMAGINE A WORLD WHERE parasites steer the course of evolution, where the majority of species are parasites. WELCOME TO EARTH. For centuries, parasites have lived in nightmares, horror stories, and in the darkest shadows of science. Yet these creatures are among the world's most successful and sophisticated organisms. In Parasite Rex, Carl Zimmer deftly balances the scientific and the disgusting as he takes readers on a fantastic voyage. Traveling from the steamy jungles of Costa Rica to the fetid parasite haven of southern Sudan, Zimmer graphically brings to life how parasites can change DNA, rewire the brain, make men more distrustful and women more outgoing, and turn hosts into the living dead. This thorough, gracefully written book brings parasites out into the open and uncovers what they can teach us about the most fundamental survival tactics in the universe.
Download or read book Cuckoo written by Nick Davies and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-04-07 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gifted biologist's careful and beguiling study of why cuckoos have got away with tricking other birds into hatching and raising their young for thousands of years. The familiar call of the common cuckoo, “cuck-oo,” has been a harbinger of spring ever since our ancestors walked out of Africa many thousands of years ago. However, for naturalist and scientist Nick Davies, the call is an invitation to solve an enduring puzzle: how does the cuckoo get away with laying its eggs in the nests of other birds and tricking them into raising young cuckoos rather than their own offspring? Early observers who noticed a little warbler feeding a monstrously large cuckoo chick concluded the cuckoo's lack of parental care was the result of faulty design by the Creator, and that the hosts chose to help the poor cuckoo. These quaint views of bad design and benevolence were banished after Charles Darwin proposed that the cuckoo tricks the hosts in an evolutionary battle, where hosts evolve better defenses against cuckoos and cuckoos, in turn, evolve better trickery to outwit the hosts. For the last three decades, Davies has employed observation and field experiments to unravel the details of this evolutionary “arms race” between cuckoos and their hosts. Like a detective, Davies and his colleagues studied adult cuckoo behavior, cuckoo egg markings, and cuckoo chick begging calls to discover exactly how cuckoos trick their hosts. For birding and evolution aficionados, The Cuckoo is a lyrical and scientifically satisfying exploration of one of nature's most astonishing and beautiful adaptations.
Download or read book Birds of Prey written by John E. Cooper and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Raptor biology has evolved enormously since the publication of the original edition of this book under the title Veterinary Aspects of Captive Birds of Prey. With the help of leading international experts, John E. Cooper has updated and expanded this classic reference to include all the latest data on the health and diseases of raptors. While still serving the needs of veterinary surgeons who treat birds of prey, Birds of Prey: Health & Disease also appeals to a wide readership of falconers, avian researchers, breeders, rehabilitators and zoo staff. Important changes to this new edition are the inclusion of data on free-living birds, additional material on fractures, pathology, legislation and poisons, and new sections on neonatology, health monitoring, captive-breeding and host-parasite relations. This book reviews all aspects of birds of prey, giving invaluable up-to-date information on diseases and pathology, but also looking at the history of the subject, the origins of terms, the evolution of current thinking and ending with a reliable list of primary references for further reading.
Download or read book The Selfish Gene written by Richard Dawkins and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1989 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science need not be dull and bogged down by jargon, as Richard Dawkins proves in this entertaining look at evolution. The themes he takes up are the concepts of altruistic and selfish behaviour; the genetical definition of selfish interest; the evolution of aggressive behaviour; kinshiptheory; sex ratio theory; reciprocal altruism; deceit; and the natural selection of sex differences. 'Should be read, can be read by almost anyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution.' W.D. Hamilton, Science
Download or read book Ecology and Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts written by James N. M. Smith and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2014-09-05 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the past two centuries, cowbirds have increased in numbers and extended their range across North America, while many of the native songbird species whose nests they parasitize to raise their young have declined. This timely book collects forty essays by most of the principal authorities on the biology and management of cowbirds. The book's goals are to explore the biology of cowbirds, the threats they pose to host species and populations, and the management programs that are being undertaken to minimize these threats. The book is organized into five sections, each with an extended editors' introduction that places the contributions in a broad, up-to-date setting. The sections cover: The changing abundance of cowbirds and the ways in which their numbers can be estimated. Host choice by cowbirds, the negative effects of cowbirds on particular host species, and the daily patterns of cowbird behavior. Behavioral interactions between cowbirds and specific host species. Patterns of cowbird abundance and host use across varying landscapes. Management programs designed to control cowbirds and protect threatened songbirds.
Download or read book Biological Invasions and Animal Behaviour written by Judith S. Weis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-10-13 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive look at the critical role of animal behaviour in the success and impact of biological invasions.
Download or read book Human Parasitology written by Burton J. Bogitsh and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2005-04-07 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human Parasitology emphasizes the medical aspects of the topic, while incorporating functional morphology, physiology, biochemistry, and immunology to enhance appreciation of the diverse implications of parasitism. Bridging the gap between classical clinical parasitology texts and traditional encyclopaedic treatises, Human Parasitology appeals to students interested not only in the medical aspects of Parasitology but also to those who require a solid foundation in the biology of parasites. - Updated and expanded reference section - New chapter on Immunology - Additional SEM and TEM micrographs - Professionally drawn life cycle illustrations - Addition of "Host Immune Response section for each organism
Download or read book Sturkie s Avian Physiology written by Colin G. Scanes and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2014-06-30 with total page 1055 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sturkie's Avian Physiology is the classic comprehensive single volume on the physiology of domestic as well as wild birds. The Sixth Edition is thoroughly revised and updated, and features several new chapters with entirely new content on such topics as migration, genomics and epigenetics. Chapters throughout have been greatly expanded due to the many recent advances in the field. The text also covers the physiology of flight, reproduction in both male and female birds, and the immunophysiology of birds. The Sixth Edition, like the earlier editions, is a must for anyone interested in comparative physiology, poultry science, veterinary medicine, and related fields. This volume establishes the standard for those who need the latest and best information on the physiology of birds. - Includes new chapters on endocrine disruptors, magnetoreception, genomics, proteomics, mitochondria, control of food intake, molting, stress, the avian endocrine system, bone, the metabolic demands of migration, behavior and control of body temperature - Features extensively revised chapters on the cardiovascular system, pancreatic hormones, respiration, pineal gland, pituitary gland, thyroid, adrenal gland, muscle, gastro-intestinal physiology, incubation, circadian rhythms, annual cycles, flight, the avian immune system, embryo physiology and control of calcium - Stands out as the only comprehensive, single volume devoted to bird physiology - Offers a full consideration of both blood and avian metabolism on the companion website (http://booksite.elsevier.com/ 9780124071605). Tables feature hematological and serum biochemical parameters together with circulating concentrations of glucose in more than 200 different species of wild birds
Download or read book This Is Your Brain On Parasites written by Kathleen McAuliffe and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Engrossing . . . [An] expedition through the hidden and sometimes horrifying microbial domain.” —The Wall Street Journal Parasites can live only inside another animal and, as Kathleen McAuliffe reveals, these tiny organisms have many evolutionary motives for manipulating the behavior of their hosts. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to their influence. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness and impulsivity—even suicide. Germs that cause colds and the flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent. Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. Drawing on a huge body of research, McAuliffe argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites. The horror and revulsion we are programmed to feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human. “If you’ve ever doubted the power of microbes to shape society and offer us a grander view of life, read on and find yourself duly impressed.” —Bookforum “Fascinating—and full of the kind of factoids you can’t wait to share.” —Scientific American “Humorous, inspiring, and macabre, this is infectious reading in the tradition of giants like Robert S. Desowitz and Jared Diamond.” —Michael A. Huffman, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University
Download or read book Sexual Selection and the Barn Swallow written by Anders Pape Møller and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 1994 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An important empirical test of the theoretical predictions of sexual selection theory, this book presents a long-term field study of the monagamous barn swallow. By using information on behaviour, ecology, morphology, genetics, and evolution, the book reviews this theory and its twocomponents: male-male competition and female choice.The selective advantages of a long tail are investigated for this common bird, demonstrating such effects as mating behaviour, copulation behaviour, migration strategies, and host-parasite interactions.A rich informative text which clearly elucidates the mechanisms and consequences of sexual selection.
