Download or read book Phylogeography of the California Thrasher Toxostoma Redivivum Based on Nested Clade Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Variation written by Erik A. Sgariglia and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Evolutionary and Ecological Structure of a Species Interaction Network written by Katherine Anne Rich and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Geographic Structure in a Symbiotic Mutualism written by Susanne Altermann and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Habitat Preference in the California Thrasher Toxostoma Redivivum written by Ivana Mae Roland and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
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 266 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 Extended Specimen written by Michael S. Webster and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-07-20 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Extended Specimen highlights the research potential for ornithological specimens, and is meant to encourage ornithologists poised to initiate a renaissance in collections-based ornithological research. Contributors illustrate how collections and specimens are used in novel ways by adopting emerging new technologies and analytical techniques. Case studies use museum specimens and emerging and non-traditional types of specimens, which are developing new methods for making biological collections more accessible and "usable" for ornithological researchers. Published in collaboration with and on behalf of The American Ornithological Society, this volume in the highly-regarded Studies in Avian Biology series documents the power of ornithological collections to address key research questions of global importance.
Download or read book Conservation Biogeography written by Richard J. Ladle and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-01-11 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CONSERVATION BIOGEOGRAPHY The Earth’s ecosystems are in the midst of an unprecedented period of change as a result of human action. Many habitats have been completely destroyed or divided into tiny fragments, others have been transformed through the introduction of new species, or the extinction of native plants and animals, while anthropogenic climate change now threatens to completely redraw the geographic map of life on this planet. The urgent need to understand and prescribe solutions to this complicated and interlinked set of pressing conservation issues has lead to the transformation of the venerable academic discipline of biogeography – the study of the geographic distribution of animals and plants. The newly emerged sub-discipline of conservation biogeography uses the conceptual tools and methods of biogeography to address real world conservation problems and to provide predictions about the fate of key species and ecosystems over the next century. This book provides the first comprehensive review of the field in a series of closely interlinked chapters addressing the central issues within this exciting and important subject.
Download or read book Wildlife and Landscape Ecology written by John A. Bissonette and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the research and management of wildlife has traditionally emphasised studies at smaller scales, it is now acknowledged that larger, landscape-level patterns strongly influence demographic processes in wild animal species. This book is the first to provide the conceptual basis for learning how larger scale patterns and processes can influence the biology and management of wildlife species. It is divided into three sections: Underlying Concepts, Landscape Metrics and Applications and Large Scale Management.
Download or read book Climate and Evolution written by William Diller Matthew and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Molecular Panbiogeography of the Tropics written by Michael Heads and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2012-01-04 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Molecular studies reveal highly ordered geographic patterns in plant and animal distributions. The tropics illustrate these patterns of community immobilism leading to allopatric differentiation, as well as other patterns of mobilism, range expansion, and overlap of taxa. Integrating Earth history and biogeography, Molecular Panbiogeography of the Tropics is an alternative view of distributional history in which groups are older than suggested by fossils and fossil-calibrated molecular clocks. The author discusses possible causes for the endemism of high-level taxa in tropical America and Madagascar, and overlapping clades in South America, Africa, and Asia. The book concludes with a critique of adaptation by selection, founded on biogeography and recent work in genetics.
Download or read book The Theory of Ecology written by Samuel M. Scheiner and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2011-07-15 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite claims to the contrary, the science of ecology has a long history of building theories. Many ecological theories are mathematical, computational, or statistical, though, and rarely have attempts been made to organize or extrapolate these models into broader theories. The Theory of Ecology brings together some of the most respected and creative theoretical ecologists of this era to advance a comprehensive, conceptual articulation of ecological theories. The contributors cover a wide range of topics, from ecological niche theory to population dynamic theory to island biogeography theory. Collectively, the chapters ably demonstrate how theory in ecology accounts for observations about the natural world and how models provide predictive understandings. It organizes these models into constitutive domains that highlight the strengths and weaknesses of ecological understanding. This book is a milestone in ecological theory and is certain to motivate future empirical and theoretical work in one of the most exciting and active domains of the life sciences.
Download or read book Avian Molecular Evolution and Systematics written by David P. Mindell and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 1997-05-13 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The use of DNA and other biological macromolecules has revolutionized systematic studies of evolutionary history. Methods that use sequences of nucleotides and amino acids are now routinely used as data for addressing evolutionary questions that, although not new questions, have defied description and analysis. The world-renowned contributors use these new methods to unravel particular aspects of the evolutionary history of birds. Avian Molecular Evolution and Systematics presents an overview of the theory and application of molecular systematics, focusing on the phylogeny and evolutionary biology of birds. New, developing areas in the phylogeny of birds at multiple taxonomic areas are covered, as well as methods of analysis for molecular data, evolutionary genetics within and between bird populations, and the application of molecular-based phylogenies to broader questions of evolution. Contains authoritative contributions from leading researchers Discusses the utility of different molecular markers for questions of avian evolution, involving populations and higher-level taxa Applies molecular-based phylogenies of birds and molecular population genetics data to broad questions of organismal and molecular evolution. Compares and contrasts molecular and morphological data sets
Download or read book The Encyclopedia of Birds written by Christopher M. Perrins and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2009 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The Encyclopedia of Birds' covers the behaviour, diet, distribution, and evolution of every known living bird in the world, and it is illustrated throughout with colour photographs and original artwork.
Download or read book Starlings and Mynas written by Adrian Craig and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive illustrated guide to the Old World family of birds in the Helm Identification series. Starlings range from familiar species such as Common Starling and Common Myna, which are closely associated with people and have been introduced to many parts of the world, to little-known forest birds with a very restricted distribution. The family is centred on tropical Asia and tropical Africa, where two separate evolutionary radiations have occurred. This is the first monograph on the starling family, and summarises the current knowledge of all speices, with a comprehensive bibliography. Information from the avicultural literature is included since for some species nesting and other behaviour have never been observed in the field. Many starlings are highly social, some even nest in colonies, and cooperative breeding ('helpers at the nest') occurs in a number of African species highlights areas where information is lacking, particularly for those starlings whose existence is threatened by habitat destruction.
Download or read book The Ascent of Birds written by John Reilly and published by Pelagic Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2018-04-16 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When and where did the ancestors of modern birds evolve? What enabled them to survive the meteoric impact that wiped out the dinosaurs? How did these early birds spread across the globe and give rise to the 10,600-plus species we recognise today ― from the largest ratites to the smallest hummingbirds? Based on the latest scientific discoveries and enriched by personal observations, The Ascent of Birds sets out to answer these fundamental questions. The Ascent of Birds is divided into self-contained chapters, or stories, that collectively encompass the evolution of modern birds from their origins in Gondwana, over 100 million years ago, to the present day. The stories are arranged in chronological order, from tinamous to tanagers, and describe the many dispersal and speciation events that underpin the world's 10,600-plus species. Although each chapter is spearheaded by a named bird and focuses on a specific evolutionary mechanism, the narrative will often explore the relevance of such events and processes to evolution in general. The book starts with The Tinamou’s Story, which explains the presence of flightless birds in South America, Africa, and Australasia, and dispels the cherished role of continental drift as an explanation for their biogeography. It also introduces the concept of neoteny, an evolutionary trick that enabled dinosaurs to become birds and humans to conquer the planet. The Vegavis's Story explores the evidence for a Cretaceous origin of modern birds and why they were able to survive the asteroid collision that saw the demise not only of dinosaurs but of up to three-quarters of all species. The Duck's Story switches to sex: why have so few species retained the ancestral copulatory organ? Or, put another way, why do most birds exhibit the paradoxical phenomenon of penis loss, despite all species requiring internal fertilisation? The Hoatzin's Story reveals unexpected oceanic rafting from Africa to South America: a stranger-than-fiction means of dispersal that is now thought to account for the presence of other South American vertebrates, including geckos and monkeys. The latest theories underpinning speciation are also explored. The Manakin’s Story, for example, reveals how South America’s extraordinarily rich avifauna has been shaped by past geological, oceanographic and climatic changes, while The Storm-Petrel’s Story examines how species can evolve from an ancestral population despite inhabiting the same geographical area. The thorny issue of what constitutes a species is discussed in The Albatross's Story, while The Penguin’s Story explores the effects of environment on phenotype ― in the case of the Emperor penguin, the harshest on the planet. Recent genomic advances have given scientists novel approaches to explore the distant past and have revealed many unexpected journeys, including the unique overland dispersal of an early suboscine from Asia to South America (The Sapayoa’s Story) and the blackbird's ancestral sweepstake dispersals across the Atlantic (The Thrush’s Story). Additional vignettes update more familiar concepts that encourage speciation: sexual selection (The Bird-of-Paradise's Story); extended phenotypes (The Bowerbird's Story); hybridisation (The Sparrow's Story); and 'great speciators' (The White-eye's Story). Finally, the book explores the raft of recent publications that help explain the evolution of cognitive skills (The Crow's Story); plumage colouration (The Starling's Story); and birdsong (The Finch's Story)
Download or read book Biodiversity II written by A Joseph Henry Press book and published by Joseph Henry Press. This book was released on 1996-09-16 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The book before you...carries the urgent warning that we are rapidly altering and destroying the environments that have fostered the diversity of life forms for more than a billion years." With those words, Edward O. Wilson opened the landmark volume Biodiversity (National Academy Press, 1988). Despite this and other such alarms, species continue to vanish at a rapid rate, taking with them their genetic legacy and potential benefits. Many disappear before they can even be identified. Biodiversity II is a renewed call for urgency. This volume updates readers on how much we already know and how much remains to be identified scientifically. It explores new strategies for quantifying, understanding, and protecting biodiversity, including: New approaches to the integration of electronic data, including a proposal for a U.S. National Biodiversity Information Center. Application of techniques developed in the human genome project to species identification and classification. The Gap Analysis Program of the National Biological Survey, which uses layered satellite, climatic, and biological data to assess distribution and better manage biodiversity. The significant contribution of museum collections to identifying and categorizing species, which is essential for understanding ecological function and for targeting organisms and regions at risk. The book describes our growing understanding of how megacenters of diversity (e.g., rainforest insects, coral reefs) are formed, maintained, and lost; what can be learned from mounting bird extinctions; and how conservation efforts for neotropical primates have fared. It also explores ecosystem restoration, sustainable development, and agricultural impact. Biodiversity II reinforces the idea that the conservation of our biological resources is within reach as long as we pool resources; better coordinate the efforts of existing institutionsâ€"museums, universities, and government agenciesâ€"already dedicated to this goal; and enhance support for research, collections, and training. This volume will be important to environmentalists, biologists, ecologists, educators, students, and concerned individuals.
Download or read book Mapping the Diversity of Nature written by R.I. Miller and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1994-07-31 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The diversity of life is displayed by a diversity the biodiversity elements. These unique of structural and functional elements. Many approaches are usually tailored to the region of aspects of this diversity are critical for main the world where the scientists' work is focused. taining the healthy functioning of biological This book presents accounts of many tech systems both within short and long time scales. niques that are currently being used in different Some highly diverse features of nature arise parts of the globe by conservation scientists. simply from the heterogeneous patterns that Many different techniques are necessary to comprise the web of nature. Many of these handle the differences in data types and data features contribute to the beauty and quality of coverages that occur across the globe. Also, a life. Humans do not yet understand enough variety of mapping approaches are needed about the complexity of nature to distinguish today to strengthen the many diverse critical those elements that act to support natural conservation objectives. These objectives include vitality from those elements that contribute the identification of the distribution patterns exclusively to our experience of beauty and for a species or habitat type and the placement quality in life. of protected area boundaries.
